New research will be presented on the Hempsted family and slavery
Aileen Novick, program manager at the Hempsted Houses, will share new research about the complex lives of the people who lived in the Joshua Hempsted House at 2 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Hempsted House in New London.
She delved into the history of the house residents, including slaveholders, civic leaders, abolitionists, a Revolutionary War hero, and at least two enslaved people. The stories uncovered deal with slavery, resistance, freedom and courage.
Novick, who is managing the reinterpretation of the Hempsted Houses, has a master's degree in public history from Northeastern University. She previously had positions at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Indiana Historical Society and Historic Locust Grove in Louisville, Kentucky.
Light refreshments will accompany the lecture. A suggested donation of $5 from attendees benefits the Hempsted Houses.
The Hempsted Houses are located at 11 Hempsted St., New London. The site is open for tours May through October. For hours and more information, visit www.ctlandmarks. org; email hempsted@ctlandmarks.org; or call (860) 443-7949.
The 1678 Joshua Hempsted House is the oldest house in New London and is one of New England's best-documented dwellings. Adjacent to the Joshua Hempsted House is a rare stone house built in 1759 by Nathaniel Hempsted. Both structures survived the 1781 burning of New London and stand today as testaments of 17th- and 18th-century daily life.