For Adam's Sake at Russell Library

The Middlesex County Historical Society is pleased to present Allegra di Bonaventura who will discuss her book, For Adam’s Sake, in the Hubbard Room at Russell Library at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 19. For Adam’s Sake has been described by John Demos, the author of Unredeemed Captive, as “A work of astonishing ingenuity, intellectual and emotional depth, and (most of all) brilliant writing.” It is the story of two families: Joshua Hempstead, a well-respected farmer and tradesman in New London, Connecticut and his slave of thirty years, Adam Jackson. Hempstead’s remarkable diary—kept from 1711 until 1758—is the basis of this engrossing narrative of family life and the slave experience in the colonial North. Significant primary documents from churches and various civic and private archives also serve as source materialdescribes the complexity of this master/slave relationship and traces the intertwining stories of two families until the eve of the Revolution. Slavery is often left out of our collective memory of New England’s history, but it was hugely impactful on the central unit of colonial life: the family. In every corner, the lines between slavery and freedom were blurred as families across the social spectrum fought to survive. In this enlightening study, a new portrait of an era emerges.

For Adam’s Sake describes the complexity of this master/slave relationship and traces the intertwining stories of two families until the eve of the Revolution. Slavery is often left out of our collective memory of New England’s history, but it was hugely impactful on the central unit of colonial life: the family. In every corner, the lines between slavery and freedom were blurred as families across the social spectrum fought to survive. In this enlightening study, a new portrait of an era emerges.

Allegra di Bonaventura is Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science at Yale University. She received a Ph.D. in History from Yale as well as a Juris Doctor.  She also holds a B.A. in History and an M.A. in German from Middlebury College. Her responsibilities include the academic affairs of the graduate programs in the Humanities, African American Studies, East Asian Studies, European and Russian Studies, International Development & Economics, and International Relations. She will have copies of the book for purchase and inscription.


 

Russell Library, located at 123 Broad Street in Middletown, is handicap accessible.  The program is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact the Historical Society at 860-346-0746.