Geographic Connections- Tracing the History of the Free People of Color in Historic Paramus, New Jersey

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This project is a study of the documentary record of the African American Dunkerhook community who lived in Paramus, NJ in the mid-19th century. Researching the lives of enslaved and free people of color requires a creative approach to documentary sources. For this project I looked at the records of people of color and white landowners connected to historic Paramus, including birth records, manumissions, and census records. Landowners are well documented; their names and residences can be found even today. I then cross-referenced the names and genealogies of these landowners with the birth and manumission records, creating a throughline for when and where the people at Dunkerhook were born, and where they lived when they gained their freedom. In doing so I create a geographic history of Paramus that brings Dunkerhook and the surrounding community of color into a more accurate and diverse light.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow