Category Archives: Piggott

The Life and Times of Black Patriot Samuel Freeman: Born Free and Enslaved During the American Revolution

2nd Regiment, 4th Regiment, Abraham Mattyse, Abram Jansen Van Salee, African-Native, Afro-Dutch, Afro-Indigenous, Afro-Indigenous historic erasure, Afro-Indigenous Loyalists, Afro-Indigenous Patriot, American Revolution, AncestryDNA, Angenieje Weaver, Angenietje Webber, Anna Jans Wallis, Anthony Jansen Van Salee, Anthony Piggott, Antonia Freeman Snyder, Ari Dee, Atlantic Creoles, Augustine Van Dunk, Black Patriot, Black Patriots, Blauvelt, Blauvelt Slaves, Caesar Piggott, Canada, Capt. Benjamin Egbert, Claes Manuel, Colonial New York, crypto-Muslim, DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution, Davenport, Day, De Vries, DeFreese, DeGroat, DeGroot, Delaware, Delaware Lenape, Dewint, DeWints, Dey, Diana Haal, Diana Johnson, DNA Tests and Indigenous Identity, DNA Tests and Native American Identity, DNA Tests and Native American Tribes, Elizabeth Dee, Endogamy, Enslaved People, Fort Crown Point, Fort Niagara, Fort Ticonderoga, Fortuyn, Frans Abrams Van Salee, Fredericus Blauvelt, Free Backs in NJ, Free Blacks, Freeman, General George Washington, Genetic Genealogy/DNA Testing, Genetic Paper Genocide, Genocide, Grietje Reyniers, Harris Stephenson, Indigenous, Indigenous Americans, Indigenous Loyalists, Indigenous Slavery in New England, Isaac Sharp, John Green, John Joseph, Jora Van Guinee, Kitchawan, Kitchawan Wappinger, La Garce, Lenapehoking, Lenni-Lenape, Love, Lyon, Lyon-Green-Merritts, M23, Madagascar, Madagascar Slave Trade, Madagascar to Virginia Slave Trade, Malagasy Diaspora, Malagasy Roots, Malagasy Slaves in New York, Mann, Manuel, Moriscos, Munsee, Munsee Lenape, Murat Reis, Nanticoke Lenape, Native American, Native American Loyalists, Native Americans, Native-American and African-American ancestry, Netherlands, Neutral Ground, New Amsterdam, New York City, Nova Scotia, Nyack, Ogden, Pickett, Piggery, Piggott, Pirates, Pirates in NY, privateer, Ramapo Lenape, Ramapo Mountain Indians, Ramapo Mountains, Ramapough (Munsee) Lenape, Ramapough Lenape Nation, Rebekah, Revolutionary War, Revolutionary Westchester 250, Rockland County, Samuel Freeman, Sand Hill Indians, Sarah Piggott, Sarah Van Salee, Schuyler, Slavery in New Amsterdam, Slavery in New Jersey, Slavery in NY, Snyder, Stony Point, Tun Snyder, Van Cortlandt, Van Dunk, Van Salee, Van Surlay, Wappinger Federation, War of Independence, Willet's Levies, William Pride, Wolfert Weber, Y-DNA
Manhattan Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

On April 5th, 2024, I was inducted into the Daughters of the America Revolution (DAR)
for the wartime service of my 5x great-grandfather, Samuel Freeman (1754–c.1840)—a significant milestone.2 Born free, Samuel Freeman was enslaved twice during the conflict, escaped captivity to become a fugitive, and ultimately secured his freedom by serving in Lt. Col. Johannes Hardenbergh’s New York Militia until the end of the war. When I first applied to the DAR, we knew of his military service and his life after emancipation.
This article brings his story into sharper focus, exploring his origins, his path to freedom, and the life he built afterward.

For those interested in New Amsterdam/New Netherlands and Colonial New York History from a global and local perspective, I highly recommend Black Gotham Experience walking tours.  Click here.

