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Melita Paine Newport

first name
Melita
last name
Paine Newport
gender
female
birth, death year
1786 , 1868
first, last year in records
1771, 1866
confidence level
confirmed identity
freed status (year freed)
unknown (1786)
enslaver(s)
location(s)
Amherst, MA   Deerfield, MA   Whately, MA  
place of origin

Bio

Melita was born in either Deerfield or Whately, Massachusetts, to Charles and Rachel Paine. She married Amos Newport shortly after Dec. 6, 1806, in South Deerfield. By 1846, she had left him and bought a house and orchard on Northampton Rd. in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was the first African American to own land or a home in Amherst and her home stayed in the Newport family for 160 years. Melita filed for divorce in 1856, and was described as a widow in the 1860 census, although Amos was still alive. She conveyed her property to her son, Joseph Wells Newport, in 1861 and sold him the remainder of the property and the house in 1865. She married Spencer Brown of Amherst on Sept. 23, 1866. Melita is buried in the West Cemetery in Amherst.

Primary Source Entries for Melita Paine Newport

Entry Source Vol Name Date entry id
• Pain, Melita, d. of Charles and Rachel, Aug. 8, 1786. Negro. Deerfield Vital Records to 1850 Births 1786 Aug 8 1463
• Paine, Metita and Amos Newport of Hat. 12/6/1806 Deerfield Vital Records to 1850 Marriages 1806 Dec 6 1477
• 108. AMOS3 NEWPORT (Peter2, Amos1), born about 1771 in Hatfield, was a laborer there and bought an acre of land in 1805 and sixmore acres in 1806. Amos Newport married MELITA PAINE shortly after 6 December 1806 at South Deerfield. Melita was born about Smith, James Avery. History of the Black Population of Amherst 1728-1870 1728-1870 1771 1578
• 25.... Spencer Brown was listed as a laborer at Amherst in 1866. He married, second, on 23 September 1866 at Amherst, MELITA PAINE, [108] who was born about 1788 in Whately. Melita was the widow of AMOS NEWPORT [108] when she remarried in 1866. She died Smith, James Avery. History of the Black Population of Amherst 1728-1870 1728-1870 1866 1590

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