Slavery Artifacts Unearthed in Northeast
Archaeologists on Shelter Island, New York have unearthed artifacts at Sylvester Manor providing fresh evidence of the region's involvement in slavery. The discoveries highlight the plantation's history and the lives of enslaved people in the northeast colonies. In Savannah, Georgia, archaeologists have also confirmed a burial ground for both free and enslaved people of color beneath Whitefield Square.
Sylvester Manor was established in 1652 not for local farming, but as a provisioning plantation to supply Nathaniel Sylvester's family sugar operations in Barbados. This directly linked the Northern colonies to the West Indies slave economy, with forests of white oak on Shelter Island harvested to make barrels for shipping sugar. By 1680, about 30 enslaved people lived at the Manor, considered the largest single population of enslaved people in New England at the time. Research has identified by name some of the enslaved individuals and families through documents like wills and inventories, tracing their lineage from slavery to freedom. The enslaved community included not only Africans brought from the West Indies but also indigenous Manhansett people. Within the 1737 Manor House, the enslaved workers lived in the attic, enduring stifling heat in summer and freezing cold in winter. They used a steep, winding back staircase, known by the family as the “Slaves Staircase,” to access the main floors where they worked. Archaeologists have even discovered a "spiritual cache" in the attic—a hiding place for talismans, reflecting the persistence of West African religious beliefs. In Savannah, the Whitefield Square burial ground, known historically as the “Negro Burial Ground,” was in use from approximately 1763 until it was closed for overcrowding in 1844. A recent ground-penetrating radar survey identified more than 80 potential burial anomalies, suggesting many remains were not relocated when the square was developed in the 1850s. The Savannah burial ground was the resting place for prominent figures like Andrew Bryan, founder of the First African Baptist Church. Ironically, the square was later named for George Whitefield, an Anglican minister who successfully lobbied to overturn Georgia's original ban on slavery. These discoveries challenge the misconception of a "free North." Slavery existed in all British North American colonies. In 1703, 42% of New York City households enslaved people, and Long Island was home to the largest enslaved population in the North. They worked not just as domestic servants but in skilled trades and industries vital to the colonial economy.
