1814, Patty, Manumission
- Title
- 1814, Patty, Manumission
- Description
-
Patty, aged 39, was manumitted by John Croes D.D., of North Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey. (The Reverend John Croes was the rector of Christ Church in New Brunswick at this time and would be elected first Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey the following year.) At age 39, Patty was on the brink of aging out of the possibility of manumission. New Jersey law held that enslaved persons aged 40 and above were too old to earn a livelihood on their own and were at a high risk of becoming paupers; thus the law held that they should be supported by the enslaver in their old age and could not be manumitted and sent away from the household where they had toiled for decades.
The certificate of manumission for Patty was signed by the Overseer of the Poor of North Brunswick (Moses Guest) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Thomas Hance and Asa Runyon) on April 22, 1814. The document stated that Patty was examined in court and met the eligibility requirements for manumission in New Jersey, i.e. the person was 21 to 40 years old and was "sound in mind and not under any bodily incapacity" of obtaining a livelihood. The deed of manumission was signed on April 22, 1814, by John Croes. These documents were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) four and a half years later on October 6, 1820. - Identifier
- NJS-EVE-00558
- Action Status
- https://www.onthesegrounds.org/s/OTG/item/546
- Date
- April 22, 1814
- Source
- Manumission of Patty (certificate dated 1814-04-22, deed dated 1814-04-22), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 328-339. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
- Primary Participant
- Patty (b. 1775)
- Primary Participant Description
- female slave named Patty
- Freedom Status
- https://www.onthesegrounds.org/s/OTG/item/555
- Enslaver
-
John Croes (1762-1832)
- Age
- Adult
- 39
- Source Resource
- https://records.njslavery.org/api/items/3514
- Source Site
- https://records.njslavery.org/s/doc/page/home
- Sex
- Female
- Contributor
- Isaac Guzmán
- Jesse Bayker
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