"Historical Outline of the Landing of Afro-Americans Immigrants on the Island of Santo Domingo" written by Rev. Nehemiah Willmore.
"The historical outlines of the landing of the Afro-American emigrants on the island of Santo Domingo is as follows: In the year 1822, President Peter Boyer, who ruled both countries, withich is Haiti and Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo being situated in the extreme eastern part of the country, and Haiti in the extreme northeastern piart of the country.
President Boyer's desire was to bring thousands of these colored people, as themselves, to this country to cultivate the land and plant crops of various kinds, principally cotton, sugar cane, tobacco and vegetables. These people were found at the time principally in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Jersey City and Maryland, etc. (We also want our readers to know that at this time the slave trade was not yet broken up as yet; but those who managed to make their escape from down south were well protected in these cities.
In the year 1822, President Boyer sent J. Granville to the U.S.A., who contacted on the 25th of May a colored emigration organization from Philadelphia and offered them the privilege of enjoying civil and political rights. And in the month of November, on the 29th of said month of the same year, six thousand colored emigrants parted on said date and another group on the 4th of December, and were sheltered in an old Convent, called "Las Mercedes", which they finally used as a Methodist Church; being the first group of Protestants to bring Protestantism to this country.
They were very unfortunate, because shortly after they arrived, they were hit with typhoid, which greatly diminished their number. Many of those who survived the fever became disgusted with the customs of the Haitians, which they considered to be a continual threat to their familes, and decided to return to America.
Those that remained, greatly distinguished themselves by their well organized families and society, as well as by thier good neighborly customs and treatment. They were given land to carryon their agricultural pursuits. Many of those who remained atSanto Domingo afterwards decided to come over to join their brethren at Samana, which finally proved to be the most progressive group and the only ones who had kept together and retained their original customs and language through intermarriages.
The land here at the time was very fertile, and yielded abundantlyi. And as the years went by, and they used to reap their big rice and corn fields, they got into the custom of making united gatherings to plant and reap these fields, and then to husk the corn and thresh the rice; and in all these gatherings they used to sing the old anthems that they brought with them from the United States, and this they kept up until abut 30-409 years ago when they finally dropped them; and that is because their work in all departments is greatly mixed with Spanish-speaking people with whom lots of them are also marrying."
Talking about the way English is spoken by many, he says, "The improper way in which most of our unlearned people in the U.S. spoke in former years can be detected in the most of them until now: just like the ones over there (such as: am guine, set down for sit; in place of for me to be able to do this, that, or the other they will say: for me te cin, my mame, my papey, her a said, we want to, and the light)."
There is an outstanding thread on this topic on DR1:
http://www.dr1.com/forums/dominicans...ns-samana.html
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