Evidence of the early history of African Americans in New England is found in the many old cemeteries and burial grounds in the region, often in hidden or largely forgotten locations. This unique work covers the burial sites of African Americans—both enslaved and free—in each of the New England states, and uncovers how they came to their final resting places. The lives of well known early African Americans are discussed, including Venture Smith and Elizabeth Freeman, as well as the lives of many ordinary individuals—military veterans, business men and women, common laborers and children. The author’s examination of burial sites and grave markers reveals clues that help document the lives of black New Englanders from the 1640s to the early 1900s.

Author and lecturer Glenn A. Knoblock is the author of many works of history. The top military contributor to the Harvard/Oxford University Press eight volume African-American National Biography (2008), he also writes on local history. He lives in Wolfeboro Falls, New Hampshire.

Glenn A. Knoblock
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 332
Bibliographic Info: 181 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7011-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2042-8
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Part One—African American Life and Funerary Customs in New England

I. The Enslaved in Colonial New England 7

II. The Free Black Experience in New England 41

III. African American Funeral and Burial Customs 64

IV. Together Yet Separate; Characteristics of African American Burial Sites 80

V. African American Grave Markers 97

VI. Preservation Challenges and Recovery and Remembrance Initiatives 121

Part Two—Significant African American Burial Sites 141

I. Connecticut 143

II. Rhode Island 169

III. Massachusetts 191

IV. New Hampshire 227

V. Vermont 257

VI. Maine 282

Bibliography 305

Index 313

• “A valuable guide to African American burial grounds and grave sites in New England…an excellent job contextualizing the often forgotten history of Northern slavery…very well illustrated…recommended”—ChoiceARBA