Hidden in plain sight: Symposium addresses slavery’s legacy

Sylvester Manor’s history as a colonial era plantation dating back to 1651 is well-known by residents of Shelter Island.

But beyond New York State, for people involved in the study and research of the history of U.S. slavery, the notion of a 17th-century northern slave plantation is surprising and unexpected. Perhaps what’s even more surprising for many is the open and honest way in which the role of enslaved peoples at Sylvester Manor is recognized and acknowledged.

“Sylvester Manor is probably the most extensive northern plantation in existence and the history of slavery is something we use in our narrative,” said Donnamarie Barnes, curator and archivist at Sylvester Manor. “We fully tell the story and are actively engaged in bringing it to life. It’s part of our curriculum.”

In October, Ms. Barnes traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia to participate in a symposium titled “Universities, Slavery, Public Memory & The Built Landscape” at the University of Virginia (UVA). While honestly telling the story of slavery has been a key mission for Sylvester Manor, in a recent interview at the Manor, Ms. Barnes explained that is not the case at many institutions — including universities like UVA which was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner who fathered children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemmings.

“The symposium was very much about how they’re dealing with the history of slavery at the university,” Ms. Barnes explained. “It was founded by slave owners and now they’re confronting slavery’s role. It’s not just the history, but what they’ve done since then to obscure it, deny it, or create euphemisms around it.

“It’s a Jim Crow situation of hiding in plain sight.”

Ms. Barnes was invited to take part in the symposium by Joe McGill, founder of The Slave Dwelling Project. In 2015 Mr. McGill, who is based in South Carolina, traveled to Long Island where he spent the night in several former slave quarters, including the attic at Sylvester Manor. It was one of the first northern plantations that Mr. McGill had visited.

In her panel, “New Interpretations at Historic Sites,” Ms. Barnes discussed the history of Sylvester Manor as well as the way in which slavery is openly acknowledged, including on the large stone marking the slave cemetery which reads “Burying Ground of the Colored People of Sylvester Manor Since 1651.” The stone marker was placed there by the Sylvester family in 1884.

But because there is little written documentation on slavery at the Manor, Ms. Barnes wrote her presentation paper from a personal point of view, expressing the memory of enslaved people that is still held in the physical space.

Among the individuals she highlighted in her talk were brothers William and Isaac Pharoah, ages 9 and 5, who, in 1828 following the death of their father, were brought to Sylvester Manor as indentured servants by their mother. Members of the Montaukett Indian Tribe, their indentures were to last until they were 21. During their years at Sylvester Manor, the boys carved drawings of ships on the walls — some 43 of them — from basic triangles to intricate rigging of clipper ships.

At the age of 19, William ran away in the night, heading through the woods to the shore where he boarded a ship that had agreed to take him on. He was never heard from again. But Isaac completed his service and stayed at Sylvester Manor for the rest of his life and was interred in the Burying Ground.

When asked how her presentation was received at the symposium, Ms. Barnes said, “They were surprised how old Sylvester Manor was. The 1651 date and the whole aspect of a northern provisioning plantation, and the connection to Barbados sugar cane was fascinating for people. They never thought about that.”

In terms of handling the issue of slavery at historic sites, Sylvester Manor appears to be ahead of the curve. Ms. Barnes noted that northern universities like Harvard, Yale and Princeton have a history of slavery to address — whether the enslaved people were owned by university founders and administrators, or students who brought them along to campus. She explained that the focus is shifting and institutions are starting to acknowledge their past and work with descendants of enslaved people to tell the tale.

“Today, it’s about connecting with the community and interpreting the history,” she said. “The institutions who have embraced that idea have learned how to incorporate the narrative of the public, the neighbors, and interconnected families, into the story.”

During the symposium, Ms. Barnes joined a tour to visit Monticello, Montpelier, and Highland, the plantation estates of presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, respectively.

“It was fascinating. These are places that have been in existence for a long time, but they’re just getting projects going,” Ms. Barnes said. “I was on the ‘slavery tour’ and there are some where they don’t mention it at all.

“There’s so much to do in terms of the history of the enslaved people. The role of the Hemmings family was denied by the Jefferson family for a long time,” she said. “Some on the tour were descendants of Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson. They expressed feelings of outrage, ownership and pride. They felt like this is our place, our family legacy.

“It was very moving. There’s a definite sense that they’re just getting this together,” she added. “I’ve never been so proud of us, how we at Sylvester Manor tell the story, our narrative and history and what we’ve done in a short period of time.

“Coming away from it, I’m invigorated about how we move forward.”