Details of his life are sparse, but records show that a man from Norwich named Romeo was emancipated to serve in the American Revolution and that he assisted during the evacuation of Long Island. Enslaved in Norwich by Col. Christopher Leffingwell, a leading merchant, factor, and supplier to American forces during the Revolution, Romeo was manumitted after Leffingwell applied to Norwich selectmen for permission to free “His Negro men Servants Exeter Isaac, and Romeo” according to “an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut made and Passed in October Session AD 1777.” The act held that if, after inquiry into the age, abilities, circumstances and character of an enslaved individual, that person was found to be “of Peaceable Life & Conversation …. and in all probability will be capable of supporting themselves,” then they may be set free. Apparently the conditions were met in Romeo’s, Exeter’s, and Isaacs cases, but another condition was also set, at least for Romeo. A separate agreement between Romeo and his former enslaver, signed a few days after the manumission, required Romeo to perform 50 free days of labor each year to Leffingwell for the remainder of Romeo’s life “if able.”