Date of Award

2013

Call Number

F29.W28 M32 2013

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

American New England Studies

First Advisor

Nathan Hamilton

Keywords

African Americans - Maine, Peterborough, Warren, Maine, African-American Community

Abstract

Warren, Maine is located in the midcoast region of southeastern Maine. The small town has a long history that is intrinsically linked to the maritime activities of the region, which began in the mid-seventeenth century. Sometime around 1782, Sarah Peters was brought to Warren as a slave on a ship owned by Captain James McIntyre. After slavery was outlawed in Massachusetts in 1783/1784, Sarah successfully sued for her freedom and married a man named Amos Peters. Together, they raised a large, mixed-racial family, and settled near South Pond, a good distance away from the main village. By the 1820s, they had their own school district, were part of the Baptist church, and had a good deal of land. Their population and wealth peaked in the 1850s and 1860s, with as many as eighty-two mixed-race people living in the village of Peterborough. This thesis focuses on how African American and mixed-racial communities were able to establish themselves in maritime northern New England in the years prior to the Civil War, particularly during the antebellum period. Peterborough is a case study toward understanding African American communities outside of the plantation setting, and their relationships between agriculture and the sea.

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