Jaffrey unveils Black Heritage Trail marker honoring Amos Fortune

Jaffrey commemorated the life of early and prominent citizen Amos Fortune with a granite marker at the Jaffrey Meetinghouse, which will become a stop on the state’s Black Heritage Trail recognizing the lives and accomplishments of early Black residents in the state.

Amos Fortune was born in Africa and enslaved by a Massachusetts tanner. At the age of 60, he purchased his freedom, and began his own tanning business. Fortune also bought the freedom of his two wives – Lydia Somerset in 1778 and, after Lydia’s death a short time after they were wed, his second wife, Violet Baldwin, in 1779. Amos and Violet moved to Jaffrey in 1781, where Fortune opened a tannery. He left substantial gifts to the First Church of Jaffrey, where he was a full member, and School House No. 8, which became a trust fund that is still administered by the town today – having grown from several hundred dollars in Fortune’s day to about $40,000. The trust fund is used to fund educational programs, and helped pay for the inscribing of the granite marker in honor of Fortune’s life.

JerriAnne Boggis, executive director of the Black Heritage Trail, said the purpose of the trail is to highlight people whose stories are sometimes lost to history, because they were formed by Black citizens.

“These markers not only serve as historical reminders of the people we’re honoring but it’s also a place where we can gather and talk about what’s happening now. How they lived, how we see things changing, how they were included or excluded from a history – it creates a place for us to have that dialogue,” Boggis said.

The site outside the Jaffrey Meetinghouse, which marks both where Fortune was a member of the church and his and Violet’s final resting place, is one of multiple markers across the state, including in Portsmouth, Hancock, Keene, Milford, Nashua, Dover, Derry, Windham, Andover and Warner.

Following a brief description of Fortune’s life, given by Jaffrey Historical Society President Peter Lambert, the Rev. Kathleen Card read a reflection on the marker written by the Rev. Steve Miller and the Rev. Mark Koyama, pastors of Jaffrey’s two UCC churches, who were unable to be present.

“On this day, we are painfully aware that when this Meetinghouse was built, the high ideals of liberty and common discourse that it embodied were privileges enjoyed exclusively by white, landowning male church members. Yes, the Town of Jaffrey was part of that prevailing culture of exclusion. That is, until Amos Fortune, the man we honor today, forever altered the personality of the town, with an invincible fortitude that would not be denied,” Card read.

Reading from Miller’s and Koyama’s remarks, Card said the town should take the occasion to reflect on how to “rekindle the zealousness for the cause of anti-racism in our day.”

“As we stand on this holy ground and dedicate this sacred moment, may we be truly inspired by the legacy of this amazing spiritual ancestor. May we work beyond the limitations of our day and our time to create opportunities for freedom and inclusion that honor the strength and courage of Amos Fortune,” Card said.

Following the unveiling of the marker, the crowd lit candles and sang a rendition of “This Little Light of Mine,” led by the Rev. Robert Thompson.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.