The article can be read here: Teresa Vega_Life_and_Times_of_Black Patriot_Samuel_Freeman

The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Westchester and Dutchess Counties, NY, Conclusion

1766 Tenant Riots, Abraham, Abraham O'Dell, African American Genealogy, African American Loyalists, African Diaspora, African-Americans in Westchester County, African-Native, Afro-Indigenous, Afro-Indigenous historic erasure, Afro-Indigenous Loyalists, Amegah, Amegah Londonderry, American Indians, Amos Moss, Ancestry.com, AncestryDNA, Anna, Annapolis, Austin Graham, Benjamin Bartley, Betsey, Black Pioneers, Carleton, Cato Prime, Cuffie, David Matthews, Dinah Griffin, Duryea, Duryee, Ebenezer Beaman, Ephraim Jarrett, Esther Smith, Family, Fort Niagara, Francis Griffin, Francois Fournier, Frank Marshall, Gabriel Fowler, Gabriel Ludlow, Greenburgh, Hernet Farmier, Hudson River Valley, Isaac Ecker, Isaac FRost, Jack Powell, Jackey, Jacob Duryea, James, Jane, Jane Marshall, Jemima, Jenny, John Brown, John Cooper, John Potter, John Smith, John Townsend, Joseph Bartlett, Joseph Clarke, Joseph Foster, Joseph Goff, Leonard Van Kleek, Livingston Manor, London Derry, Londonderry, Lucy Potter, Lydia Johnson, Mary, Matthews, Maugerville, Moses Thompson, Ned, Nero, New Amsterdam, New Hampshire Grants, New Jersey, New York, New York City, Nine Partners, Patience Hopefield, Peter Matthews, Philipse Manor, Piggott, Port Roseway, Quebec, Revolutionary War, Richard Hopefield, Richard Pierpoint, Richard Vanderburgh, Robert Potter, Rose Fortune, Rye, Sal Griffin, Sally, Sambo, Samuel Ver Planck, Sarah, Slavery in NY, Stacia, Stratford, Sukey Lefferts, tenant farmers, Thomas Wolverton, Timothy Whetmore, Titus Knapp, Treaty of Paris, United Empire Loyalists, Upper Canada West, Van Cortlandt, Van Cortlandt Manor, Verplanck, War of Independence, Westchester County, White Plains, William Etherington, Willian Thomas, Yonkers, York

This blog post is dedicated to Nora Gavin, the outgoing editor of Connecticut Ancestry. It was both an honor and a pleasure to have her edit all five of my articles on Black Loyalists. I applaud her steadfast commitment to advocating for a more inclusive understanding of American history.

As the Revolutionary War drew to a close a close in 1783, thousands of Black Loyalists from Westchester and Dutchess Counties faced the agonizing uncertainty of what freedom might mean beyond the battlefields they had once known. Some had fled bondage in the chaos of war, others had served in Loyalist militias or sought refuge behind British lines. Many clung to the promises made by the Crown—that freedom, land, and safety awaited them in British-held territories. Yet, as this third and final installment of The Fate of the Black Loyalists reveals, the journey to freedom did not end with evacuation.

For those who boarded ships bound for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and beyond, freedom was fragile, conditional, and often undermined. Some were re-enslaved or indentured. Others disappeared from the record entirely, leaving behind only fragments of testimony in documents like The Book of Negroes. Through the stories of individuals and families —Statia, the Marshalls, the Jarrett brothers, and many others —we trace the haunting afterlife of war, where the line between liberty and captivity was perilously thin.

In documenting these lives, we are reminded that freedom was not a singular moment but an ongoing struggle—one that continues to echo across generations.

