Sheffield — The town’s Historical Society held its annual Elizabeth Freeman Celebration Day on Sunday, August 20. All through the day, the civil rights icon was celebrated with a series of events.
Freeman was born in Claverack-Red Mills, N.Y. around 1744 and died in Stockbridge in 1829. As a slave, she sued for her freedom and won it in 1781—more than 80 years before the Emancipation Proclamation became law in January 1863. The attorney who helped her win her freedom was Theodore Sedgwick, and, eventually, she worked as a housekeeper and nanny for the Sedgwick family in Stockbridge.
On August 21 last year, an eight-foot-tall bronze statue was installed on the town’s Village Green paying homage to Freeman.
At the beginning of the day on Aug. 20, 15 people took part in the annual Elizabeth Freeman Walk to Freedom. The event is a 3.9-mile walk from the Ashley House, where Freeman was enslaved, right into town to the statue, right across the street from where Sedgwick’s office was located. “The walk is a recreation of the exact steps Elizabeth Freeman took to gain her freedom,” Historical Society Administrator Jennifer Owens said. “Elizabeth Freeman did not have a horse. She did not have a carriage. She walked with her own feet, and, every year, we follow the same path.”
Owens said that the Historical Society holds its celebration of Elizabeth Freeman every year around the date of her court case. “When you think of a lot of historical figures, especially from the Revolutionary War era, you think of big men, including generals and soldiers,” Owens said. “Elizabeth Freeman is a Revolutionary War hero. It’s just that she’s unknown because she didn’t fight in the forefront or on the fields. But she fought for freedom for herself and other enslaved people throughout Massachusetts. She brought about freedom in a different way than the generals did. She made a huge difference not only in this state but also throughout the entire country.”
“To me, freedom started here,” Historical Society President Paul O’Brien said. “What happened in Sheffield is important to what happened across the country. I like to say to people, ‘What if Elizabeth Freeman didn’t win her case? How long would it have taken to have movements throughout the state and the country to end slavery?’ I’m sure that it would have eventually happened, but I do think that she is the one who started the process.”
Historical Society board member Dorothy Maffei led the walk. “Elizabeth Freeman is someone we should all know,” Maffei said. “She lived a life that everyone can admire. She fought for her freedom when no one knew that she could. From her story, you can learn that, when you know what is in your heart is right, you can do what you need to do against all odds. We should all remember that.”
Later on in the day, the First Congregational Church of Sheffield hosted the one woman play “Meet Elizabeth Freeman,” as performed by local actress and musician Wanda Houston.
For more information about the Sheffield Historical Society’s programs, visit its website.
