Meadow Dibble, Historical Society Have Differing Perspectives On Brewster’s Past

BREWSTER – Meadow Dibble has spent years researching and recovering historical data that she believes links Brewster to the slave trade. Her research has led to a formal talk which she has given across the Cape. But now, at a talk taking place this weekend, Dibble hopes to respond to critics of her findings. 

 Dibble will speak at the First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist Church as part of its Meetinghouse Speaker Series, an annual event that spotlights “voices of Cape Cod,” on Sunday, Oct. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. While this is not her first time as a featured speaker, Dibble hopes to acknowledge the dismissals of her findings. 

 Her story starts with Elijah Cobb, a Brewster sea captain from the 1800s who holds significance for the town. In 1818, Cobb and 10 of his brothers sailed to West Africa and then the West Indies, returning to Boston in 1819. Dibble’s research reveals Cobb’s empty ship brought back diseased mosquitos carrying yellow fever causing a massive health crisis. 

 Dibble also argues that the voyage was likely an illegal slave trading excursion. This story is the foundation of Dibble’s talk, which looks to reckon with the region’s role in the slave trade during this period. 

 The Brewster Historical Society paints a different picture. The exhibit at the Cobb House describing the 10 brothers’ journey reads, “The stated purpose of the journey was to trade for gold dust and ivory as Cobb had done the year previous. On the ship’s return to Boston, Cobb was accused of slave trading by persons unknown and of knowingly bringing yellow fever into port. An investigation was undertaken by the Boston Board of Health, and Cobb was cleared of both charges.”

 Sally Gunning, president of the Brewster Historical Society, said they had archivists look into the claims. 

 “Our own archivist and the former town archivist, as well as three other historians who write and lecture frequently about slavery, stated the case cannot be made on the evidence at hand,” she wrote in an email last week. 

 Dibble grew up in Brewster with little to no intention of becoming a historical researcher. In her undergraduate studies, she focused on French and traveled to Senegal for her junior year because the locals were fluent in the language. After graduating, she traveled back to Senegal, staying on the Cape Verde peninsula for five more years with a research grant. 

 After returning to Brewster, Dibble was in the unique position of feeling connected to both areas but was unsure what the connection was. It wasn’t until she was walking through the First Parish cemetery that she understood the direct connection, seeing a headstone which listed West Africa as the place of origin for a 1800 gravesite. 

 The spark was instant, and Dibble decided to dive deeper into the history and uncover a connection between the two places. She believes the connection is deeper than residents are ready to admit. 

 “They want to point to the fact that he was not held accountable as proof that he was not guilty,” she said. “And, you know, that’s one deflection tactic. Another is to say, ‘OK, even if this was an illegal slave trading voyage, why are you just focusing on Elijah Cobb?’ There’s kind of a notion that this would be an outlier, and for that reason I want to take this opportunity in returning to Brewster to address those two possibilities.” 

 Just because Cobb wasn’t convicted didn’t necessarily mean he was innocent, she said. Since he was an outlier, that doesn’t implicate Brewster or Cape Cod more broadly in the slave trade, she added. 

 Dibble’s talk provides more clarity and details around her beliefs. 

 Gunning said the Brewster Historical Society displayed a panel at Windowmill Village acknowledging the presence of enslaved people in the area for Juneteenth. 

 The panel’s introduction reads, “Yes, there were [enslaved people in Brewster], and it’s unlikely we’ll ever be able to name them all, but we would like to name the ones we can in an effort to honor their existence and to recognize the wrong done to them with their enslavement.”

 The panel ends by stating that the 1790 census lists no slaves in Brewster.

 Dibble first gave her talk in 2017 when it was hosted by the Brewster Historical Society. She said she hopes to continue an open dialogue with the organization and would love to work together again in the future. 

 First Parish is also doing its part to reckon with the past. In June, the congregation unveiled a custom-made bronze plaque commemorating 20 enslaved people who were known to have attended services at the church or were baptized there. 

 Dibble said her mentor, Panchita Peterson, was the first member of the First Parish congregation to actively raise awareness of the history of slavery in the area, which she said should be looked into deeper. 

 In the current climate, Dibble said these talks are even more important to keep people informed of the past. 

 “If we think about what’s happening today with the Trump administration looking to actively suppress these histories that we’re only just collectively looking into,” she said. “This is how it happens, right? This is how people forget again.” 

 Dibble received her Ph.D. from the Brown University Department of French Studies and taught at Colby College from 2005 to 2008. She also served as the Visiting Scholar at Brown University’s Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice from 2019 to 2023. She is now the executive director of Atlantic Black Box, a grassroots organization she founded to help communities in the Northeast research and reckon with the region’s role in colonization and slavery while recentering the stories of its historically marginalized groups.