Seneca Village: The historic settlement that disappeared

In the early 19th century Seneca Village, in the middle of Manhattan, was home to the largest number of free Black property owners in New York City before the Civil War. Irish and German immigrants moved in, too. But in 1853, when Central Park was in the planning stages, the city used eminent domain to take control of the land, displacing the settlement's residents. Correspondent Faith Salie looks at efforts to unearth the unique history of Seneca Village, and to find descendants of those evicted.
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[@annsmith7207]

Going into Central Park this summer to see Seneca Village and listen to the Central Park Conservancy guide is now on the "to do list" Thanks ✨🌞✨

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank You so much for watching. I hope you are able to do so. The more attention will keep our family legacy alive! There’s so much more to our family's contribution to the history of New York!

[@plz1277]

This story is bittersweet. The number of injustices to various minority groups that formed this country is shocking. And that many choose to ignore them or deny they happened, is appalling.

[@lewstone5430]

Agreed. My wife is Navajo and through many conversations with her, and some personal experience, I know there is still some hatred and a lot of distrust in the Native community. Of course there were many other atrocities against other groups. Also I’ve experienced people either denying or whitewashing this history. Many people don’t understand that a nation built on evil actions, if left unaddressed, will fall.

[@RobinHerzig]

True - and it's just the tip of the iceberg

[@eduardobenitez752]

So... what you suggest? Destroy America because of its past? What is done is done. Let's move forward

[@lewstone5430]

@Eduardo Benitez no, you address it, make amends, make communities whole again and then you can move forward. Continuing to ignore it, like you are doing in your comment, accomplishes nothing, it’s counterproductive, and only keeps the pain alive for these groups. Also, telling the whole truth about this Nation’s history is not “tearing it down”. Instead, it’s giving the complete and accurate story. This is important so people can move forward, hopefully healed from the injuries of the past and united going into the future,

[@cherylreitz4779]

@@lewstone5430 Preach!!!! Very well said. Have a blessed week!

[@michaelscot4816]

These families should be PAID!!!

[@MTknitter22]

yes Manhattan elites and Democrats??? Michael Scott is right. CBS does not go there cuz NYC is THEIRS A LOVELY STORY!!! LOVED IT

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank you so much for watching! There is truly NO MONETARY VALUE that can be placed. The best payment is to allow the Seneca Village Legacy to remain open for EVERYONE to learn, and hopefully, other descendants will be able to find their way back, too. What I have learned from the elders remaining is that EDUCATION IS IMPARATIVE & NON NEGOTIABLE, so keep teaching about the history and keeping it alive.

[@scarletweb2106]

I'm going to help families get paid

[@savedgesurvive]

Start with the Algonquin ​@@scarletweb2106

[@kathyjuneart]

My husband's family were driven from the GSM National Park in the 1930s. Their entire community was displaced as well.

[@timothyhopkins6960]

Wonderful forgotten history that finally comes to light .

[@Fiiiyahh]

Really really amazing history that needs more light shined upon it...

[@TheKayaklover]

And the city did it AGAIN in the 1960's with the building of Lincoln Center, displacing thousands of Blacks and Puerto Ricans.

[@NoirEtBlanc86]

I freaking love this! Thank you Sunday Morning for telling this story!

[@Kelz_X]

Vox did it last year and have more details

[@lfrost6718]

Fantastic story! Fantastic descendants! Hope they find even more. God bless this endeavor.

[@lulufavs4519]

I heard in old documentary that Central Park was a “shanty town” where poor whites(lots of Irish) and former slaves lived. Never mentioned a prosperous area as Seneca Village. I’m happy to learn of recent research findings and ancestry. As a New Yorker, I can’t wait to visit and learn more about the communities that inhabited the village.

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank you for watching. Our family was never enslaved; please help us keep the legacy alive. We always knew the story there's so much more.

[@kanarcydalive1579]

I know better nd those damn Irish u speak of are just as guilty.

[@LilPrimeTime24]

No way!!!!!! Andrew Williams the musician is also my great grandfather!!!!!! I have his photo in my room right now!!! We are related!

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Hey Cuz!

