Lucy Terry Prince is considered to be America's first Black poet.  She and her family lived in Sunderland, Vermont from about 1797 - 1854; having a cultural impact in our local area.  This presentation looks at the Prince family through the eyes of their work -- free/unfree, skilled/unskilled -- in keeping with the theme of Black History Month 2025.  Avis Hayden will explore six generations of the Prince family through the lens of their role in the labor force.  

Avis Hayden has been researching families for thirty-five years. In particular she enjoys fitting family stories within the social and economic context of the era in which these family members lived. She earned a certificate in genealogy from Boston University where she learned to focus on not just people within families but their relationships to each other. Avis lives in Sunderland, which is the town where Lucy Prince and her family lived for some fifty years.