In New York State, Ulster County in particular had high rates of enslavement of people of African descent owing to its vast, bountiful farmland and its early settlement by wealthy Dutch, English, and French families.
The stories of those enslaved in Ulster County have long been underserved by historians, and the lives and identities of many are now lost forever, but new research continues to uncover important genealogical and societal information on who the enslaved and their enslavers were, what their lives were like, and the fate of newly emancipated Blacks and their families. [Read more…] about Bearing Witness: Exploring the Legacy of Enslavement in Ulster County, New York