[@mixedhairless]

So glad to see this story is growing….

[@mililaniman]

The history of Seneca Village is fascinating.

[@jeebsunabia7972]

"Disappeared"? Try sneakily displaced.

[@TheImperfectVlogger]

Taking my family to on the Seneca Village tour this spring

[@RobinHerzig]

The search for descendants + these 2 descendants themselves are what really got me. This search must continue. Keep their legacy alive. I know this was like >100 yrs before Robert Moses, but I couldn't help thinking this was his template.

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank you so much for watching! If it hadn't been for a gentleman by the name of Aaron Goodwin found my husband on Facebook letting him know been doing research on Our Family and Seneca Village, and did we know anything about it we never would have been able to share all of the information we had and stories passed down from generation to generation. The Williams Family Tree is long, and I’ve been working hard to put ALL of the pieces together in order as the tree is continually growing!

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank You so much for your interest in Seneca Village. There's so much more to our story. CBS and the conservancy team did an amazing job uncovering what we already knew. Your voices and interest can help keep Seneca Village and the families legacy alive! There is more to our story! Respectfully, The Williams Family.

[@5argetech56]

Saw this... Very important information. Needs more recognition.. Excellent post 💯❤🤗

[@omarchandler4983]

*When the interviewer asked, “Why do you think the history has been untold and unknown until relatively recently” I almost fell over. Millions of Americans are actively trying to silence any and all discussions about race in America. They’re passing laws to do so! America as a whole has always denied how race played and continues to play a major role in this society.* *”Nothing covered can ever get healed.”*

[@larrysouthern5098]

Very well put...thank you!!!

[@nathanracher2911]

Or maybe they just believe that this is a highly sensitive and nuance history. That maybe shouldn't be taught to children, especially when they view the world in such a black and white way. Yes it should be taught, and our national sins must be acknowledged but should never be used to promote animosity and division.

[@RobinHerzig]

Bingo

[@RobinHerzig]

@@nathanracher2911 awww that's a very generous slant on the well organized + funded efforts to maintain (white) ‘national’ supremacy while hiding the facts + reality from generation to generation

[@nathanracher2911]

@@RobinHerzig what are your sources?

[@megankazukibuttons9334]

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for this follow-up story I first saw it on one of your earlier shows (I hope it was Sunday Morning, if not, my apologies ) I've been trying to find it so that I could share it with a friend.

[@larrysouthern5098]

Incredible story....

[@carlpeterson347]

Thank you for this story...

[@ellenchavez2043]

The scary part is how quickly this can happen today. Loading the courts with those who have not problem with legislating folks "back to their place" can easily happen today. Portland, Oregon has made an African American community disappear in the "gentrification" of the area. Redlining areas against loans for property ownership or repair cleared the path for developers. This tactic is as old as the US. In the South, plantation owners grew their property by controlling who votes and legislating small farmers off their land and pushing them into the swamps and foothills.

[@bellevue260]

One thing that stood out for me was that they were landowners and therefore had the right to vote, the color of their skin didn't matter. Presumably they were paid for their land. I would to see what the historian has uncovered about what happened to the residents. One problem I see in this story is eminent domain. Then, just like now people are driven out of an area for some project that will earn a few a lot of money.

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing this story and current place in our cool city..

[@soitsmelaura]

wow what an amazing history lesson

[@yahlitamoore2928]

Wow everything will be revealed in its own time

[@SpiralBreeze]

I thought the name sounded familiar, I must have been taught about it years ago in school and forgot!

[@redbeanbun616]

"They haven't been able to locate any descendants" Gee, I wonder why.

[@quirkyquips9915]

In the Tybee Island Lighthouse museum, there is a photo of slaves in the fields with Irish immigrants right beside them, a dispute of slavery. Side by side in Seneca Village in freedom along with them tho far too brief.

[@brandoncorley3142]

Wow! Who knew?!

[@deliverancetwo]

Fantastic story

[@heidiavera5071]

This is amazingly beautiful

[@KB-zb2he]

Give their land back,

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thanks so much for watching! We don't want the land back. We desire to keep our legacy alive through education. We hope that the history of Seneca Village will remain indefinitely.

