Bell was a Black woman who was enslaved by William Livingston (New Jersey's first governor after the Revolution and namesake of Livingston College at Rutgers University). She lived with the Livingston family in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Bell gained freedom in October 1787 when William Livingston manumitted her together with her son Lambert. The manumission document mentioned that she was born in the Livingston family "in a state of slavery." She was most likely born in New York State where Livingston lived until 1772 before he moved to Elizabeth.
Ben was born around 1799 and was enslaved by James Smith of Middlesex County, NJ. In 1817, James Smith sold Ben to a man named Jacob Klady who took Ben away from New Jersey to Klady's plantation in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. Ben was 18 years old at this time.
Benjamin was an enslaved man, born around 1794, who was manumitted by Robert Boggs of North Brunswick, NJ. The certificate of manumission was issued on July 27, 1822. The deed of manumission was executed on the same day. Benjamin was aged 28 at the time of manumission.
Benjamin Taylor was a marine captain who resided in New Brunswick, NJ, in the 1810s. Taylor was the enslaver of a man named Mark Harris. Taylor sold Mark Harris to James Neilson in 1816.
Betsey (also known as Eve) was an enslaved woman, born around 1789, who was manumitted by Robert Boggs of North Brunswick, NJ. The certificate of manumission was issued on March 29, 1823. The deed of manumission was executed on the same day. Betsey was aged 34 at the time of manumission.
Cato was an enslaved man, born around 1789. He was
enslaved by Elijah Hunt, who was associated with South Brunswick and North Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ.
On September 11, 1810, Elijah Hunt signed a legal agreement promising to manumit Cato after 9 years of service from the date of the agreement.
Elijah Hunt died in 1818, less than a year before Cato was due to be manumitted. On December 13, 1819, the executors of Elijah Hunt's estate, Abraham Van Arsdalen and William P. Deare, completed the manumission process in pursuance of the covenant that Hunt had made with Cato during his lifetime. Cato was aged 30 when he became a free man.
Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808) was the son of Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. (1729-1799). He was the nephew of Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (1736-1790), the first president of Queen's College (later Rutgers).
Upon the death of his father in 1799, Charles Hardenbergh inherited much of his father's estate in Swartekill (near present-day Rifton), a hamlet in Hurley, Ulster County, New York. This estate included Sojourner Truth (who was then an infant known by the name Isabella) and her parents James and Betsey Baumfree.
After Charles Hardenbergh died in 1808, Sojourner Truth and her mother Betsey were both listed as part of his estate inventory, and Sojourner Truth was soon sold as part of the process of settling the estate.
Clara was a woman of African descent who was born in New Brunswick, NJ, on September 14, 1812, to parents Ambo and Mark Harris Sr. Clara's parents were both enslaved at the time of Clara's birth, but Ambo would eventually become free when enslaver John Neilson manumitted her.
Clara's birth was reported to the Middlesex County Clerk by enslaver John Neilson, who was the legal owner of her mother Ambo. Under New Jersey's gradual abolition law, Clara was considered a "slave for a term" of 21 years, and she was bound to serve John Neilson and his heirs until the year 1833 when she would become eligible for emancipation.
Clara was the oldest of Ambo and Mark Harris Sr.'s four children. Her younger siblings were Ann, Eliza, and Mark Jr.
The Rev. Cornelius C. Vermeule was a Dutch Reformed minister and the son of Revolutionary War Captain Cornelius Vermeule Jr. (1757-1824). He graduated from Queen's College (later Rutgers University) in 1812. After receiving his degree, he served as a tutor at Queen's in 1812-1814, and was the professor of languages in 1814-1815. He then left New Brunswick and became the pastor of the Harlem Reformed Church in 1816.
He was an enslaver. During the time when he taught at Queen's College, he sold a Black man named Prince to John Neilson.
He was the first cousin of Dr. John Vermeule whose house in Green Brook Township is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Cortlandt Lewis Parker was an enslaver who resided in Perth Amboy, NJ. His parents were James Parker Sr. (1725-1797) and Gertrude Parker née Skinner (1739-1811), and his brother was James Parker Jr. (1776-1868) who donated land to Rutgers University (then Queen's College) to build the school's original campus in New Brunswick.
Dick was an enslaved young man who ran away from his enslaver, named Alpheus Freeman, in New Brunswick, NJ, in August 1807. He was about 17 or 18 years old when he ran away to seek freedom.
Dinah was an enslaved woman who lived in New Jersey in the early 19th century and was manumitted by Abraham Schuyler Neilson of North Brunswick, NJ. The certificate of manumission was issued on June 25, 1823. Dinah was aged 21 to 40 at the time of manumission.
Dinah was born around 1795 and lived in New Brunswick, NJ. She was enslaved by Doctor William Van Deursen, a physician in New Brunswick and a graduate of Queen's College (now Rutgers University). In 1817, William Van Deursen sold Dinah to a man named Jacob Klady, a New Jersey landholder who was getting ready to move to Ouachita Parish in Louisiana to establish a plantation. Klady took Dinah to Louisiana with him.
