It started with a phone call from a stranger. A teacher told Pat Wilson Pheanious that her ancestors were enslaved – in Connecticut. They included Candace, who in the late 1700s worked in what is now the Hyland House Museum in Guilford. The discovery “gave me a family I didn’t know that I had,” Wilson Pheanious said. She describes it as “the best gift of my life.”

In our second episode, reporter/producer Diane Orson and editorial consultant and curator Frank Mitchell discuss what slavery looked like in Connecticut. Mitchell talks about recovering family stories, DNA research and ethical questions that arise when restoring ancestral histories.

Visit www.ctpublic.org/unforgotten to learn more, including videos, photos and digital stories.

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This podcast was produced by Cassandra Basler.