1798-02-22 Registration: French households with enslaved people in Nottingham
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-01997
- Source
-
Letter from George Anderson to Robert Smith: Report of Blacks in Nottingham
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Letter from George Anderson to Robert Smith: Report of Blacks in Nottingham, February 22, 1798. Archival location: Burlington County Historical Society. Abolition Collection (MSS 5). Box 1, Folder 1: Negroes Census Records.
- Event Description
-
George Anderson provided a report of free and enslaved Black people in Nottingham Township (present-day Hamilton and South Trenton area) to Robert Smith Jr of the New Jersey Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery in 1798. Anderson's letter gave the overall numbers of free, enslaved, and indentured people in the township, but did not list their names or the names of the enslavers.
The report noted that, of the 45 enslaved people of all ages in Nottingham, 21 "belong to the French." In this context, "French" refers primarily to French-speaking planters who relocated from Saint-Domingue (Haiti) to New Jersey during the Haitian Revolution and brought enslaved people with them from the Caribbean.
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Transcript of the source document:
"Trenton 22d Feby 1798
Friend Smith
yours of the 20th Respecting the Blacks in Nottingm
I duly recd and in Ansr thereto I mention —
1st That there is about forty five including all ages and
sexes in Slavery, of this number about Twenty one
belong to the French —
2d There is Seven families of Free Blacks amounting
in the whole to about Twenty five persons, They
are home keepers, but I believe own no land
They are all in low circumstances, but have hitherto
Supported fair Characters as to Honesty & Temperance
Some of them are so far advanced in age as to render
them in a great measure unable to Labour, some
Others are Reasonably industrious & frugal —
There are two servants under indenture one of
which has upwards of one year to serve the other
about five, They are men of abt. 30 years of
age, one has a free wife the other a slave, & has
several children, —
The slaves are some very old & some very young
the masters of some of the Males, complain that
they are too fond of Strong drink, Though I believe
they generally have behaved reasonably well
as far as I can judge from Report
I am with Sentiments of
Respect your frd &c
Geo. Anderson [signature]
Robt. Smith [recipient]
[verso]
Letter of G. Anderson
containing Report of
the Blacks in
Nottingham.
Mr. Robert Smith
Burlington
Hond. p r }
Mr Cox }" - Event Type
- Registration
- Date
- February 22, 1798
- Location of Event
- Nottingham
- Related Place
- Haiti
- Related Event
- 1798-02-22 Registration: English households with enslaved people in Nottingham
- 1798-02-22 Registration: free Black people in Nottingham
- 1798-02-22 Registration: 2 indentured men in Nottingham
- Primary Participants
-
21 people enslaved in French households
Role: Registered Person
Status: Enslaved
Verbatim description from source:
"including all ages and sexes in Slavery...about Twenty one belong to the French" - Additional Participants
-
George Anderson
Person identifier: NJS-PER-04842
Role: Reporter or Certifier
Comment: abolitionist who reported the information to the New Jersey Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
