Items

• Joseph Annin

  Joseph Annin was an enslaver who resided in Somerset County, NJ, in the early 19th century. He was associated with the area of Bernards Township.
• Hezekiah Goodfellow (d. c. 1825)

  Hezekiah Goodfellow was an enslaver who resided in New Jersey, probably in Piscataway. He died in 1825 or earlier. James Gilman of Piscataway was appointed administrator of Goodfellow's estate.
• Jane Covert (previously Harris) (1757-1841)

  Jane was the wife of James Harris. The family is associated with Piscataway, Middlesex County, and Bound Brook, Somerset County; they were members of the Presbyterian Church at Bound Brook. The Harris family were enslavers, with at least two enslaved persons in the household at the time of James Harris's death. Jane was one of the executors of James Harris's will when he died in 1813 (see related 1816 manumission event for Mary). Jane then married her second husband Luke Covert and became Jane Covert.
• Austin Davis Blackwell (1794-1878)

  Austin Davis Blackwell was an enslaver who resided in Mapletown in South Brunswick Township, NJ. He was the son of Thomas Blackwell (1741-1825). He signed a manumission deed for Black man named Samuel in 1824 as an agent on his father's behalf. Additionally, in 1830, several years after his father's death, Austin reported to the Middlesex County Clerk that a Black woman named Jane had given birth to 6 children between 1809 and 1817 in the Blackwell household. From these birth records, it can be inferred that Jane and her children were enslaved by Thomas Blackwell during Thomas's lifetime and then by Austin Davis Blackwell after 1825.
• Jonathan Dayton

  Jonathan Dayton was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• James Neilson (c. 1700-1783)

  James Neilson immigrated from Ireland circa 1716 to Perth Amboy and then moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he established himself as one of the area's most prominent merchants. He was the owner of several vessels that traded between Europe and America. Although the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was not his main business, shipping records indicate that he participated in bringing captives to New Jersey. Records in the Slave Voyages Intra-American Slave Trade database show that his schooner called New Brunswick brought enslaved persons for sale from Rhode Island to Perth Amboy on at least three occasions between 1747 and 1751, each time carrying several enslaved persons, plus cargo of rum and sugar (presumably from the Caribbean). James Neilson was the brother of physician John Neilson (1717-1745), who also immigrated from Ireland to New Jersey. After his brother's untimely death in 1745, James Neilson adopted his brother's infant son John Neilson Jr (1745-1833), raised the boy to go into the family mercantile business, and made John Jr his heir. The nephew John Jr would go on to become a Revolutionary War commander in New Jersey (known locally as Colonel John Neilson) and a long-time trustee and benefactor of Rutgers University (originally Queen's College).
• John Neilson (1775-1857)

  Doctor John Neilson was the son of Colonel John Neilson (1745-1833) and Catherine Schuyler Voorhees Neilson, and the older brother of James Neilson (1784–1862). He was born in New Brunswick, NJ, into a slaveholding family. His father and brother James were long-time trustees and major donors to Rutgers University (originally Queen's College). John Neilson moved to New York City by the late 18th century and practiced medicine there for many years. The 1810 U.S. census for New York lists 1 enslaved person in his household at that time. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in New Brunswick.
• George T. McDowell

  George T. McDowell was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• William I. Tindall (1782-1859)

  William I. Tindall, son of John Tindall and Amy Hammell Tindall, was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor, NJ, in the early 19th century. He was a farmer. He is not to be confused with his uncle William Tindall (1745–1816) and cousin (uncle William's son) William Tindall Jr. (1784–1877).
• Mary Edgar

  Mary Edgar was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ. She was the wife of James Edgar.
• Elizabeth Knapp Edgar (1753-1820)

  Elizabeth Edgar née Knapp was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ. She was the wife of Thomas Edgar who, in his will, bequeathed to Elizabeth two enslaved women named Jenny and Dinah.
• Thomas Edgar (1746-1812)

  Thomas Edgar was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ. He was the son of Alexander Edgar and Mary Smith Edgar. He was one of the executors of the will of William Stone (1700-1788) and, on behalf of the estate of William Stone, he obtained a certificate of manumission for a Black man named Cato Stone in 1801.
• Court Voorhees

  Court Voorhees was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Joseph Cottrell

  Joseph Cottrell was an enslaver who resided in South Amboy, NJ.
• John C. Schenck

  John C. Schenck was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor. He also served as the Overseer of the Poor of West Windsor in the 1810s. In this official capacity, he issued manumission certificates for residents of West Windsor whose enslavers agreed to set them free.
• John I. Craig

  John I. Craig was an enslaver who resided in Princeton, West Windsor Township, NJ, in the early 19th century. He was a farmer. Craig was the owner of Prospect Farm at the head of College Lane, which he purchased in 1804 from Col. George Morgan. (Prospect Farm now forms a central part of Princeton University's campus.) Craig was one of the original incorporators of the Princeton and Kingston Branch Turnpike Company in 1807.
• Gertrude Parker (née Skinner) (1739-1811)

