Said to have been born around 1744 in West Africa, Tamar spent much of her life enslaved in what is now Madison by Rev. Jonathan Todd, the minister of the Congregational Church. Although he enslaved Tamar and several others for decades, Rev. Todd apparently had a change of heart, granting them freedom in his 1791 will. “I have long been convinced in my own mind, that the Enslaving of the Affricans [sic] brought from Affrica [sic] or those Born in this Country is unjust; it is one of the sins of the land and would endeavor to free my Estate from the Cry of such a Sin against it,” he wrote.

In addition to freedom, Todd promised Tamar property and items such as a cow and a loom with which she might make a living. However, these provisions were conditional, as was her freedom. If she was unable to take care of herself, she would “fall under the discretion of [Rev. Todd’s] heirs.” That may have been what happened, because in relatively short order, Tamar appears to have reverted to the property of Rev. Todd’ nephew. At some point later, Tamar was freed, and she can be seen living on a farm in Branford with her husband, Prim. She died in 1816, during the infamous “Year without a Summer.”