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Connecticut history. This stone represents a recent chapter in that continuing process of better understanding
the past. Erected in 1998 through the efforts of Hartford schoolchildren, it commemorates 63 African Americans
known to have been interred in the Ancient Burying Ground, as well as more than 250 others believed to lie here.
Most African Americans in colonial Hartford were slaves, as were the few surviving Native American inhabitants,
with whom they sometimes intermarried. Most became free following the American Revolution. African Americans
were buried in the same graveyard as white residents, but in a separate section. Tombstones were so expensive
that only a small proportion of white individuals could afford them. Gravemarkers were unimaginable luxuries for
all but a very few African Americans, who were barred by prejudice and discrimination from all but the
lowest-paying jobs.
Five "black governors" believed to lie in the Ancient Burying Ground bear witness to the existence in Hartford of
an African-American community with its own customs and ceremonies. Black governors were elected by their
fellow African Americans to preside over the black community. Although black governors had no power officially
recognized by the white establishment, their authority was acknowledged and respected throughout the
African-American population. Boston Nichols, who was elected the black governor in 1800, died in 1810, and was
one of the last people interred in the Ancient Burying Ground.