William F. Hazard as a young man and at 102 years old.

To celebrate Black History Month, Silver Special Collections is sharing portraits of the Hazard and Mero families of Woodstock, Vermont in our most recent blog post. Both families were part of the town’s small Black community that had roots extending back to the late 1820s. The collection includes a  tintype, studio portraits, and several 8 x 10 black and white prints. The studio portraits especially show the Meros and Hazards as they wished to be represented. Dressed for the occasion, they made their way to local photography studios. Special events, such as a christening or a graduation, may have prompted some of the photo sessions. Each photo in the gallery is accompanied by a brief biography, based on information gathered from a wide range of sources, including census data, newspaper articles and obituaries, vital records, maps, gazetteers and directories, and print and online articles. Most of the photos are not dated, but we estimated date ranges for some based on the years when the photographers were active in Woodstock. 

View the portraits and read about the family here.