  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.
• James Parker Sr. (1725-1797)

  James Parker Sr. (1725–1797) was a wealthy enslaver who lived in New Jersey. After his death in 1797, his family donated land from the Parker estate to Rutgers University (then called Queen's College). 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. --- The following biographical note was created by the New Jersey Historical Society, which holds several manuscript collections pertaining to the Parker family: James Parker (1725-1797), the son of Janet Johnstone (d.1741) and John Parker (1693-1732), served in the colonial military as a young man. Some time after 1746, he left the army and partnered with Beverly Robinson and Andrew Johnston in a mercantile business. The company traded with the West Indies and in 1750-1751, Parker traveled to Jamaica for business reasons. Soon after this trip he settled in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to manage the family estate, which included the mansion known as “The Castle.” He married Gertrude Skinner (d.1811), the sister of Cortlandt Skinner (1727-1799), and with her started a family. Parker served in a number of different capacities throughout his lifetime. He was an agent for the East Jersey Proprietors; an agent for the Hunterdon and Sussex County properties of Sir Robert Barker, an absentee landlord; a lawyer; a councilor under Governor William Franklin (1764-1775); and mayor of Perth Amboy (1771). In 1775, he declined the appointment as one of Perth Amboy’s delegates to the Provincial Congress, choosing instead to stay neutral during the escalating conflict. Though he had loyalist connections and sympathies, he remained neutral and moved his family to the farm he called “Shipley” in Bethlehem (now Union), Hunterdon County, New Jersey. In November of 1777, James Parker and two others were taken as loyalist hostages to ensure the safety of patriot captives. Parker was soon allowed to return to his family at “Shipley,” where they remained until the end of the war. In 1783, the Parkers moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey for two years before returning to the family home in Perth Amboy. James Parker died on October 4, 1797, leaving his son, James (1776-1868), to manage the remaining family lands.
• Asher Still

  Asher Still was an enslaver in New Jersey in the early 19th century. He likely resided in or around the area of Woodbridge, Middlesex County.
• James Edgar (1748-1815)

  James Edgar was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey. He was a farmer, substantial landholder, and owner of salt marshes.
• Jacob Van Dike

  Jacob Van Dike was an enslaver who resided in Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the early 19th century. Records from 1804/1805 list him as a resident of Ten Mile Run, and records from 1812 list him as a resident of West Windsor. Not to be confused with Jacob Van Dike (1732–1803), whose papers have been preserved as part of the collection called Van Dike Family Papers, 1711–1838 (MC 505) at Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives.
• Abraham Dunham (1750-1826)

  Abraham Dunham was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ.
• Jonathan Randolph Dunham (1780-1844)

  Jonathan R. Dunham was an enslaver born in Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey. He was the son of Abraham Dunham and Sarah Dunham (née Fitz Randolph). He served as a captain in the War of 1812 and worked as a tanner, banker, and shoe manufacturer in Middlesex County.
• Abraham I. Gulick

  Abraham I. Gulick was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Syche Van Anglen (née Suydam)

  Syche Van Anglen née Suydam was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century. She was the wife of Cornelius Van Anglen (c. 1769-1822), and they were married in New Brunswick in 1798. In 1825, about three years after the death of her husband, she manumitted an enslaved man named John or Jack.
• Garret Voorhees

  Garret Voorhees was an enslaver who resided in South Amboy, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• John Clark Noe

  John Clark Noe was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• James Harris (1755-1813)

  James Harris (1755-1813) was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ. He was married to a woman named Jane. In addition to Piscataway, the family is also associated with Bound Brook, Somerset County; they were members of the Presbyterian Church at Bound Brook. The Harris family were enslavers, with at least two enslaved persons in the household at the time of James Harris's death. James Harris's will, written in May 1813, about three months before his death, mentioned a Black woman named Mary and her daughter Bet. Harris wished for Mary and Bet to be set free after his death. His wife Jane and friend Lefferd Waldron Sr were the executors of his will.
• George Brown

  George Brown was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Sarah Ball

  Sarah Ball was a Black woman who resided in North Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the early 19th century. Her exact date and place of birth is uncertain. Information about her life comes from the manumission documents she signed to free her daughter Hannah in 1822. Sarah Ball was enslaved at the time of the birth of her daughter Hannah, and thus Hannah was born into slavery. The name of Sarah Ball's enslaver is uncertain and is not mentioned in the documents from 1822. Sometime after giving birth to Hannah, Sarah Ball gained freedom. She then went on to purchase Hannah from her former enslaver. For some time (probably years), Hannah was legally considered her mother's slave, but she lived much like a free person and married a free man of color named John Allen. On February 19, 1822, Sarah Ball completed the legal process required to officially manumit her daughter, obtaining a certificate of manumission from county officials and executing a deed of manumission for Hannah.
• John Giles

