| Author |
Monmouth County (N.J.). County Clerk |
| Title |
Manumission Records, 1791-1844 |
| Physical Details |
1 cubic foot |
Forms part of the repository's County Clerk's Office subgroup. Deeds of manumission (1808-1844); and manumissions recorded in Miscellaneous Book C (1815-1835) and Book D (1832-1850) containing 374 manumission deeds or freedom papers recorded in the Monmouth County, N.J., court books, reflecting New Jersey's legal abolition of slavery. Includes one deed of manumission on file, that of Samuel Baily, freed by C. Hendrickson in 1835 which was not recorded in either manumission book.
Transferred to the repository by Jane G. Clayton, Monmouth County Clerk. Finding aid in the repository. Deeds of manumission and manumission books (with the exception of the Baily deed) published in Manumission Book of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 1791-1844, by George H. Moss, Jr., editor, and Ellen Thorne Morris, compiler (1992). The repository also has microfilm of the collection available for public use; together with microfilm of Miscellaneous Book B and C, containing about 100 slave manumissions (the originals of which have been lost).
| OTHER AUTHORS: |
Monmouth County (N.J.). County Clerk |
| SUBJECTS: |
Slaves--New Jersey--Monmouth County--
Emancipation |
| Slaveholders--New Jersey--Monmouth County |
| Baily, Samuel |
| Hendrickson, C. |
| Monmouth County (N.J.)--Politics and government |
Afro-Americans--New Jersey--Monmouth County
History--To 1863 |
| County government--New Jersey--Records and correspondence |
| GENRE OR FORM: |
Slave records--New Jersey--Monmouth County |
| RECORD GROUP: |
COUN1700 |
| SUBGROUP: |
County Clerks Office |
| SERIES: |
Manumission Records |
| DATES: |
1791 - 1844 |
| VOLUME: |
1 cubic foot |
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The record group consists of:
1. Deed of Manumissions (1804-1844). [169 leaves, usually one leaf per slave;
also five lists of slaves, 1771]
2. Manumission Books: Book C (133 manumission, 1815-1835); and
Book D (41 manumissions, 1832-1850)
The Manumission Books include both copies of the deeds of manumission and
the certificates of examination by two overseers of the poor and two justices
of the peace, attesting that the slave was of sound mind and body, and between
the ages of twenty and forty.
At least one deed of manumission on file, that of Samuel Baily, freed by C.
Hendrickson in 1835, was not recorded in either Manumission Book C or D.
In addition to the above records in series 1700, the Archives also holds other
records of slave manumissions in the same time period. Miscellaneous Book B
(1791-1815) and Miscellaneous Book C (1817-1833) contain about one hundred
slave manumissions not found in the deeds or Manumission Books. Slave manumission
records before 1791 are scattered in a variety of court records and other documents
in the Monmouth County Archives.
The Deeds of Manumission, the Manumission Books C and D, and the Miscellaneous
Books B and C provide information concerning 374 manumissions, of which 373,
excepting Baily, were published in Manumission Book of Monmouth County, New
Jersey 1791-1844 by George H. Moss, Jr., editor and Ellen Thorne Morris, compiler
(1991). Additional information regarding these records may be found in Morris’ introduction
to the aforementioned compilation.
USE
Copies of the original deeds of manumission, covering the period 1808-1844,
are available for use on microfilm (one roll). The documents are arranged
in chronological order by date filed in the County Clerk’s Office.
The original Manumission Books are available on one roll of microfilm. Miscellaneous
Books B and C, discussed in the Scope and Content note above, also are available
on one microfilm roll; the original of Book C is lost.
June 1994; rev. Feb 2007
Wpdocs/findingaid/manumission
Page Last Updated: 7/7/2007 12:00:00 AM