[@janicebrowningaquino792]

WONDERFUL!!

[@ghlee2300]

Amazing!

[@john-paulnagel2732]

Never Forget

[@shuffleaccount1985]

THEY SHOULD EITHER GIVE THEM THE VALUE OR THE LAND !!!!

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank you for watching! He was paid a portion, not value. He brought 2 more properties with the money. Today, there's no monetary value to place on what was lost. But what I'm sure our ancestors desire (as education was non negotiable) would simply be to continue to educate ourselves, and others allow other descendants a chance to find their beginning as we are.

[@MyDaddysNameIsGOD]

AWESOME❗

[@scarletweb2106]

The story is so sad 😢

[@dorisk.4282]

SHOW THEM THE MONEY‼️😡

[@scarletweb2106]

GIVE THEM THE MONEY!!! 😡😡

[@eilyjones6359]

My daughter recently moved not far from this area. How can we get a tour from the Concervancy?

[@joeson7700]

EMINENT Domain ruled , possible the WHOLE Manhattan Island might come soon ?

[@laurencaulton103]

Black land taken by eminent domain. Gee, that NEVER happens.

[@jeannettelee2806]

Why do them HATE us so much?

[@madgreen8945]

Because hateful ones get more attention and they are the loudest and most powerful. Plus hate seems to be in style these days sadly. It is my hope you will think of the majority as the ones that truly love and respect Black Culture (silent majority).. I'd like to see more people who call themselves not racist evolve into acting anti-racist. I am learning every day, bc I am not a snowflake 😸

[@craigslivka1]

one of the reasons I inquired about there being a possible story behind an "Indian" style;e name for a village of Black settlers, is that growing up on Long Island, we had many "Indian" named locations for places, which led me to believe this to have been an "Indian" settlement, but to my surprise, it was not.

[@craigslivka1]

and I am not saying we should not have Central Park, but we should also have the history that went with it as well.

[@craigslivka1]

something interesting is that if a black person owned property they could vote, then what about the black people who lived in the North, who did not own land. It is very interesting to begin to view this in a more grey-shaded sort of way, as opposed to the ridiculously neatly wrapped black and white style history we were taught.

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank you for watching. Research shows that only black men who owned land could vote. Not women.

[@craigslivka1]

@@MiMaisLuminous You are welcome Tiger, but historically women in general did not receive the right to vote until August 18, 1920. So I would not think that the women of Seneca Village had the right to vote either.

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Just don't tell white children about this story. It may hurt their precious little feelings.

[@ronjames1914]

Now they have bustling settlements elsewhere that are truly thriving. That statement is so hard to believe that must be sarcasm

[@deborahtucker4900]

This is the same narrative throughout America. If you want something that's not yours, you find a way to take it. I bet the owner was not fully compensated for the property. Another common issue when other people want something you have...

[@deborahtucker4900]

@@ursamajor6347 yes, I agree.

[@skippymagrue]

There were people living there before Seneca Village.

[@savedgesurvive]

Never seen a story about the tribe that was removed from ALL of Manhattan

[@MD-ew1xg]

Imagine how rich their grand kinds would have been today. but, people still say well, you are free now.

[@sandbridgekid4121]

It didnt disappear, it was willingly destroyed, without payment.

[@gwendolyn7462]

My last name is Olmsted, and even still I THINK THIS STORY IS SAD and wrong! meaning in a bad way not wrong incorrect Gwendolyn Olmsted dit come

[@gretchenking5952]

These known descendants should do the DNA testing through Ancestry. They will be able to locate a lot more descendants in a short amount of time.

[@alexandrawilliams-dorsey8416]

We have and that is how we have found more of us 🙏🏾

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank you for watching; the Williams Family tree is expansive! We're scattered across the country, but we are in tack and still growing. Amazingly!

[@2sixty5media]

So……. Will nyc pay money to the family for basically stealing their land?