  John Giles was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Daniel Brunson

  Daniel Brunson was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Jacob Parker

  Jacob Parker was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Robert Karson

  Robert Karson was an enslaver who resided in East Windsor, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• John R. Van Liew (1791-1838)

  John R. Van Liew was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Robert R. Ross

  Robert R. Ross was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Lewis D. Stelle

  Lewis D. Stelle was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• James Martin

  James Martin was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Lawrence McCombs

  Lawrence McCombs was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• John D. Jaques

  John D. Jacques was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• George Morris

  George Morris was an enslaver whose name appears in Middlesex County records in the early 19th century associated with the township of South Brunswick, NJ.
• David Cotheal

  David Cotheal was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century. In 1823 he, jointly with Henry Cotheal, manumitted a Black woman named Ann.
• Henry Cotheal

  Henry Cotheal was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century. In 1823 he, jointly with David Cotheal, manumitted a Black woman named Ann.
• Peter Vredenburgh (Petrus Benedict Van Vredenburgh Jr.) (1745-1823)

  Petrus Benedict Van Vredenburgh Jr. (1745-1823) was an enslaver who resided in New Brunswick, NJ. He was named after his father and then eventually Anglicized his name to Peter Vredenburgh, and historical records may use both versions of the name to refer to him. He was the last in the family to use the Dutch name. He was the son of Petrus Benedict Van Vredenburgh (1721-1810) and Margaret (or Margrita) Schureman (1726-1745), who died shortly after Petrus was born; he was raised by his father's second wife Elizabeth Fisher after his mother's death. He was a civic leader in New Brunswick and served for decades as the Treasurer of Middlesex County. He was also a Trustee of Queen's College (later Rutgers University) from 1784 until his death in 1823, following in the footsteps of his father, who was also a trustee of the college. He married a cousin named Margaret (or Margrita) Schureman (1752-1786) (not to be confused with his mother of the same name) and then, after her death, his second wife was Ann Van Voorhees. He mentioned two enslaved persons in his will, Tom and Margaret, whom he wished to manumit. He made Peter Vrendenburgh (his son) and James Schureman (the brother of his first wife and his son Peter's uncle) the executors of his will.
• Charles Smith

  Charles Smith was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century. He was a physician.
• Joseph Grover

  Joseph Grover was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Thomas Moore

  Thomas Moore was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Abraham Nevins

  Abraham Nevins was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Hannah Mershon (née Perrine) (1773-1843)

  Hannah Mershon née Perrine was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ. She was the wife and executrix of the will of Robert Mershon.
• Robert Mershon (1746-1814)

  Robert Mershon was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ.
• William Letson

  William Letson was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Joseph Stout

  Joseph Stout was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Elijah Davis

  Elijah Davis was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• George Y. Brewster

  George Y. Brewster was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Marmaduke Hunt (1735-1814)

  Marmaduke Hunt was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ. He was a Quaker.
• Robert Lee

  Robert Lee was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• James R. McChesney

  James R. McChesney was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Bernard Smith

  Bernard Smith, Esquire, was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• John T. McDowell

  John T. McDowell was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• George McDowell

  George McDowell was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Nathaniel Britton

  Nathaniel Britton was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Samuel Dunn

  Samuel Dunn was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• William L. Dey

  William L. Dey was an enslaver who resided in South Amboy, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Mary Groom

  Mary Groom was an enslaver who resided in South Amboy, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Frederick Buckalew

  Frederick Buckelew was an enslaver who resided in South Amboy, NJ.
• Margaret Haines

  Margaret Haines was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Benjamin Davids

  Benjamin Davids was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Sarah Voorhees

  Sarah Voorhees was an enslaver who resided in the City of New Brunswick in North Brunswick Township, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• John Rattoone (1744-1823)

  John Rattoone was an enslaver who resided in Perth Amboy, NJ. He was a tavern keeper. He was known for being a spy for the British during the Revolutionary War.
• Mary Clarkson

  Mary Clarkson was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Sarah Goelet

  Sarah Goelet was an enslaver who resided in Perth Amboy, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Peter Noe (1750-1819)

  Peter Noe was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Peter I. Bergen

  Peter I. Bergen was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Samuel Edgar (1788-1831)

  Samuel Edgar was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ.
• Peter Runyon Jr.

