Who+Are+We?



Who Are We? **  Every person is an individual. Every individual is a complex personality formed by the forces of their family, environment, geography, and the time period in which they live. Below is Ebenezer D. Bassett’s family tree from the time of his great grandparents, who were owned as slaves in Connecticut, up to the lives of his children. Ebenezer D. Bassett and his wife, Eliza, had no grandchildren. Ebenezer D. Bassett was a man of mixed black and Native American heritage. You can learn more about his family, and local Valley history, by reading Chapter 2 in the biography accompanying this publication. Both Ebenezer D. Bassett’s grandfather and father were elected black governors of their community. To learn more about Connecticut’s black governors go to the Connecticut State Library @ [|http://www.cslib.org/gov/blackgov.htm] Ebenezer D. Bassett’s grandfather, Tobiah, was granted his freedom for his service in the Revolutionary War. To find out more about Connecticut’s black soldiers of the Revolution go to the Connecticut State Library @ [|http://www.hartford-hwp.com/HBHP/exhibit/03/2.html]

Ebenezer D. Bassett was greatly influenced by his family’s commitment to education and public service, and his children would follow in his footsteps, committed to educating others.

Every family has a story. Using the blank [|Family Tree] (open link) trace your own family ancestry. What are the values, experiences, commitments, and beliefs of your family that contribute to who you are?