The Halsteds: A Story of Northern Slavery
Our next Rye Story is written by Olivia Quinn, a Rye High School student, who worked with the Rye Historical Society education team to research slavery in the North and specifically in Rye. During this internship, Olivia worked with researcher Pamela McGuire and relied on primary and secondary sources in McGuire’s Hidden History: The Story of Slavery in Rye, New York to inform her own writing. Thank you to Olivia and Pam for your dedication to Rye Historical Society.
Teachers and parents, we hope you will visit the links at the bottom for more educational resources on this topic.
The Knapp House
Many Americans associate slavery with the South, but what many do not know is that slavery was also prominent in the North and even in our own town. Manhattan and the surrounding areas, including Rye, relied heavily on slavery. A census taken in Rye in 1712 listed 18 enslaved people, out of the total population of 516. By 1790, there were 123 enslaved people out of the total population of 986. At this time, enslaved people made up around 12.5% of the population, and nearly every family in Rye enslaved at least one person.
The Halsteds are one of the many enslaving families in Rye. The Halsteds were one of the wealthiest families, owning a total of 317 acres in Rye and Harrison. In addition to their land, they also purchased The Knapp House in 1769, the oldest house in Westchester. The 1790 federal census showed that the Halsted family enslaved seven people, which made them one of the largest enslavers in Rye.
There is not much information about the living quarters where enslaved people lived on the Halsted property, but what we know is that the living situation for enslaved people in the North was very different from plantation quarters in the South. Those enslaved by the Halsteds most likely lived in close proximity to their owners, in attics or separate small buildings. The enslaved people’s names and identities were linked to their owners. Their education mainly consisted of religious education in an attempt to convert enslaved people to Christianity. Northern slavery is often portrayed as being less harsh than in the Southern states, but this in no way makes up for or excuses the extreme racism, inequality and abuse these human beings were forced to endure.
In the early 1800s we see attitudes start to change when Ezekiel Halsted freed Duke, one of the people he enslaved, in 1805. Next, Philemon Halsted freed Rose in 1809 and his son freed a family of enslaved people in 1810. In 1817 New York passed a law that would completely end slavery by 1827, but the Halsted Family began freeing those they enslaved a few decades earlier. The family also went on to help establish the Methodist Church in Rye which was predominantly anti-slavery. The Methodist church welcomed all Black people, including those freed from slavery, to participate. Decades later, Underhill Halsted gave land in Rye to create a cemetery for African American Civil War veterans and the descendants of many freed from slavery in Rye. We may never know what caused the Halsted family to change their view on slavery, but from their story we can learn how people can change when exposed to new ideas.
Although people may not associate slavery with the North and our own town, it is very important to be aware of and educated about this truth. It is times like this that historical archives are very useful in giving us a perspective on the past. The Rye Historical Society has many archives on the Halsted Family, and many other parts of our town’s history that help educate us on the past. The Halsted family is one of the many stories unlocked by these archives, but there are countless other moments of history, waiting to be explored.
Resources:
Rye Historical Society Archives, Timothy Knapp House
Pamela McGuire, Hidden History: The Story of Slavery in Rye, New York. 2013.
Lesson Plans and Extensions:
Slavery in Rye
This document is a list of known enslaved people in Rye in the early 1800s. It includes the names of their enslavers as well as the date they were freed. Using inquiry-based learning, what does this tell us about life in Rye at the time?
Slavery in the North: PBS Learning Media
This site has extensive resources on slavery in the northern colonies and states.
https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/fyr12.socst.us.1950pres.lpslano/slavery-in-the-north/
People Not Property: Stories of Slavery in the Colonial North
These lessons feature Philipsburg Manor in Westchester
https://edsitement.neh.gov/media-resources/people-not-property-stories-slavery-colonial-north
Teaching Tolerance: Slavery and the Northern Economy
This is an insightful family story about the ties between the North and the South. It is a podcast, and has resources to accompany it for students.
Note to readers:
In sharing this piece, we hope to bring awareness to an aspect of local history that is often overlooked. With language playing an important role in how slavery is depicted, we worked with Olivia and Pam to use the most current language. We hope you learn something new through this work.
For more information about the resources used in this piece, contact us at the Rye Historical Society www.ryehistory.org.