Who is Mumbet and How Do I know Her?

The book I co-authored with Jana Laiz came out in 2009

How I came to Know Mumbet in 2001

(my maiden name is Root)

Who am I? I am a devotee of Elizabeth Freeman, more frequently referred to as “Mumbet”. 

Who was she? She was an enslaved African woman, born around 1744 in the small Dutch town of Clavarack on the Hudson River in New York State. After living in Sheffield, Massachusetts as a slave at the home of Colonel John Ashley for 30 years, she successfully sued for her freedom based on the recently ratified Massachusetts Constitution and the premise that “all men are created free and equal.” Based on her case, Brom and Bet vs Ashley, and one other called the Quok Walker case, Massachusetts banned slavery in 1783. Because this woman had the courage to speak what was in her heart, all the other enslaved Africans were freed by judicial decree 80 years before the Emancipation Proclamation.

How did I come to hear of this woman? That is what I write about below. It is a compelling, thrilling and triumphant story that needs to be told to the whole world. The world would be a better place if this woman’s life story were more well known. 

To that end, my co-author and dearest friend, Jana Laiz, and I have written her story as a chapter book aimed at grades 3 and up, with 42 lovely illustrations by Jacqueline Rogers. This blog is another way of getting her story out if it attracts followers. So, here is the history of how Mumbet came to be my mentor and hero.

In the year 2001 I was between jobs. I had just left an administrative job with a local non-profit, swearing I would never work in administration again. But I had no clue what I would  find in the Berkshires in the winter. One early spring afternoon I was sitting at Seward’s Tires waiting to have my snows taken off when a woman walked in and said she wanted her tires changed and that instead of waiting she would walk to the bagel place. I remember thinking, “hmm! you can walk to the bagel place from here?” I looked at her and she appeared very simpatico and friendly so I said: “May I come with you?” she looked at me, somewhat taken aback and said: “uhh, yes, of course!” (Destiny at work here! What are the odds that I would approach a shy looking stranger like that? I felt compelled….)

We walked along Route 7 about ½ a mile towards the Barrington Bagelry, introducing ourselves and talking about life in the Berkshires. Over coffee we realized we knew many people in common and that I had done some work for her husband a few years back. When I mentioned him she grew immediately quiet and looked very sad. Apparently he had recently died of a heart attack while doing work outside. He was 52. She told me that what had saved her was her job giving historic tours at one of the big cottages called Naumkeag in nearby Stockbridge. I was immediately curious and asked her what the job was like. What she described sounded fascinating and inviting but also challenging. She said that she had just heard that they needed a guide at the Mission House and the Ashley House and I should apply. I knew this was something I would love to do even though I hadn’t thought of something like that before and not really been interested in history, nor did I have the skills.

However, destiny continued to reveal itself.

I called the number she gave and made an appointment for an interview. When I arrived a few days later at the offices of The Trustees of Reservations in Stockbridge I was shown into a room to wait. The first thing I noticed on the wall was a replica of a painting that Richard, my husband, and I have hanging over our bed, done as a lithograph by local artist, Walter Cudnohufsky. So I felt already at home. Then the woman, Lisa Anderson, who came in to interview me, looked very familiar. It turned out her husband and I had been best buddies at college. Lisa and I had met a few years back when I was putting together a CD of local folksingers….. hmmmm… auspicious?

Well, needless to say the interview went well. She told me they needed someone at the Ashley House in Ashley Falls township of Sheffield and would I like to go out there to check it out? We made arrangements to do that. A few days later she and I went through the house and she gave me lots of reading material and told me basic instructions on how to do a tour. When she told me the going salary I was appalled and thought perhaps I couldn’t take the job. She hemmed and hawed and said she would give me more. I agreed and began work the following weekend.

