February 3, 2023
Dr. Primus Manumit
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This Musings from Main celebrates the accomplishments of Dr. Primus Manumit. At the end of this Musing are links to the primary sources used. To make it easier for readers to explore the original source materials and quotes, the links open to the specific referenced pages of the online books. |
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Image courtesy of Windsor Historical Society, WHS collections 1995.25.19, ca. 1900,
photo by Katherine Barker Drake, |
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Dr. Primus Manumit began his "medical studies" under the guidance of prominent Windsor physician Dr. Alexander Wolcott, as his slave. Primus would accompany Dr. Wolcott to visit his patients "as escort and bodyguard" as well as assist him "in the preparations of medicines for the sick." (Stiles p. 458) Above is an image of Dr. Wolcott’s house, taken around 1900 prior to it being moved, where Primus would have lived as a slave. |
| Image of a colonial era apothecary chest courtesy of National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center,
ID Number: 1991.0664.0974. |
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According to Henry Stiles in his book History of Ancient Windsor, one of the few sources to provide details about Primus' life, "it occurred to" Dr. Wolcott that Primus should be freed. However, muster roles recorded in Daniel Howard's book New History of Old Windsor, indicate that Dr. Primus served in the Revolutionary War, introducing the idea that perhaps he earned his own release from bondage through military service.
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Upon gaining his freedom, Primus selected the surname Manumit and immediately moved across the river to East Windsor, where he was recognized as a doctor and "as such frequently employed." (Stiles p. 458)
Like many of the details of Dr. Primus Manumit's life, the exact location of his residence east of the river is hard to pin down. Stiles describes it as a "small cabin" but others believe he lived in the "old" Eliakim Cook House. "Eliakim Cook of East Windsor Hill (now in South Windsor) bought a house on Old Main Street in 1738 that had been built by Matthew Grant in 1710. Eliakim died in 1776 and in 1778 the house was rented to Dr. Primus Manumit." (Historic Buildings of Connecticut website HBCW)
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To make things even more confusing, "The old Eliakim Cook house was removed around 1790 when Cook’s grandson, also named Eliakim, built the current house on the lot. Not long after it was built, Eliakim sold it to his brother, Benjamin Cook, Jr." (HBCW) Using what limited details we have, it would appear that Primus lived as a free man, practicing medicine, somewhere around the present day address of 1595 Main Street, South Windsor. |
| Image (date unknown) of the "new" Eliakim Cook house built in 1790. |
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Dr. Primus Manumit, by any standards, was a success. He had a thriving practice until his death in 1782. He owned silver shoe buckles and a silver watch, and he visited his patients in a one-horse, two-wheeled buggy known as a "sulky", the preferred mode of transportation by doctors at the time. (Hayden, p.78) |
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| The inventory of his estate gives us more clues as to the details of his life and character. He owned “toothe instruments" and “surgeon’s instruments,” indicating that he was performing minor surgeries and tooth extractions, not merely providing herbal remedies and medications to his patients.
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Image of a tooth extractor, eighteenth century. The tool’s claw was engaged with the patient’s tooth in such a way that it could be removed by twisting the tooth in its socket to free it from the ligaments suspending it there. Photograph by David Gunner. Courtesy Boston Medical Library. |
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Image of Dr. Primus Manumit’s 1782 probate record. Courtesy of Windsor Historical Society |
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Dr. Primus Manumit was well regarded by his peers, known as gentlemanly and intelligent. He wrote prescriptions using English interspersed with Latin terms. His estate inventory shows he owned four Latin books, leading us to believe he fully understood the meaning of the surname he chose, Manumit. (Manumit comes from the Latin verb manumittere meaning "to free from slavery" or literally "to send from one's 'hand".) |
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Although there is a scarcity of details about Dr. Primus Manumit's life, what details there are give us a glimpse into the life of an accomplished man. One who started his life's journey as a slave and ended it as a free man, and Windsor's first black doctor. What a amazing treasure it would be to find his journal tucked away somewhere one day. |
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Sources used for this Musing are listed below.
Hayden, Jabez, Haskell, Historical Sketches, Connecticut. Windsor Locks, Conn.: Journal Press, 1900 ,p. 78-79, -
Historic Buildings of Connecticut website
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Howard, Daniel, New History of Old Windsor Connecticut. Windsor Locks, Conn.: Journal Press, 1935, pg 74
Raja, Iniya, Dr. Primus Manumit, Windsor’s First Black Doctor, Windsor Historical Society website, 2021 retrieved 02-01-2023. -
Stiles, Henry R., History of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut. Hartford, Conn.: Press of Case, Lockwood and Brainard Company, 1891 p.458,
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