On September 13th, 2023, The Mattatuck Museum in collaboration with Riverside Cemetery held a commemoration ceremony for the 10th Anniversary of the burial of “The Man Fortune”. The event was held in the chapel at Riverside Cemetery in Waterburt, CT.

Upon Fortune's death in 1798, his enslaver, Dr. Preserved Porter of Waterbury, CT, boiled his body parts to remove flesh. Dr. Porter retained Fortune’s skeleton as a teaching tool. The bones were used as an initial training tool for generations of Porter doctors, eventually donated to the Mattatuck Museum in 1932. The bones would remain on display at the museum until 1970, when the museum took down the display and placed the bones in storage.

In the early 1990’s, the bones were examined by experts to gather details of Fortune’s life, diet, injuries and likeness. Fortune would ultimately be buried in Riverside Cemetery in Waterbury on September 13th. 2013.

The commemoration include a recounting of Fortune’s life and legacy by John Mills.