Before Klady was allowed to take Dinah out of the State of New Jersey, Dinah had to appear in court and give her consent to move with Klady. It appears that Dinah used this as an opportunity to negotiate with Klady for her freedom before giving her consent. According to Dinah's removal certificate issued by the Court of Common Pleas of Middlesex County in 1817, Klady promised to manumit Dinah if she served him obediently for 15 years in Louisiana. Dinah's fate after moving to Louisiana is uncertain.
Dine was a Black woman who was enslaved by the Rev. Joseph Clark, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick, NJ. She was born around 1797, as inferred from an 1814 slave sale advertisement that mentions her age. She was sold by the executors of Joseph Clark's estate in 1815, when she was approximately 18 years old, to George Farmer.
Eliza was a woman of African descent who was born in New Brunswick, NJ, on July 2, 1816, to parents Ambo and Mark Harris Sr. Eliza's parents were both enslaved at the time of her birth, but Ambo would eventually become free when enslaver John Neilson manumitted her.
Eliza's birth was reported to the Middlesex County Clerk by enslaver John Neilson, who was the legal owner of her mother Ambo. Under New Jersey's gradual abolition law, Eliza was considered a "slave for a term" of 21 years, and she was bound to serve John Neilson and his heirs until the year 1837 when she would become eligible for emancipation.
Eliza was the third child of Ambo and Mark Harris Sr. Her older sisters were Clara and Ann, and her younger brother was Mark Jr.
Elizabeth was a Black woman who lived in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the early 19th century. She was enslaved by John Powers. She was sold to James Neilson in January 1815.
Ferdinand Schureman Schenck was born in Millstone, Somerset County, New Jersey, in 1790. He attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York (Columbia University) and set up a medical practice at Six Mile Run (now Franklin Park, NJ) after graduating in 1814. As part of his medical practice, he sometimes provided medical treatment for enslaved people in the area.
He was also a politician and served as a U.S. Congressman from 1833 to 1837. He was a Rutgers trustee from 1841 until his death in 1860.
The Ferdinand Schureman Schenck Papers are housed at Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries (call number MC 1095).
The First Presbyterian Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey, was organized in 1726.
Archival records from the church from the early 19th century contain records of marriages of enslaved and free people of African descent recorded by the Rev. Joseph Clark D.D. These archival records have been preserved by the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia as part of the collection called Records of the First and Second Presbyterian Churches, New Brunswick, New Jersey (Call number: 07 0525). For Rev. Clark's records, see Volume 14: Church register, 1790–1867, including baptisms and marriages, 1797–1869; Subsection: Record of Marriages and Baptisms kept by Rev. Joseph Clark D.D. Pastor from January 1, 1797 to October 18, 1813 (pp. 218–226).
Flora was a woman of African descent born in the 18th century, likely about the 1760s. In January 1787, Flora's enslaver Anthony L. Bleecker of New York City sold Flora together with her young daughters Phillis and Ann to John Neilson of New Brunswick, NJ. Her date of birth and age are unknown.
Captain George Farmer (1761-1818) was an enslaver who lived in Middlesex County. He was a soldier in the American Revolution. His father was Peter Farmer (1743-1805), his grandfather was wealthy slave trader Jasper Farmer (1707-1758), and his great-grandfather was the first mayor of New Brunswick Thomas Farmer (1675-1752).
George Farmer owned a farm of 300 acres on the Raritan River opposite of New Brunswick. He referred to his home as Belle Vue. After he died in 1818, his estate was liquidated to pay his debts, and a group of Black children, women, and men who had toiled at his estate were auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Shortly before his death, he sold a young Black woman named Hannah Grene to an enslaver who would take her down south to Virginia. His name also appears in a number of local newspaper items related to slavery.
Gertrude Parker (1739–1811) was an enslaver who resided in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. She was the daughter of William Skinner and Elizabeth van Cortland and the wife of James Parker Sr. (1725–1797). Together with her son James Parker Jr., she donated land to Rutgers University (then Queen's College) from the Parker estate in the early 19th century. The nucleus of Rutgers-New Brunswick’s historical campus (with Old Queens, Winants Hall, and Kirkpatrick Chapel) is located on the land donated by the Parkers.
Grace was a Black woman who was enslaved by the Rev. Joseph Clark, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick, NJ. She was born around 1790, as inferred from an 1814 slave sale advertisement that mentions her age. She gave birth to a son named George in 1806. She was sold by the executors of Joseph Clark's estate in 1814, when she was 24 or 25 years old, to a man identified as Mr. Linn.
Hannah was a woman of African descent who was enslaved by Abraham Dumont of North Branch, Somerset County, NJ. She and her son Harry were sold by Abraham Dumont to Robert Boggs of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ, circa 1829.
