Nell and her daughter, Rose were enslaved by Rev. Samuel Seabury, the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States and also the rector of New London’s St. James Episcopal Church. It is unclear when Nell and Rose began living in the Seabury household, but it is likely that it was prior to the birth of Rose, given the following listing in New London Vital Records : “Seabury, Bishop, had negro child Rose, d. [daughter] of Nelly, born in his family June 20, 1787.” Rose’s birth was officially recorded on Dec. 1, 1792, when she would have been five and a half years old. Seabury may have had her birth date recorded because Rose would have been eligible to be freed in her 20s under Connecticut’s Gradual Emancipation law. That act held that anyone born after March 1, 1784 could be freed at the age of 25. The age for emancipation eventually changed to 21.Rose’s and Nell’s names appear in Rev. Seabury’s 1796 inventory as well. In that record, Nell is listed as an “old Negro Woman by the Name of Nell 38 years old,” valued at 12 pounds. The listing for Rose says “1 Negro Girl (Rose) about 9 years old Free by Law at 25 Years old.” She was valued at 9 pounds. It is unclear what became of Rose and Nell after Seabury’s death. Some early federal censuses show enslaved persons living in the households of Seabury’s descendants, but since they are not named, there is no way of knowing whether any represent Nell or Rose.