  Peter Runyon Jr. was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Ezekiel Kinnan

  Ezekiel Kinnan was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• James Smith

  James Smith was an enslaver who resided in Middlesex County, NJ, in the early 19th century. In 1817, he sold an enslaved young man named Ben to Jacob Klady of New Brunswick. Smith then obtained authorization from county officials allowing Klady to take Ben away from New Jersey to Klady's new plantation in Louisiana. The exact locality of James Smith's residence in Middlesex County is not noted on the documents related to Ben, and it is uncertain whether Smith was also a resident of New Brunswick like Klady.
• Isaac Lawrence

  Isaac Lawrence was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• George H. Stout

  George H. Stout was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Abraham S. Barkelew (d. 1818)

  Abraham S. Barkelew was an enslaver and yeoman who resided in North Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century. His family was associated with the area of North Brunswick Township known today as South River. His family name is variously spelled as Barkelew or Buckelew in historical records.
• Ezekiel Smith Jr. (1784-1826)

  Ezekiel Smith Jr. (1784-1826) was the son and executor of the will of Ezekiel Smith Sr. (1736-1804) of West Windsor, NJ. He was one of the chief heirs of his father's estate and inherited an enslaved man from his father. Smith was part of a Quaker family associated with the early history of Princeton. He is buried in the Stony Brook Quaker Meeting House Burial Ground in Princeton.
• Ezekiel Smith Sr. (1736-1804)

  Ezekiel Smith (1736-1804) was an enslaver who resided in West Windsor, NJ. He was part of a Quaker family associated with the early history of Princeton. He is buried in the Stony Brook Quaker Meeting House Burial Ground in Princeton. Smith mentioned several enslaved persons in his will, which he wrote on March 20, 1804, several months before his death. The executors of his will were his son Ezekiel Smith Jr. and friend George Bullock. They were responsible for manumitting enslaved persons named in Smith's will years after his decease.
• David Clarkson

  David Clarkson was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Ann Parker

  Middlesex County records contain several birth certificates and manumission certificates for an enslaver named Ann Parker, who was listed as a widow and dowager in the 1810s, residing in the City of New Brunswick within North Brunswick Township. These county records likely refer to Ann Parker née Lawrence (daughter of John Lawrence), the wife of John Parker (1763–1801). By marriage to John Parker, she was related to the prominent Parker family of Perth Amboy: she was the sister-in-law of U.S. Congressman and Rutgers University benefactor James Parker Jr. (1776-1868), and the daughter-in-law of James Parker Sr. (1725–1797) and Gertrude Parker née Skinner (1739-1811).
• Hezekiah Smith

  Hezekiah Smith was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Phineas Mundy

  Phineas Mundy was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ.
• William Cafferty

  William Cafferty was an enslaver who resided in East Windsor, NJ.
• Joseph Stelle

  Joseph Stelle was an enslaver who resided in Piscataway, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• John Dayton

  John Dayton was a resident of Middlesex County, New Jersey. He served as the Overseer of the Poor of Piscataway in the early 19th century. In this official capacity, he issued manumission certificates for residents of Piscataway whose enslavers agreed to set them free.
• Anna Smith

  Anna Smith was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ.
• Jemima Smith

  Jemima Smith was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, NJ.
• John Guild

  John Guild was an enslaver who resided in North Brunswick, NJ.
• Dowe Ditmars Williamson (1789-1869)

  Dowe D. Williamson (1789-1869) was an enslaver who resided in New Brunswick (then part of North Brunswick Township), Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the early 19th century. He was born in Neshanic, Somerset County. He established an iron and lumber business in New Brunswick on Burnet Street in the 1810s together with David Abeel. He later moved to New York where he became a prominent business man, railroad investor, and bank president.
• James Morgan (1756-1822)

  James Morgan was an enslaver who resided in South Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the area that is now Sayreville. He served as a U.S. Congressman from New Jersey in 1811-1813. He was the brother of Charles Morgan and brother-in-law of Judge Jacob Van Wickle (via Van Wickle's marriage to James Morgan's sister Sarah Morgan), who were the leaders of a notorious slave trading ring that facilitated human trafficking from New Jersey to Louisiana and Mississippi. James Morgan was connected with the slave trading ring as well. A Black man named Simon, who was enslaved by James Morgan, became one of the victims of the slave trading ring. Morgan obtained a manumission certificate for Simon in February 1818, then immediately allowed his brother Charles Morgan to take Simon to Louisiana to toil in bondage there.
• John Scott

  John Scott was an enslaver who resided in South Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.
• James Paton

  James Paton was an enslaver who resided in Woodbridge, NJ.
• Anna Covenhoven

  Anna Covenhoven was an enslaver who resided in South Amboy, NJ, in the early 19th century.
• Edward Dunant (1764-1813)

  Edward Dunant (1764–1813) was a wealthy merchant in Philadelphia.
• Jacob Abel

  Jacob Abel was an enslaver who resided in Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
• Mr. Reausseau

  Mr. Reausseau (whose first name is unknown) was an enslaver in New York. He came to New York from Jeremie in St. Domingo (present-day Haiti).