That year it was a cold May with many rainy days. Visitors were few and far between so I had time to rummage around in the attic for books on the history of the settling of Sheffield. I came across a book Sheffield, Frontier Town by Lillian Preiss published in 1976 and started to read. After a while I checked the index to see if the Root name ever came up. I had been told by my father that my great-grandfather, George Frederick Root (1820-1895), had been a writer of Civil War songs (Battle Cry of Freedom, Tramp, Tramp, Tramp The Boys Are Marching) and had been born and lived in Sheffield. I was hoping to find his name. To my surprise there were ~six listings including George Frederick: Aaron Root, Albert Root, Graham Root, Jonathan Root, and Sylvester Root. Never mind that my two sons are called Jonathan Graham and Aaron, (destiny? coincidence? serendipity?) it looked as though the family was well known in Sheffield and that there would be ample reading on rainy days. I read the whole book and others like it and a few weeks later went to the Sheffield Historical Society to see if I could find out more about the family.

When I entered the beautifully restored Sheffield Historical Society building and asked whether they had anything on the Roots, the executive director, Jim Miller, smiled deprecatingly at me and said, of course, and brought out a number of huge books, files and newspaper clippings. While I was going through the files and looking at the newspaper clippings and getting used to the idea that history was fun and local and that genealogy was interesting, Jim also mentioned that they were getting together a concert in honor of George Frederick Root on October 21^st. The program, “Music of the American Civil War”, included many of the songs GF Root had written performed by local artists and a chorus of high school students. When I mentioned that I was a descendent of George Frederick Root he and others became very excited and invited my family to come as honored guests. We were minor celebrities that day, with a red carpet and roped off seating. It was truly a thrill and I became hooked on history, especially local history and then African American history and the story of slavery.

            While going through the genealogy, starting with G.F. Root I discovered that the executive director of the Sheffield Historical Society and I were related, way back! I also found that the Roots had been among the first settlers of Sheffield as well as one of the first proprietors. We had contributed significantly to the life and times of the people of Sheffield. We had held significant positions throughout the local history and signed our names to important documents such as the Sheffield Declaration, a declaration of grievances against the British, written in 1773 that pre-echoes the words of the Declaration of Independence. We had hob-nobbed with and ourselves been, leading citizens of the area as well as the common folk. We had known Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman, the slave woman who had successfully sued her owner (Col. Ashley) for her freedom in 1781 and set the stage for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783. In fact, we have been a part of the fabric of Sheffield society since it began here in 1724.

            That summer, as I continued to read more and more about the founding of Sheffield and Berkshire County and the Revolutionary War. I became intrigued, fascinated by the story of Mumbet and her quest for freedom. I began to put an emphasis on her story over the one of John Ashley in my tours. I felt such a strong connection to her and her plight that I couldn’t help accentuating her presence in the house. I sensed that a woman of her stature and conscience should have her story told to a wide audience. Besides the story of a white European male coming to a place and making a lot of money off of it was old, old as our country, old and worn. The story of courage and the power of one and of triumph of the human spirit and the drive for freedom, that story isn’t told often enough! So, Mumbet was making herself heard, her story needed to be told in a new and compelling way.

            To that end I met with the Ashley House Committee, a group of volunteers who met occasionally to talk about promoting the Ashley House. Together we came up with the idea of a school program, funded by local Cultural Council grants, to tell the story of Mumbet. Over the winter I consulted with an elementary school teacher, Chris Kelley, and came up with a hands-on history program for 3^rd graders that culminates in a tour of the house. I tell the story of Mumbet and the Sheffield Declaration and bring clothing and articles from the 18^th Century for them to try on and use, as well as dried apples to eat and peppermint tea to drink. The program has been a success and I expanded it to schools in other districts.

The story of Mumbet, a true pioneer and woman of great foresight and courage, needs telling. Here is one opportunity! Much mystery surrounds her life but one thing is clear: she has few equals. And her story compels, gives hope, gives courage, is remarkable.

Over the next 3 years it appeared to me that visitation increased. There were more African Americans visiting the house. Now it is an anchor site on the Upper Housatonic African American Heritage Trail.

I wrote this in 2004. It is now 2011. There is more to this story! I will be posting more.