Abenaki - Brattleboro Historical Society

Lucy Terry Prince – Luce Bijah and justice (1724-1821)

This week in Brattleboro history we are going to tell you about Lucy Terry Prince, or Luce Bijah, as she called herself. She lived from 1724 to 1821. In a book called The Music of Black Americans it says Lucy Terry Prince was a significant contributor in the efforts to maintain a sense of Africa in early America. Her storytelling and singing kept alive the African traditions. She made her home a gathering place for slaves and freedmen; a place where they could listen to tales and songs of old Africa. Lucy was born in Africa. She was kidnapped, forced into slavery and shipped to Rhode Island. Around the age of four she was sold to Ebenezer Wells of Deerfield, Massachusetts and became his house slave. When she was in her early twenties, five people in Deerfield died during a raid by Abenaki Indians. Lucy became one of America’s first African American poets when she […]

Samuel Wells and British Spies in the Revolution

This week we tell the story of an early local Brattleborough resident who was described by the United States Congress as a “perfidious man”. In 1730 Samuel Wells was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts. That’s about 25 miles south of here. He was a tavern keeper in Deerfield and also served in the Massachusetts militia during the French and Indian War. Like many war veterans, as the conflict was winding down, Wells decided to move into the northern frontier territory that had recently been part of the war between the Abenaki, French and British. In 1762 British colonists began to build homes and successfully claim land north of Fort Dummer. Both British colonies, New York and New Hampshire, claimed the area. The Abenaki had been fighting to remain on the land for at least 100 years but, with the end of the war, their French allies withdrew from the region and the Abenaki found it more […]

Words & Abenaki History: July Roundtable Discussion

Words & Abenaki History A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION Brattleboro Historical Society‎Words Project Roundtable: The Abenaki and Early European Contact This month, Leadership Team members Rich Holschuh (Vermont Commission for Native American Affairs) and Joe Rivers (Brattleboro Historical Society) will give a presentation and lead a discussion exploring indigenous Abenaki sites, experience, and use of their 12,000 year-old Algonquian dialect in the context of first contact with Europeans in the Brattleboro area, which they call Wantastegok. Roundtable participants are invited to share their knowledge of Wantastegok, Abenaki history, and Algonquian language and enjoy native-inspired refreshments during this free program. Rich Holschuh & Joe Rivers will lead the discussion as we explore language and how it had an impact on the early relations between the Abenaki of the region and the encroaching Europeans. Roundtable Speakers Joe Rivers & Rich Holschuh Joe Rivers is the President of the Brattleboro Historical Society. He is also a social studies teacher at […]