Charles Francello Lewis
Charles Francello Lewis was born in 1857 in Thompson, Connecticut to Stephen Lewis, a stonemason, and Nancy Curlis Lewis, a woman of African and Native descent whose family was rooted in the Nipmuc Nation. Charles Lewis’ family was committed to radical abolition. During the Civil War, both Lewis’ father and brother served in the 29th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, a regiment composed of African American, Afro-Native, and Native men from across southern New England.
Lewis enrolled in 1876 at Tufts College and was among the first students of Native heritage to attend the school. He studied Latin and Mathematics at Tufts and roomed with Charles Sumner Wilson.
After one year of attendance at Tufts, Charles Francello Lewis returned to Connecticut where he died of infection in 1879 at the age of 22.
Organized during the spring of 1864, the 29th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers was one of several Black regiments raised in New England during the Civil War. Composed of African American, Afro-Native, and Native men, the 29th Regiment served with distinction in South Carolina and Virginia, where it had the honor of being one of the first Union regiments to enter Richmond after its capture. Charles Francello Lewis’ father and brother served with the regiment.
Built in 1856, Middle Hall was the first building built to serve as a dormitory at Tufts College. In 1876, Charles Sumner Wilson and Charles Francello Lewis, believed to be the only students of color in attendance at the time, lived on the building’s first floor. Today known as Packard Hall, the building houses the Political Science Department.