Descendants of Norwich slave, owner meetPosted in Articles, History, Media Archive, Slavery, United States on 2013-10-03 05:00Z by Steven |
Descendants of Norwich slave, owner meet
Norwich Bulletin
Norwich, Connecticut
2012-03-29
Adam Benson
Norwich, Conn.âWhen descendants of Norwich slave Guy Drock and the man who owned him met for the first time Thursday, they werenât sure what would happen.
Grant Hayter-Menziesâ fifth-generation great-grandfather, Capt. Benejah Bushnell, owned Drock for a decade in the mid-1700s in Norwich.
Hayter-Menzies, of British Columbia; Daryl DâAngelo, of Amherst, N.H.; and her cousin, Donald Roddy, of Spokane, Wash. â all of them white â came to Karen Cookâs U.S. history class at Norwich Free Academy with a story they said had to be told.
âI donât have any of the cultural and social legacies of someone who grew up identified as an African-American, and I still had a moment of, âWhat does this guy want from me,ââ DâAngelo said of meeting Hayter-Menzies.
Hayter-Menzies was apprehensive, too…
… Roddy, a retired airline pilot, said he stumbled across his Drock lineage several years ago, while doing genealogical research on his family.
âI had no idea I had African ancestors until a few years ago,â Roddy said. âNo one in my living family had a clue about that.â
Hayter-Menzies said heâs forged a unique bond with DâAngelo and Roddy, and quickly felt a kinship with them once they finally met.
âMy first reaction was to reach out and hug you,â Hayter-Menzies told DâAngelo. âWe feel like friends already.â…
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