Witness Stones
Anthony, Susanna, Jack and Betty
Stopping Stones is a national place-based public art program that brings together local partners to honor the memories of enslaved individuals in the locations where they lived, worked, or prayed. Through brass and stone micro-monuments and multivocal, community-based installation ceremonies, Stopping Stones bring these stories to life. The program informs and engages residents in support of local efforts towards racial healing, reparative justice, and greater equity.
Those we remember
The names below represent the people who are memorialized by Stopping Stones and Witness Stones. By clicking on each name you are able see their stone, learn about their life, and explore the documents related to their story. Each stone can be seen at Historic Huguenot Street.
Anthony was held in captivity by Col. Lewis Morris of Morrissania in what is now known as The Bronx. He was imported directly from West Africa by way of Barbados. In 1673, he was confiscated by the Dutch when they reclaimed territorial possession of New York and New Jersey for a brief period of time.
View more information Anthony and the Witness Stone location here: https://stoppingstones.org/stone/ny5a-anthony/
Susanna was held in captivity by Col. Lewis Morris of Morrissania in what is now known as The Bronx. She was imported directly from West Africa by way of Barbados. In 1673, she was confiscated by the Dutch when they reclaimed territorial possession of New York and New Jersey for a brief period of time.
View more information about Susanna and the Witness Stone location here: https://stoppingstones.org/stone/ny4a-susanna/
In late 1673, Louis Dubois purchased two enslaved Africans named Anthony and Susanna from the Dutch sheriff in what is now Kingston, NY. This is the earliest recorded purchase of enslaved Africans by a European founder of the community we now call New Paltz. However, Anthony and Susanna fled from Dubois in early 1674, crossing the Hudson River and returning to the plantation of their former enslaver, Col. Lewis Morris, in what is now the Bronx. Over the following 6 years, Dubois and Morris engaged in a drawn out and bitter legal dispute over ownership of Anthony and Susanna.
Those interested in learning more about Anthony and Susanna’s story can find a recording of a talk by Eddie Moran, Historic Huguenot Street at https://www.huguenotstreet.org/virtual-programming.
Jack: The earliest person on record to have been enslaved on Huguenot Street in New Paltz was a man named Jack, whose purchase by Christian Deyo was recorded in a 1680 Bill of Sale.
View more information Jack and the Witness Stone here: https://stoppingstones.org/stone/ny15a-jack/
Betty: In 1694, a girl named Betty became the second known person on record to be enslaved on Huguenot Street in New Paltz when she was sold to the Deyo family there. Presumably she joined Jack, a man who had been purchased by the Deyo family 14 years earlier.
View more information about Betty and the Witness Stone location here: https://stoppingstones.org/stone/ny16a-betty/
