Esau was enslaved alongside Grace in the household of Titus and Mary Brockett, significant benefactors of St. Paul’s Episcopal. In his 1773 will, Brockett, a sea captain involved in the West Indies trade, gave Esau to Mary so long as she remained his widow. If she remarried or when she died, he prescribed that Esau “shall be free from slavery and bondage.” If he was not yet 21, then he would remain the property of Zuar Brockett and Rachel Kirtland and be set free at 21. In a codicil to his original will, Brockett gave his wife, Mary, the use of three acres of land  which after her death, would go to “my slave Esau who will then become free to be his property forever.” Mary Brockett outlived her husband, and upon her death in 1777 granted freedom to Grace. Both Grace and Esau, who was likely already freed, were granted a dwelling, some property, a cow, a bed, pots, and more, all of which would revert back to St. Paul’s Church upon their deaths. Based on property records from the Wallingford Town Hall, Esau appears to have become a small businessman, buying and selling a number of properties, while Grace was a spinner and weaver and farmed alongside Esau. Census records suggest that Grace died sometime after 1830 and Esau after 1840.