Last year, I published a Proof Argument that outlines the story of Peter and Catherine Loudon, who were natives of Africa and both enslaved in Milford, CT. After being freed, Peter continued to work on ships sent from Connecticut to the West Indies. He died on one of those voyages on May 25, 1816.
Peter’s son, Jeremiah Loudon, migrated to Vermont around 1820, then to Ohio where his son, Frederick Loudin would later become the leader of the famous, Grammy Award-winning singers, the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
Peter and Catherine Loudon's son, Darius Loudon, had a son named Horace Loudon. Horace would later become the highest-ranking Black man in the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment. He was our state's own version of Frederick Douglass, touring Connecticut, speaking in front of groups of Black men to convince them to enlist. His image is etched into the 29th Connecticut Colored Regiment monument in New Haven, although Yale University has misidentified him for decades. My non-profit only recently was able to get Yale to correct their records.
On January 28, 1872, The Fisk Jubilee Singers performed in Connecticut for the first time. They performed at South Congregational Church in Hartford. To commemorate the 155th anniversary of this performance, The Alex Breanne Corporation has contracted with the Fisk Jubilee Singers to bring them back to Connecticut for a perform on February 4, 2027. The performance will occur at South Congregational Church, the same location where they performed in 1872. We've also located current-day descendants of the Loudon's, who will be traveling in from Pennsylvania to speak at this event.
The event will accomplish the following:
Reintroduce Connecticut to the historic Loudon family.
Share the Loudon family's origins of enslavement in Milford.
Share the correction of Horace Loudon's misidentification.
Celebrate Frederick Loudin’s leadership as an original member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
Celebrate the living descendants.
A performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
I hope you will plan on attending. As we get closer to the event, a registration link will be provided.