Franklin Historical Museum Further Explores Slavery in Town

Slavery in Franklin? With a New England history as rich of that of the town of Franklin, the enslavement of African-Americans might not be the first image that comes to mind, but as a new exhibit that will be featured this month (coinciding with Black History Month) shows, the practice was certainly one that had a very common presence here. Susan Elliottt, a Franklin native, has put together her second exhibit featuring the oft-overlooked history of slavery in the Franklin area. Her new exhibit, featuring Franklin resident Charles Paine, who was enslaved in the town, will be featured at the Franklin Historical Museum, at 80 West Central Street in Franklin. The exhibit has recently been featured at Dean College, with Dean College student Tylar Ibrahima Jahumpa reenacting in the historic role of Paine.
Elliott’s interest in the subject matter began a couple years ago, when she attended a historical tour of the cemetery on Union Street in Franklin.
“Rob Lawson, a history professor at Dean, gives an annual historical tour of the cemetery,” says Elliott. “It sparked my interest in the history of the town. One thing led to another, and when I googled Franklin history, I saw a listing for a bill of sale for a man in Franklin. I thought, ‘What?’ A man named Hosea was owned by Asa Pond, in the town of Franklin. I didn’t realize that there was slavery in the north with African Americans. It came as a complete shock to me, and I’ve never gotten over the shock, I grew up in Franklin and it just wasn’t part of the education.”
Elliott says she later researched a slave named Caesar after finding an old ad his owner had placed in a newspaper after Caesar had escaped. That spurred an exhibit she created at the Franklin Historical Museum last year.
Elliott found that pre-Revolutionary War, slavery was common in the Northeast. “All through the 1700’s, there are ads for slaves being sold, off a ship, someone selling one, sadly, a lot of ads for babies – one I read even said the Negro baby would be provided with clothes. Here, I grew up hearing all about the Patriots, which is great, but part of the backbone of American history is slaves.”
In fact, says Elliott, owning slaves was a status symbol among wealthier farm owners, who could then pursue other careers. “For doctors, and lawyers, and ministers, having black slaves to run the farm helped give them time to do their jobs,” she says.
Elliott says the research has influenced how she thinks about her hometown.
“To think that some of those stone walls may have been built by black slaves clearing the woods and the trees,” she says.
Further research became the topic of this month’s exhibit at the Franklin Historical Museum. At the archives at Harvard University, Elliott found a copy of the contract David and James Gilmore signed in ownership of Paine, who had previously been owned by the Daniels family in Franklin, and prior to that, had been owned by a family in Rhode Island. Paine, she says, earned his freedom from the Gilmores by agreeing to their condition that he enlist in the army, which he did in 1777, and then later again in 1780.
“The two Gilmores made a deal with Charles Paine that if he enlisted and gave them his bounty, at the end of 3 years, they would give him his freedom,” says Elliott.
Notably, he was also struck by lightning while on duty, but survived, says Elliott. Paine went on to have a family and a number of children, says Elliott, and he moved to Deerfield area. He helped to found a church in South Deerfield, the South Deerfield Congregational Church, that recently closed in early January after 198 years of service.
In fact, during the course of her research, Elliott was able to find a descendant of Paine from the Atlanta area.
You can some learn about the story yourself by making a visit to the Franklin Historical Museum this month. The museum, located at West Central Street, is open Thursday evenings, 5-8 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Sundays, 1-4 p.m. Visit their website at www.franklinhistoricalmuseum.org or find them on Facebook.