Witness Stones Recall Lives of Slaves In New Haven

NEW HAVEN, CT — Students from The Foote School will install commemorative Witness Stones Memorials recalling the lives of Pink and Stepna, two slaves who once lived in the Morris House, now known as the Pardee-Morris House.

Witness Stones Memorials are cement and bronze markers bearing the names of slaves, their trades, and whether they were emancipated or died enslaved, along with corresponding dates. One of the stones at Pardee-Morris House honors Stepna Primus, a farmer enslaved by Amos Morris, Isaac Forbes and Enos Hemingway. He was emancipated in 1796 and died in 1818.

Foote School students will give presentations based on their research of Pink and Stepna. The stones will be available for viewing at the opening of the Pardee-Morris House on June 6, from noon to 4 p.m. Guides will be available to discuss the stones and the people they represent.

The second stone will honor Pink, Stepna’s wife and a mother, who was enslaved by Amos Morris and later became a landowner. She was emancipated in 1800 and died circa 1850.

“With the help of these students in researching the history of Pink and Stepna, we are able to begin reconstructing the memory of them in the written record,” says New Haven Museum Director of Education and Engagement Khalil Quotap.

“This partnership with the schools has enriched us all by uncovering their stories.”

The students’ research will be shared during the installation ceremonies for the Witness Stones, and later published in a commemorative pamphlet and archived on the Witness Stones website.

Attendees are asked to follow CDC guidelines for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Please wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth and observe social distancing. For more information on the Witness Stones Project visit www.WitnessStonesProject.org.

About the Pardee-Morris House

Located at 325 Lighthouse Road, in New Haven, the Pardee-Morris House dates from about 1780, and is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. Built by Amos Morris around 1750, the house was burned by the British during their raid on New Haven in 1779 and rebuilt and expanded by the Morris family. In 1918, William Pardee, a descendant of the Morris family, willed the property to the New Haven Colony Historical Society, today the New Haven Museum. For a complete list of summer events at the Pardee-Morris House, click here. And to see the New Haven Museum’s event calendar, click here.