On Monday, June 30, 2025 at 6:30 p.m., Kennebunk Town Historian Kathleen Ostrander Roberts will be at the Kennebunk Free Library to discuss her new book: Unmarked Graves and Forgotten Lives, The Enslaved Persons of Color in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells and Arundel Maine.
In the book, Roberts shares her research on the individuals of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells and Arundel, Maine, who were enslaved prior to 1800. This research included deeds, written histories and local diaries as well as archaeological evidence uncovered at the site where several previously enslaved people, who were finally emancipated, came to live on the outskirts of Kennebunk between 1790 and 1831. Roberts shares probate records, church records and other primary sources which give important information about the names of many of these individuals and those who enslaved them. Images of some of the artifacts found at the site help give insight into how they lived as they transitioned from slavery to freedom. Robert’s goal is to inform and further shed light on New England's complicity in the slave trade in Colonial York County, Maine which was, at that time, part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
This program is free and wheelchair accessible. The Kennebunk Free Library is located at 112 Main Street in Kennebunk, Maine. For more information please call 207-985-2173 or email us at
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