Elizabeth Freeman (c. 1744 – December 28, 1829), also known as Bet, Mum Bett, or MumBet, first Black woman released from slavery under the Massachusetts state constitution (all men are created equal), essentially ending slavery in Massachusetts circa 1781.
Freedman’s suit, Brom and Bett v. Ashley (1781), was cited in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appellate review of Quock Walker's freedom suit. When the court upheld Walker's freedom under the state's constitution, the ruling was considered to have implicitly ended slavery in Massachusetts.
“Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute's freedom had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it—just to stand one minute on God's airth [sic] a free woman— I would.” — Elizabeth Freeman
Freeman is buried in the Sedgwick family plot in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Freeman remains the only non-Sedgwick buried in the Sedgwick plot. They provided a tombstone, inscribed as follows:
ELIZABETH FREEMAN, also known by the name of MUMBET died Dec. 28th 1829. Her supposed age was 85 Years. She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years; She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal. She neither wasted time nor property. She never violated a trust, nor failed to perform a duty. In every situation of domestic trial, she was the most efficient helper and the tenderest friend. Good mother, farewell.
Children: Bett (Betsy) "Lil Bett" Humphrey formerly Freeman, died after 1811 after about age 46 [location unknown]. She is listed under her mother's freed slave name since her father's name is unknown. Her mother took the name "Freeman" after winning her freedom and probably gave the name to her young daughter. Betsy married Jonah Humphrey, who then disappeared from the area around 1811. Betsy may have married Jack Burghardt, great grandfather of civil rights leader W. E. B. Du Bois, but this is speculation.
Painting of Elizabeth Freeman, aged 70. Painted by Susan Ridley Sedgwick, aged 23. Watercolor on ivory, painted circa 1812. Photo courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.
Sources: WikiTree, Wikipedia
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