Letters from 1830’s Wethersfield Warden At The Library of Congress!

Research
Written By John Mills

1834 Wethersfield Prison Report

I've been digging, trying to find proof Prince Mortimer’s remains were sent to Yale for dissection. I assumed any correspondence between Yale and Wethersfield Prison concerning Prince would be with warden Moses Pilsbury. You see, all documentation I could find listed Moses Pilsbury's tenure as warden being from 1827 - 1837...Prince died in 1834.

Last night, I pulled out an 1834 Wardens Report given to me by an incredible historian and friend, Frank Winiarski. Not sure how I missed this before, but right at the top, the report says the Warden in 1834 was Amos Pilsbury (the son of Moses Pilsbury). Frank Winiarski told me published dates are wrong, something he's tried to have corrected but to no avail.

Frank Winiarski told me that Amos Pilsbury actually took over as warden in 1830 (not 1837).

Amos was a notorious warden, known for drunkenness, prisoner malnourishment, prisoner beatings (he would perform the beatings himself), stealing prisoner food rations to feed his own 18 member family and embezzlement. Wow...yet another ungodly person Prince had to endure.

Anyway, armed with this new information, I searched Yale Archives for correspondence by Amos Pilsbury, but found nothing. I then searched the Library of Congress and voila, LETTERS!!!

Unfortunately, I must travel to Washington D.C., apply for a Reader Identification Card, then request the letters be pulled for my review on-site in the Library of Congress secure reading room. That's a small price to pay. I'm tentatively planning a trip to D.C. December 9th & 10th!!!

Feeling hopeful! Wish me luck!

John Mills

Originally from San Diego, John Mills is a technologist by trade, but an equity advocate and independent scholar by passion. The descendant of both southern and northern enslaved, John focuses on unearthing little known people and stories of this country’s history in slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. John presents research through the lens and perspective of a descendant, with intent to inspire understanding and empathy, a means to inspire good, God fearing people, now armed with information, to look into whether they may be unwittingly aligning to biases resulting from the reverberating effects of a past time. John is a member of the Connecticut Freedom Trail and a member of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum Council. John is also working with an international team funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in an effort to deliver transformational impact on digital methods in cultural institutions...a means to decolonize museums. Finally, John is working with the state of Connecticut, business leaders and scholars in Middletown, CT to honor and memorialize a former enslaved individual by the name of Prince Mortimer.

https://alexbreanne.org
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The Body of Prince Mortimer, an 18th Century Enslaved Individual, May Have Been Sent To Yale For Dissection!
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