Sampson Freeman appears as a tax-paying resident of
Waterbury in 1780. This may be the same Sampson who was
enslaved by Waterbury's Congregational minister John Southmayd.
Southmayd died in 1755: his will mentioned his two slaves,
Sampson and Fillis, and promised to grant them their freedom
if they were "faithful, careful and industrious"
in helping to "bring up" Southmayd's grandchildren.
Waterbury's land records include the mention of a "small
dwelling house" built by Sampson, "a Negro man,"
which stood on a lot owned by Simeon Nichols and later
by Capt. William Leavenworth. The house was purchased
by Dick Freeman in 1792.