Portland Public Library

Lives of consequence, Blacks in early Kittery & Berwick in the Massachusetts province of Maine, Patricia Q. Wall

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-221) and index

contains biographical information

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Lives of consequence

bibliography

989124118

Patricia Q. Wall

Publication Portsmouth Marine Society, 37

Blacks in early Kittery & Berwick in the Massachusetts province of Maine

"In Lives of Consequence, Patricia Wall has forever destroyed the old myth that there were 'just a few' persons of color living in colonial Maine. In the towns of old Kittery and Berwick alone, her in-depth study finds nearly 500 Black, Indian, and mixed race individuals--both enslaved and free--from 1645 to statehood in 1820. Despite many self-serving myths their lives were no less harsh and their neighbors no less racist than other parts of the country. This well researched book is a significant rewriting of local history and a major addition to the study of African and African-Americans in Maine. A much needed corrective to antiquarian histories of Maine towns that virtually ignored this population altogether, it could be a model for similar local studies all over New England"--Provided by publisher

Setting the scene -- Finding substance -- Significance and impact -- Climate of denial -- Into the spotlight -- A matter of control -- False dawn -- Bravery knows no color -- "Let the matter subside" -- Lives of consequence revealed : biographical notes on the lives of Blacks, Mulattoes, and Indians in early Kittery and Berwick -- Appendices: 1. Statistical Information and Data Compilation -- 2. Slave Owners and Possible Slave Owners -- 3. Miscellaneous: A) Census and Tax Data; B) Marriages and Baptisms; C) Kittery/Berwick Men of African Descent in the Military, 1713 to 1783