Stonington School Project Tells the History of Enslaved Local Man

Rev. Norman Erlendson says a few words Friday, April 28, 2023, after receiving the Cato Cuff Witness Stone during the installation ceremony at the First Congregational Church of Stonington. The ceremony was held to commemorate the life of Cato Cuff and presented by the Stonington Middle School eighth-grad class. Donna Brandelli, right, a descendant of the first minister of the First Congregational Church listens in the background. (Dana Jansen/The Day)

By Carrie Czerwinski, Special to The Day, on April 28, 2023

Stonington ― Stonington Middle School students presented the findings of their research on Cato Cuff, an enslaved man who was freed after his military service in the Revolutionary War, to members of the public at the Road Church on Friday.

Cuff was a member of the church, also known as the First Congregational Church, and married Flora Palmer there in 1820.

“This was a project that took weeks and weeks, but I think it was really important to have the opportunity to think and learn about slavery in a very local type of way, because I think it can be hard to really empathize people when all you see are statistics,” said eighth grade student Solana Thagnabouth. Continue reading.