Solomon Gedney Cemetery
N Barry Avenue, behind the F.E. Bellows School
Brief History
Built on the property of the Gedney Farmhouse, this property dates back to 1790.
While the Gedney family occupies most of the gravestones, members of the Haines family lay there as well, as both families had ties to the boating industry in Mamaroneck Harbor.
Sojourner Truth
A prominent slavery-related case connected to the Gedneys involves Sojourner Truth, a noted abolitionist who escaped from slavery in 1826.
Her former owner, John Dumont, had sold her five-year-old son, Peter, to Eleazer Gedney to take him to England. When this plan failed, Eleazer transferred Peter to his brother, Solomon Gedney, who then sold him to Fowler, their brother-in-law. Sojourner Truth filed a lawsuit against Solomon Gedney, Fowler, and the Albany Supreme Court for allowing this illegal sale. In court, Fowler returned Peter to Solomon Gedney to avoid indictment. With Truth present as a witness, the judge ruled that Peter, having no rightful owner, be returned to his mother. Truth’s memoir, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850), recounts this historic case.
Court documents from this case were only discovered in 2022, revealing that Sojourner Truth became the first Black woman in American history to sue a white man and win. This landmark case remains a powerful testament to her resilience and advocacy for justice.