Marked in Memory: A Tribute to the Primus Family

Marked in Memory: A Tribute to the Primus Family

Come join us for a FREE special event at Zion Hill Cemetery where we honor and remember the Primus Family and celebrate the site's inclusion on the Connecticticut Freedom Trail!!!

For generations, the Primus family helped shape Hartford’s Black community as educators, artisans, spiritual leaders, and cultural figures. Their story deepens our understanding of the long Black freedom struggle in Connecticut and reminds us that the pursuit of dignity, opportunity, and justice has always had strong roots—even in northern soil.

Please use the cemetery entrance at the corner of Allen Street and Summit Street!!!

Register for a free ticket to help our planning!

(A reception will follow the celebration at Trinity College.)

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Perched atop the southwestern hill of Zion Hill Cemetery, the Resting Ground of the Primus Family honors one of Connecticut’s most distinguished African American families—whose roots in the state reach back to the mid-18th century. This serene burial site holds the stories of generations who shaped Black life in Hartford through hard work, education, faith, public service, and artistry.

Here at Zion Hill rest Holdridge Primus (1815–1884) and Mehetabel Primus (1817–1899), along with their daughters—Rebecca Primus Thomas (1836–1932), Henrietta Primus Mitchell (1839–1920), and Isabelle Primus Edwards (1845–1920)—and granddaughters Bessie Edwards (1850–1914) and Edna Edwards (1882–1955). Their lives bear witness to a powerful legacy of Black resilience, leadership, and civic engagement in the North.

Among the most notable figures buried at Zion Hill is Rebecca Primus, a pioneering educator and one of the first Black women teachers in Hartford. At a time when public schools were segregated and offered little to no support for Black students, Rebecca taught in the city and later took her commitment to education to the South. In 1865, shortly after the Civil War, she was selected by the Hartford Freedmen’s Aid Bureau—led by Calvin Stowe, husband of Harriet Beecher Stowe—to teach newly freed Black communities in Maryland. Working first in a church, she soon raised funds to establish a permanent school, which the community named The Primus Institute in her honor. Rebecca was born free, and she used education as a tool for liberation—both for herself and for those she served.

Rebecca’s life is also preserved through a remarkable correspondence with her romantic partner, Addie Brown (1841-1870). Their letters offer an intimate and rare record of Black women’s lives, labor, intellectual community, and love in the 19th century—an enduring testament to both personal and collective freedom.

Rebecca’s father, Holdridge Primus, worked as a grocery clerk and was a devoted member of Talcott Street Congregational Church, Hartford’s first Black church. He descended from Ham Primus (1787-1767) and Temperance Asher (1787-1837) of Guilford, and his great-grandfather, Gad Asher (1740–1835), was an enslaved man who fought for his freedom during the Revolutionary War. Mehetabel Primus, Rebecca’s mother, traced her roots to Jeremiah Jacobs (1786–?), believed to be part of the first Black family to settle in Hartford. She taught sewing and domestic skills to young Black women, helping them build independent lives before and after the Civil War.

Though not buried in Zion Hill, Nelson Primus (1843–1916), Rebecca’s brother, was raised in Hartford and went on to become a nationally recognized painter, known for his portraits, nature stills, and religious scenes.