Book of Manumissions, recorded by Samuel Allinson of Burlington
- Research Tips
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To browse all pages of the Book of Manumissions recorded by Samuel Allinson, go to this link.
- Identifier
- NJS-SRC-02821
- Source Type
- Freedom or Emancipation Certificate
- Author
- Samuel Allinson (1739-1791)
- Location Created
- Burlington
- Date
- 1771 – 1781
- Description
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This Book of Manumissions is a slim bound volume written in the hand of Quaker abolitionist Samuel Allinson of Burlington. The book contains handwritten copies of 37 manumission deeds, primarily from Burlington County, with a few records from Gloucester and Monmouth Counties.
Allinson made entries in the book from 1776 until 1781. However, two deeds included in the book were originally executed before 1776. The earliest document was executed in 1771. Each page in the book records one document, and the pages are numbered at the top, going through page 38. Note that Samuel Allinson accidentally skipped the number 20 in his page count, so the book skips from page 19 to page 21, and there are 37 records in total.
In 1981, with the support of the New Jersey Historical Commission, the Burlington County Historical Society published a booklet called Freedom Papers, 1776–1781, which contained black and white facsimiles of these manumission deeds and an informative introduction by Clement Alexander Price. Copies of this booklet are available at the Burlington County Historical Society.
In 2026, the New Jersey Slavery Records team collaborated with the Burlington County Historical Society to scan the Book of Manumissions as part of our effort to digitize the entire Abolition Collection (MSS 5). - Language
- English
- Format
- Bound notebook with soft cover, about 6.5 x 8 inches in size, half filled with handwritten manumission records and the remainder blank (37 pages filled)
- Archival Collection
- Abolition Collection (MSS 5)
- Archival Location
- Box 1, Folder 17
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Resource class
- Bibliographic Resource