The conclusion to this 3-part series can be read here by clicking on the link: Black Loyalists of Westchester and Dutchess Counties, New York – Conclusion

The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Westchester and Dutchess Counties, NY, Part 2

Abaco Island, African American Genealogy, African American Loyalists, African Diaspora, Afro-Indigenous Loyalists, Afro-Indigenous Patriot, Alice Knapp, Alpheus Palmer, American Revolution, Andrew West, Ann and Elizabeth, Annapolis, Anthony Piggott, Aurora, Bahamas, Beekman, Belinda, Ben Broughton, Benjamin Palmer, Benjamin Ross, Bergen County, Billy Francis, Birchtown, Black Atlantic, Black Loyalist, Black Loyalists, Black Loyalists of Dutchess County, Black Loyalists of Westchester County, Black Patriot, Black Patriots, Black Settlements in Canada, Black-Native, Blacks in Nova Scotia, Blacks in Rockland County, Book of Negroes, Bridgewater, Butler's Rangers, Caesar Nicholls, Caesar Piggott, Caron, Cato, Clinton, Col. James Delancey, Colonial New York, Connecticut, Connecticut 2nd Regiment, CT Loyalists, Daniel Odell, Devoe Family, Devoe Family of Ulster County, Digby, Dinah, Dinah Knapp, Dinah McGrigger, Donald Ross, Dutchess County, Eleanor Fleming, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Black, Elnathan Hunt, Enslaved People, Ethnic and Racial Classification, Fairfield County, Fishkill, Fleura Neura, Fortune, Francis brothers, Francis Family, Frederick Philipse, Gabriel Purdy, Gen. George Washington, General Birch Certificates, Genetic Genealogy, Gilbert Pugsley, Grace, Great Nine Partners, Hannah Palmer, Henry McGrigger, Horseneck, Ichabod Wilkins, Indentured Servants, Indigenous Americans, Indigenous Loyalists, Isaac Hatfield, Isaac Vermilyea, Israel Merritt, Jacob Ross, James Morgan, Jason, Job Knapp, John Piggott, John Prudden, John Simonsbury, John Wilkins, Joseph Odell, King American Dragoons, Kitchawan Wappinger, Knapp, Livingston, London, Long Island, Loyalist Transporters, Lydia Purdy, M23, Malagasy Diaspora, Malagasy Roots, Mamaroneck, Michael Wilkins, Monmouth County, Moriah, Moses Knapp, Moses Palmer, Munsee Lenape, Nancy Broughton, Native American, Native American Loyalists, Ned Moore, Neutral Ground, New Brunswick, New York City, Nicholas and Jane, Nova Scotia, NY to Madagascar Slave Trade, Odell, Orange County, Peekskill, Peggy, Peter, Peter Lawrence, Philipsburg Manor, Philipse, Phillip Earle, Phillis, Phillis Wilkins, Piggott, Purdy, Richard Black, Robert Merritt, Rockland County, Rose Yates, Samuel Fleming, Samuel Myers, Sarah Piggott, Schuyler, Sierra Leone, Slavery in Connecticut, Slavery in New Jersey, Slavery in New York, Sleepy Hollow, Southeast Dutchess County, Sue, Suffolk County, Tappan Patent, Tarrytown, The Black Brigade, The Black Pioneers, The Book of Negroes, The Ethiopian Regiment, The Oblong, Tracadie, Tree Briton, Tryon County, United Empire Loyalists, Van Buskirk, Van Cortlandt, Van Cortlandt Manor, Van Wart, Van Winkle, William, William Francis, William Pugsley, William Syruss, zana-mulata

The American revolution left a profound legacy not only for the birth of this nation but also for those who chose loyalty to the British Crown over rebellion. Among these Black Loyalists ── individuals, both free and enslaved, who faced unimaginable challenges as they navigated the complexities of war and its aftermath. This article continues the exploration of their lives, focusing on those who originated from Westchester and Dutchess Counties, New York. Many lived on estates owned by prominent families, including the Philipse, Van Cortlandt, Schuyler, Livingston, and Beekman Manors.

Drawing from my own family’s deep roots in these counties, this series sheds light on the experiences of individuals whose choices and sacrifices shaped their futures in the face of war, displacement, and resettlement. By chronicling their journeys ── be it evacuation to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or other parts of the British Empire ── this article aims to honor their resilience and contribution to history. These stories remind us of the diverse threads of loyalty, survival, and identity that are woven into the fabric of the Revolutionary era.

The full article can be read here by clicking on the link: The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Westchester and Dutchess Counties NY- Part 2

Part 3 will be published in the next issue of Connecticut Ancestry.