If you’ve spent time in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park or driven down nearby Flatbush Avenue, you’ve likely passed the Lefferts House.
The 18th-century property, plus 300 surrounding acres, were once owned by the Lefferts family. But many may not know that at least 25 enslaved people lived and toiled there, as they dreamt of freedom.
An important research project is currently underway to learn more about those enslaved and find their living descendants.
That includes learning more about a man named Isaac.
“Isaac was enslaved by Jacob Bergen down in Cobble Hill, somehow he got himself purchased by Lefferts in 1818. Within three months, he escaped with his wife and children, who were enslaved across the street on Martense Farm,” said Dr. Dylan Yeats of the Project Park Alliance. “Inspiring story, he must have engineered this sale so he could be closer to his family and then they escaped. No evidence to suggest they were ever found.”
Isaac was one of 25 men and women enslaved by the Lefferts. The Dutch owners ran a 300-acre farm off the hard labor of men like Isaac, until he found freedom.