In honor of Black History Month, the Shelter Island Historical Society and Sylvester Manor have launched a joint online exhibition entitled, “See Their Names.”
“Names are important and hold power and memory,” the exhibit introduction says. “The presence in this community of the enslaved and free people of color is as important as the townspeople whose names we know well. They lived, worked, and died here and we honor them by ‘Seeing Their Names,’ telling their stories, and acknowledging them and their place in our history.”
The virtual exhibition highlights the names of African American Shelter Islanders dating back to the early 17th century. It utilizes documents, such as letters, farm ledgers, newspaper advertisements, church records, and more. Annotations accompany each document, providing background information and context, with links to the original source files.
The documents are grouped by name and include David Hempstead, who’d been freed from slavery and was working at Sylvester Manor in the 1820s; Peter and Thankful, a black couple married in 1811 at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church; and Matilda, who was manumitted from slavery at Sylvester Manor after the Revolutionary War.
“This history is not hidden, it’s just waiting to be told,” the organizers say.
It’s an incredible collection, beautifully presented using Sutori collaborative instruction technology. See it on:
- the Historical Society website at www.shelterislandhistorical.org/seetheirnames
- Sylvester Manor’s website at www.sylvestermanor.org/see-their-names
The organizers plan a Zoom conversation on Sunday, February 27 at 1 PM to discuss the research methods and how these names will be restored to become part of the community’s historical narrative.
To sign up for the Zoom talk, use the link on the Sylvester Manor website.
