An advertisement for the sale of enslaved Africans from the Gold Coast in Newport, Rhode Island, 1763.
We are excited to announce that we have published the Newport, RI: Records of Enslaved, Free, and Manumitted People of Color and Enslavers (17th – 19th Centuries) database to add 12,786 names and 11,827 records to the 10 Million Names Project.
In 2021, the Newport Historical Society (NHS), located in Newport, Rhode Island, set out to move the enslaved, manumitted, and free people of color who lived in Newport between the 17th and 19th centuries from the margins of its collections to the center. In four years, the Voices From the NHS Archives research initiative has grown from a spreadsheet cataloging references to people of color in the NHS manuscript collection to an interactive database and research tool that includes 5,600 digitized documents, over a dozen biographical histories, and records for more than 1,800 named people of African and Indigenous descent.
This database includes records for people African and Indigenous descent who were connected to Newport, Rhode Island, and the surrounding area—either through their presence in the town or through their enslavement and transport on voyages funded by Newport merchants—between roughly 1663 and 1865.
Data on enslaved, free and liminal status persons were drawn from a broad range of archival documents from the collection of the NHS. Materials include records from six religious groups, early colony censuses, family papers, merchants’ records, institutional records from Black-led organizations, legal and land evidence documents, and ship logs, among others.
This database is presented as part of the 10 Million Names Project. To learn more about 10 Million Names, please visit the project website. Thank you to Newport Historical Society for kindly donating the data used in this project.
Please note: This database is available to all NEHGS members, including Guest Members, at no cost. Consider membership.