Mark Harris Sr. (b. 1791)
- Research Tips
-
This person of African descent has 13 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
This person is related to Rutgers University history. See our research guide Rutgers University & Slavery for more information about finding university affiliates and archival sources in our database.
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-00014
- Given Name
- Mark
- Family Name
- Harris
- Alternate Name
- Harress
- Birth Date
- 1791
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
-
Mark Harris Sr. was a man of African descent born circa 1791 and a founding member of the African Association of New Brunswick.
Mark was married to an enslaved woman named Ambo on September 8, 1811, and they went on to have four children: Clara, Ann, Eliza, and Mark Jr. During the early part of their marriage, they most likely lived apart because Mark was enslaved by Benjamin Taylor, while Ambo was enslaved by John Neilson.
In 1816, James Neilson (the son of Ambo’s enslaver John Neilson) purchased Mark from Benjamin Taylor, and the Harris family was unified in the Neilson household. The bill of sale from October 15, 1816, described Mark as a "mulatto slave." As part of the slave sale contract, James Neilson promised to manumit Mark "at the expiration of five years from the date 12 March 1816." The mention of the 5-year term suggests that Mark probably entered into a 5-year agreement with Benjamin Taylor and was promised his freedom before he was sold to James Neilson. The 5-year term expired 1821, and James Neilson made good on his promise and manumitted Mark that year.
In January 1817, James Neilson gave Mark permission to join the African Association of New Brunswick. Mark's name appears in the organization's membership records from 1817 to 1821, sometimes written as "Mark Harris" and sometimes "Mark Harress." Notably, Mark consistently paid semiannual membership dues of 50 cents, which was the customary rate for free persons of color who were members of the organization (enslaved members usually paid the discounted rate of 25 cents). - Keywords
- African descent person
- Rutgers University history
- Places
- New Brunswick
- Organization
- African Association of New Brunswick
- Parent of
- Eliza Harris (b. 1816)
- Clara Harris (b. 1812)
- Ann Harris (b. 1814)
- Mark Harris Jr. (b. 1818)
- Spouse of
- Ambo Harris
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Events
-
Primary Participant in:
- 1811-09-08 Marriage: Mark Harris Sr., Ambo Harris (Role: Spouse)
- 1812-09-14 Birth: Clara Harris (Role: Parent)
- 1814-06-23 Birth: Ann Harris (Role: Parent)
- 1816-07-02 Birth: Eliza Harris (Role: Parent)
- 1816-10-15 Sale: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Sold Person)
- 1817-01-21 Membership or Participation: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Member)
- 1818-07-27 Birth: Mark Harris Jr. (Role: Parent)
- 1818-09-05 Membership or Participation: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Member)
- 1819-01-01 Membership or Participation: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Member)
- 1820-01-01 Membership or Participation: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Member)
- 1820-07-01 Membership or Participation: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Member)
- 1821-01-01 Membership or Participation: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Member)
- 1821-07-28 Manumission: Mark Harris Sr. (Role: Manumitted Person)
