Maine Memory Network

Benjamin Bullard to Sir William Pepperell on slave trading, Barbados, 1720

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1720-03-15 Location: Bridgetown; Kittery Media: Ink on paper

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Thomas Reed to Thomas Robison regarding the Caribbean economy and slave market, Sint Eustatius, 1791

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1791 Location: Havana Media: Ink on paper

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Reuben Ruby: Hackman, Activist

Reuben Ruby of Portland operated a hack in the city, using his work to earn a living and to help carry out his activist interests, especially abolition and the Underground Railroad.

Rumford's Notable Citizens in the Civil War

A number of Rumford area residents played important roles during the Civil War -- and in the community afterwards. Among these are William King Kimball, who commanded the 12th Maine for much of the war.

John Martin: Expert Observer - Slave whip, 1864

"… "Scrap & Sketch Book" drew an illustration of two slave whips and a slave being whipped. Martin, a Bangor accountant and shopkeeper, wrote that he…"

Thomaston: The Town that Went to Sea - Atticus: A Fugitive Slave

"Atticus: A Fugitive Slave In the spring of 1837, a carpenter named James Sagurs was hired by Captain Daniel Philbrook of Camden and Edward Kelleran…"

Maine and the Atlantic World Slave Economy
by Seth Goldstein

How Maine's historic industries are tied to slavery

An Asian American Account
by Zabrina

An account from a Chinese American teen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Longfellow Studies: "The Slave's Dream"

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
In December of 1842 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poems on Slavery was published. "The Slave's Dream" is one of eight anti-slavery poems in the collection. A beautifully crafted and emotionally moving poem, it mesmerizes the reader with the last thoughts of an African King bound to slavery, as he lies dying in a field of rice. The 'landscape of his dreams' include the lordly Niger flowing, his green-eyed Queen, the Caffre huts and all of the sights and sounds of his homeland until at last 'Death illuminates his Land of Sleep.'

Black History and the History of Slavery in Maine

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12, Postsecondary Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson presents an overview of the history of the Black community in Maine and the U.S., including Black people who were enslaved in Maine, Maine’s connections to slavery and the slave trade, a look into the racism and discrimination many Black people in Maine have experienced, and highlights selected histories of Black people, demonstrating the longevity of their experiences and contributions to the community and culture in Maine.