Windsor in Windsor County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)

Dinah

Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, June 26, 2022

1. Dinah Marker (side 1)

Inscription.
Dinah was taken to Windsor in 1783, identified only as a Negro woman slave about thirty years of age, valued at £40. An ensuing court case would later make her the best known of those to have been enslaved in Vermont despite its 1777 Constitution - the first to prohibit adult slavery. In defiance of the law, lawyer Stephen Jacob purchased Dinah, obtaining a bill-of-sale from a future Vermont legislator that was witnessed by a town leader. Dinah served the Jacob family in the adjacent 18th-century house. When no longer in his service, she fell into need and requested town support, which was denied by a vote of the Windsor residents who urged their selectmen to charge Jacob legally for her care instead.

The lawsuit, Selectmen of Windsor v Stephen Jacob, was heard before the Vermont Supreme Court in 1802 when then-Justice Stephen Jacob recused himself. Remaining justices disavowed Dinah’s slave status, ruling no inhabitant of the state can hold a slave, thus absolving Jacob of her care while affirming Vermont’s prohibition of slavery. In total, Dinah lived in Windsor for nearly three decades, enslaved or free without

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manumission. Labeled as Jacob’s wench or African Dinah, she was summoned by selectmen to leave town, assaulted by a deacon’s son, and suffered repeated illnesses. Although Dinah died in poverty, she was identified in a published obituary as a woman of color. The location of her grave is unknown.

Erected 2022 by Vermont Division for Historical Preservation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Women. In addition, it is included in the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation Markers series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1783.

Location. 43° 28.854′ N, 72° 23.424′ W. Marker is in Windsor, Vermont, in Windsor County. It is at the intersection of State Street and Jacob Street, on the right when traveling west on State Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 72 State Street, Windsor VT 05089, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Vermont’s Connecticut River Valley

and in the Green Mountains.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in New England.

Globally, it is in North

Dinah Marker (side 2) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, June 26, 2022

2. Dinah Marker (side 2)

America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Vermont Republic.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Lafayette's Tour (approx. 0.2 miles away); Windsor House / Post Office (approx. 0.2 miles away); War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Original Site of Constitution House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Windsor Revolutionary War Honor Roll (approx. ¼ mile away); Windsor War of 1812 Honor Roll (approx. ¼ mile away); Windsor Gulf War Honor Roll (approx. ¼ mile away); Windsor Vietnam War Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Windsor.

Wide View of Dinah Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, June 26, 2022

3. Wide View of Dinah Marker

Stephen Jacob Home image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, June 26, 2022

4. Stephen Jacob Home

Credits. This page was last revised on September 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 29, 2022, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. This page has been viewed 492 times since then and 54 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 29, 2022, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.