One of seven children of Arthur and Joan Prutt, Zebulon was born in 1731 in Hadley, Massachusetts, where he, his parents, and six siblings were enslaved by Rev. Isaac Chauncey. When Chauncey died, the family was distributed to Chauncey’s children. Some, including Zebulon, were sold to others. A bill of sale in the Porter-Phelps-Huntington family papers show that soon after Rev. Chauncey’s death, 14-year-old Zebulon was sold to Moses Porter of Hadley for $150. When Porter died in 1755, Zebulon was listed in his probate inventory, valued at 53 pounds, 6 shillings, and eight pence. When Porter’s wife died, his wife became Zebulon’s next enslaver. In 1766, Zebulon chose to run away.  An advertisement in the Hartford Courant published a few weeks later announced Zebulon’s departure and offered a ten dollar reward for his return. Slavery was made illegal in Massachusetts in 1780. So whether he returned or not, he would have experienced freedom before he died on December 2, 1802.