[@craigslivka1]

one question that comes to mind is why would a group of black settlers/relocators/etc. use an Indian/Native American (which is really an improper term, since the America's as we're beginning to realize/discover as we dig up more history was a destination location after the last ice began 100,000 years ago and we discovered that black people or aborigines settled in the Southern tip of South America 60,000 yrs ago. The French/British came to North America about 18,000 yrs ago, the Chinese came about 14,000 and did what they traditionally did, raped, pillaged, and maimed (there are cave drawings of bloody wars on the walls in South America), and if there are three different ethnic groups merging together for whatever reason, there can always be more, as we are starting to uncover, which is why there really is no "Native Americans" in either North or South America, but since the last ice age began 100,000 yrs ago (before that we have learned nothing yet anyway) think of the Americas as a "Destination Location" (again for whatever/different reasons) for various ethnic groups.) name for their village?

[@bridgetfitz8001]

Really confused by the comments - this amazing , interesting piece of history tells the story of Black Americans owning property in the 1820’s - That fact itself destroys a lot of the narrative being spun in the comments, it’s totally missed. Yes eminent domain sucks, look what it did to Brookly Heights, happens to many communities. My ancestors were farmers that were persecuted by the British, that started our American story, moved to the tenements of lower Manhattan, we never owned slaves . . .

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thank you for watching. Yes, it is interesting. Please don't be confused by the comments you've read; look beyond. While we can't change the past. There's no amount of money that can be placed on our family's legacy. It's about educating; our legacy goes well beyond the clip that you saw. As you are aware of your family legacy, many are not. So, uncovering what our family always knew was hidden could open doors for others to find theirs. Everyone is entitled to their own feelings, opinions, and conclusions; it's truly not for us to understand but rather learn to see things from different perspectives, not to always agree or like it but, learn to respect it regardless. There's always 2 sides to every story, and the truth always seems to fall in the middle.

[@lyrarosier4579]

Can’t believe there isn’t one mention of Native American history. Also surprised they would say most Central Park visitor’s are surprised that people lived on that land. Has everyone forgotten that land was occupied for thousands of years before?

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thanks for watching our family. It was a part of an Indian reservation sometime after Seneca Village. I'm still researching!

[@fantazephir5597]

This 😢is so moving, touching, sad . Knowing that the devil in the heart of some humans has them with an oppressive thumb trying to keep others down since early times. God the Creator shall have His day and to vindicate and save mankind from all oppressors 🙏🏽. Matthew 6:9,10

[@stevethomas7463]

Land ownership. How can you own something you've never crested?

[@justinbowen2509]

This video has been banned in Virginia because it is related to critical race theory. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[@MiMaisLuminous]

Thanks for watching and the information. But, it's out there now. Seek and ye shall find! We appreciate you

[@johnpaulsanchez3339]

Really ?

[@VVV953]

Hey if they bought the land they deserve a refund So this is definitely A reason for reparations

[@sandbridgekid4121]

Doesnt Surprise me it at all. New York City was just as racist at Charleston, SC in 1856.

[@BronxRisen]

NYC especially Manhattan has been redlined, blacks moved into Harlem and the Bronx ….NYC like Wall Street was ours before they came💯💯💯

[@OhLookItsJonBoy]

Ah yes. CBS’ weekly dose of guilt. Over 1,600 people living throughout what is now Central Park were kicked out, but approximately 300 were in Seneca Village.

[@edwardlagrossa1246]

Bla bla bla. I guess we should give up Central Park because someone used to live there? What a croc!

[@jbaugh2851]

Buut..let's not teach this in school.. #1619

[@ideamaker]

Stuff like this needs to be left buried in the past! All this preachiness only serves to divide an already broken and embittered nation... Let's not focus on the past but instead, let's allow the healing to begin!!! Remember, a wound will never heal if you keep messing with it.

[@mystery5808]

It needs to be known only a narccist would sweep it under a rug. It is still happening today The oppressors will be exposed and destroyed

[@Poo531]

Dare you tell the Jews to leave their trauma in the past!?

[@philiphall5232]

i have no problem with this but why are we destroying our history with tearing down monuments

[@user-sx3hq6fw4k]

Can we get our land back and CAN WE GET 400 YEARS OF CHECKS THROUGH SSI?

[@jeannettelee2806]

Why do them HATE us so much?