George Farmer (1761-1818)

Name

George Farmer (1761-1818)

Identifier

NJS-PER-00483

Given Name

George

Family Name

Farmer

Birth Date

March 17, 1761

Death Date

October 7, 1818

Sex

Male

Description

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.

Relation

SBDA items for George Farmer

Same As

Capt George Farmer (Find a Grave)

Bibliographic Citation

Bayker, Jesse, Christopher Blakley, and Kendra Boyd. “His Name Was Will: Remembering Enslaved Individuals in Rutgers History.” In Scarlet and Black: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History, edited by MARISA J. FUENTES and DEBORAH GRAY WHITE, 58–81. Rutgers University Press, 2016. See pp. 74-75.

Source Resource

https://records.njslavery.org/api/items/2332

Source Site

https://records.njslavery.org/s/doc/page/home

Occupation

Military and Militia

Landowning

Child of

Peter Farmer (1743-1805)

Contributor

Isaac Guzmán

Jesse Bayker