BRISTO

Plaque location: 482 Hamburg Rd, Lyme Public Library

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Bristo appears in the historical record only in 1756 when he was accused of raping a white girl. His origins and the length of his prior enslavement to Rev. George Beckwith (1703-1794), the founding minister of Lyme’s north parish, are not known. Before being sentenced by the New London County Court “to suffer the pains of death,” Bristo may have harvested timber and provided labor at a nearby sawmill on the Falls River or at the landing place that bordered Beckwith’s 30-acre farm.

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The court overturned Bristo’s conviction when his accuser was found to have committed perjury, ruling that Bristo had been “falsely condemned.” It also found “mulatto” Wait Wright (1697-?), formerly enslaved in Lyme by Sarah Rogers (1650-1728), guilty of perjury in the rape case. Whether Bristo remained enslaved by Rev. Beckwith in 1777 when “the Negro man London” at about age 25 ran away from the minister’s household has not been determined.

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Research into the lives of those enslaved in Lyme is ongoing and sometimes uncovers new details that may not have been known when the stone was installed. The text on this page reflects the most current information.