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Hamden Veteran of Civil War, Formerly Enslaved,
Met President Lincoln, Became Pastor, Died at Age 103

Sgt. William H. Singleton
Sgt. William H. Singleton

William H. Singleton was born into slavery on August 10, 1835 in New Bern, North Carolina. Early in the Civil War, he escaped enslavement to a Confederate officer and organized a regiment of a thousand Black soldiers. After a chance meeting with President Abraham Lincoln, his men became the 35th U. S. Infantry Separate Troops, serving honorably in several battles.

More about him is at this link: https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/the-civil-war/william-henry-singleton-a-formerly-enslaved-man-recalls-fighting-for-the-union-1922/

and in the 1931 New Haven Register article below, found in the Hamden Historical Society archives.



1931 New Haven Register article
1931 New Haven Register article
After the war, he settled in New Haven. The 1880 census indicated that he was a coachman living at 426 Orchard Street with his wife Maria. City directories list his employer as the Thomas Trowbridge firm of shipping merchants. He then lived at several other addresses in New Haven.

1880 census entry for William Singleton
1880 census entry for William Singleton
Rev. SIngleton living in Hamden in 1930
Rev. SIngleton living in Hamden in 1930


Beginning in 1894, he was a pastor, listed with the title Reverend. In 1898, his first wife, Maria E. Wanton, died. In 1929, at age 94, Singleton married Mary Powell. The 1930 directory and census place him at 35 Saint Mary Street, Hamden, confirming the address given in the Register story.

With his second wife Mary in the 1930 census
With his second wife Mary in the 1930 census

He died on September 7, 1938 in Des Moines, Iowa, evidently while visiting there, as his place of residence was listed as New Haven.


Death certificate of William Singleton
Death certificate of William Singleton
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Hamden Historical Society
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Hamden, CT  06518-0512
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