A Ceremony to Celebrate Thaddeus & Mary Newton
John Mills sitting at the gravesite of Thaddeus & Mary Newton. Evergreen Cemetery, New Haven, CT.
On February 14h, 1833, in New Bern, NC, a free black woman named Mary Herritage married her love, an enslaved man named Thaddeus Newton. Thaddeus was enslaved by Peter and Catherine Custis, relatives of Robert E. Lee. They had kids, but because Thaddeus was enslaved, Mary had to make her own way.
In the late1850's, Mary moved to New York, leaving her husband Thaddeus and children behind. Mary found her way to abolitionists, most notably Henry Ward Beecher and Henry Highland Garnet, who helped her raise the money to buy her husbands freedom in 1859. While doing so, Mary would support abolitionist efforts to free others.
In 1860, the family moved to New Haven, CT. In April of 1863, their son Stephen enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment, made famous in the movie "Glory." 3 months after enlisting, Stephen died in the assault on Fort Wagner.
In December of 1863, their son Alexander enlisted in the 29th Connecticut Colored Regiment. Many years after his service, he would write his autobiography, “Out of the Briars,“ often used as a resource in researching the experiences of colored regiments during the Civil War.
Thaddeus Newton, the formerly enslaved father whose sons both fought for freedom, died in 1868. His wife Mary died in 1904, still living in the same New Haven home they bought on their arrival in 1860. They are buried together at Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, CT. Decades ago, their stone fell over and cracked in half. It is now embedded into the earth.
The Alex Breanne Corporation is working to fund the repair of the headstone of these heroes. In addition, we have submitted to have their gravesite added to the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. We’ve also submitted to have it added to the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
Finally, since the remains of their son, Stephen, were never recovered after his death during his service, the Alex Breanne Corporation is submitting a request for a Memorial Marker from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Evergreen Cemetery has agreed to allow us to install it next to the headstone of his parents.
The New Haven Museum and the Connecticut Freedom Trail have agreed to work with us to organize an unveiling ceremony to occur towards the end of June, 2024. We will post more details as they are available.
For those who would like to help us in funding this effort, you can donate at https://alexbreanne.org/donate.
Thank you and God Bless.
John
