Uncovering the History of Slavery in Warren??
Patricia Mues??and Sarah Weed, co-chairs of the Warren Middle Passage Project and Board Members of the Warren Preservation Society, present Finding Phebe: Uncovering the History of Slavery in Warren, Rhode Island’s Smallest Town at the Weaver Library on Monday, February 26, 2018 at 7pm.
Although 18th century Warren was surrounded by the slave centers of Newport, Bristol and Providence, its small size has made it a footnote in much of what has been written about slavery and the slave trade.
Building on the work of historians Christy Clark-Pujara, Ruth Wallis Hendron, Jane Lancaster, Joanne Pope-Melish, and Marjory O???Toole, Mues and Weed use primary sources ??? including wills, inventories, town meeting records, censuses and other documents ??? to identify the enslaved of Warren and learn their histories.
Seeing their research as a work in progress, they find new information every few weeks that helps them to put together fuller stories of the lives and legacies of the enslaved in Rhode Island’s smallest town.
Sarah Weed has lived in Warren since 1980. She was director of Warren???s George Hail Library for 10 years.
Patricia??Mues, a freelance writer and blogger, lives in Warren in an 18th century house that may well have been built with profits from the slave trade.
Weaver Library is located at 41 Grove Avenue, East Providence, RI. ??Questions???
Call the library at 401-434-2453.??
This program is free and open to all.??