Elizabeth Freeman ( 1744 December 28, 1829), also known as Mumbet, was one of the first slaves to file and win a freedom suit in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, ruling in Freeman's favor, found slavery to be inconsistent with the 1780 Constitution of Massachusetts. Her suit, Brom and Bett v. Ashley (1781), was cited in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appellate review of Quock Walker's freedom suit. When the court upheld Walker's freedom under the state's constitution, the ruling was considered to have implicitly ended slavery in Massachusetts.
Biography
Freeman was illiterate and left no written records of her life. Her early history has been pieced together from the writings of contemporaries to whom she told her story or who heard it indirectly, as well as from historical records.
Freeman was born into slavery on April 4, 1744, on the plantation of Pieter Hogeboom in Claverack, New York, where she was given the name Bet. When Hogeboom's daughter Hannah married John Ashley of Sheffield, Massachusetts, Hogeboom gave Bet, around seven years old, to Hannah and her husband. Freeman remained with them until 1781, when she had a child, Little Bet. She is said to have married, though no marriage record has been located. Her husband (name unknown) is said to have never returned from service in the American Revolutionary War.
Throughout her life, Bet exhibited a strong spirit and sense of self. She came into conflict with Hannah Ashley, who was raised in the strict Dutch culture of the New York colony. While John Ashley was even-tempered and well-liked within his community, Hannah Ashley was ill-tempered and snappy, particularly towards her slaves. In 1780, Bet prevented Hannah from striking a servant girl with a heated shovel; Bet shielded the girl and received a deep wound in her arm. As the wound healed, Bet left it uncovered as evidence of her harsh treatment.
One of the notable arguments that was made on behalf of Freeman was her designation as a 'Spinster' during the trial. This title was given to her in court which effectively assigned her a legal status, other than a slave, even before the verdict was released. This argument was derived from the fact that 'Spinsters' were legally independent, had the ability to sue, to own property, and to make contracts.
The case of Brom and Bett v. Ashley was heard in August 1781 by the County Court of Common Pleas in Great Barrington. Sedgwick and Reeve asserted that the constitutional provision that "all men are born free and equal" effectively abolished slavery in the state. When the jury ruled in Bett's favor, she became the first African-American woman to be set free under the Massachusetts state constitution.
The jury found that "Brom & Bett are not, nor were they at the time of the purchase of the original writ the legal Negro of the said John Ashley." However, like many slave owners, Ashley refrained from admitting to the true nature of his actions. While arguing for his right to own Brom and Bett in court, Ashley described them as his servants for life rather than slaves. This intentional word choice likely alludes to his objective of appealing to both the conservative and liberal members of the jury.
The court assessed damages of thirty shillings and awarded both plaintiffs compensation for their labor. Ashley initially appealed the decision but a month later dropped his appeal, apparently having decided the court's ruling on the constitutionality of slavery was "final and binding."
The Sedgwick children were known to have a close relationship with Freeman as she was an integral part of the family. Of the Sedgwick children, Catharine Sedgwick later became a well-known author and wrote a biography of her governess's life in her book, Slavery in New England (1853). Also working at the Sedgwick household during much of this time was Agrippa Hull, a free black man who had served with the Continental Army for years during the American Revolutionary War.
Freeman is believed to have spent more than two decades acting as a motherly figure for Theodore and Pamela Sedgwick's children, as Pamela was suffering from a mental illness that prevented her from being fully present. Freeman moved into her own house on Cherry Hill in Stockbridge, near her daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Freeman orchestrated an impressive mortgage arrangement and purchased land with her son-in-law, Jonah Humphrey. Notably, this property neighbored Agrippa Hull's property. She later became a sole owner of the property when she bought out Humphrey. Her will distributed roughly 20 acres, a house, a working farm, and other personal property to her descendants.
Death
Freeman's actual age was never known, but an estimate on her tombstone puts her age at about 85. She died in December 1829 and was buried in the Sedgwick family plot in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Freeman remains the only non-Sedgwick buried in the Sedgwick plot. They provided a tombstone inscribed as follows: