Since 2022, St. John’s has been exploring our parish history regarding race through participation in the Witness Stones Project, in partnership with the Essex Historical Society and the local history course at Valley Regional High School. Witness Stones “seeks to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities.” We hope that by better understanding the history of our parish and community we will inform our actions concerning social justice in the present. Click on the images below to read the stories of some of those who shaped our community in its early years.
This effort is funded in part by a Regional Entrepreneurial Grant from the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.
Violet
On the night of January 14th 1802, a 27-year-old enslaved woman named Violet slipped out of the house of Captain Noah Scovell of Potapaug (Essex) and began her journey northward to Massachusetts and freedom. A few days later, Scovell placed ads in Connecticut newspapers and distributed hand bills announcing a 10 dollar reward for her return.
Read MoreSawney
The story of Sawney Freeman’s life, at present, is a work in progress, a
collection of facts that need to be connected. While we haven’t yet been able to “connect the dots” between the man buried in Riverview Cemetery and the author of “The Musician’s Pocket Companion,” there is no doubt that a person named Sawney Freeman was one of the earliest published Black composers in the United States.