Advertisement
** Honoring Lois Tritton at Blake Street Cemetery **On March 8, 1825, the last known auction of enslaved people ever to happen in New Haven (and possibly the entire state of Connecticut) took place on the New Haven Green, as Lois and Lucy Tritton were sold to Anthony Sanford for $10. We will commemorate the 200th anniversary of this baleful occasion by placing a marker and flowers at the grave of Lois Tritton in Blake Street Cemetery.
Family historian and genealogist Sherill Baldwin will share her extensive research on the Tritton family as well as Blake Street Cemetery itself, a small "pauper’s cemetery" for indigent burials adjacent to the larger Westville and Mishkan Israel Cemeteries. Over 2100 people were buried at Blake Street from about 1881 to 1931. For the last year Sherill has been uncovering and sharing the stories of New Haveners buried at Blake Street online at her website "Buried Stories," including the fascinating stories of John Bray, Edward Ditymus, and the Trittons.
Aaron Goode of Walk New Haven will discuss
the history of poor farms, almshouses, and policies and practices for indigent burial in New Haven, as well as community efforts to preserve and restore these sites (i.e. set aside for burial of the poor) as places of dignity, respect and tranquility.
Directions: The tour will start on Jewell Street at 10am, walk to and down Blake Street and enter the Westville Cemetery’s Blake Street entrance.
Parking: Either side of Jewell Street, between Whalley Avenue and Blake Street. Please do not park in Mishkan Israel or Westville Cemeteries.
Accessibility: The terrain is a bit rough at this cemetery with no aisleways. We ask you to recognize this tour is at a cemetery, a place for reflection and if children attend, should be respectful of this sacred space.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Jewell Street, New Haven, United States
