Cornelius Van Horne (1693-1770)

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This white person has 2 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
Identifier
NJS-PER-00352
Given Name
Cornelius
Family Name
Van Horne
Alternate Name
Mr. Vanhorn
Birth Date
1693
Death Date
1770
Sex
Male
Occupation
Landowning
Biographical Description
Cornelius Van Horne (1693-1770) was born into a wealthy slave-trading family in New York. His father, Jan (or John) Van Horne (1669-1735), as well as his uncles Gerrit (1671-1737) and Abraham (1677-1741) and other family members, invested heavily in the slave trade. In the early 18th century, the family's ships transported captives between Africa and the Caribbean (primarily the islands of Barbados and Jamaica) and the ports of New York and Perth Amboy. Sometime in the 1720s, one of these ships brought the captive African named Ukawsaw Gronniosaw from Barbados to New York. Gronniosaw published his autobiography in England in the 1770s, where he made mention of "Vanhorn, a young Gentleman" who bought him from a slave-trading captain in Barbados and would eventually go on to sell him to the Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, a New Jersey minister.

Ryan Henley's research identifies Cornelius Van Horne as the likely enslaver of Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, and Helene van Rossum further confirms this connection using Somerset County historical documents and maps that intersect with Gronniosaw's narrative. Cornelius Van Horne may have been the merchant who originally brought Gronniosaw to New York from Barbados, or he may have acquired Gronniosaw upon the arrival of one of his family's ships in New York. After Gronniosaw's disembarkation, Van Horne brought him to New Jersey.

Cornelius Van Horne married Elizabeth French in 1718 at the Reformed Dutch Church in New York City and, by this marriage, soon acquired a large property in Somerset County, New Jersey. The property came from the estate of Elizabeth's father, Philip French, who left his children thousands of acres of land in Somerset County. In the 1720s, Cornelius Van Horne and Elizabeth French moved to Somerset County, although it appears that Cornelius continued spending time in New York City, because an advertisement published in 1724 mentioned that he had a "Plantation...on Rariton River" and could also be contacted in New York. The plantation was in a community then known as Raritan (now the area of Finderne in Bridgewater Township). Van Horne's house, known as "Kells Hall," was located very close to the Raritan Church (Reformed Dutch Church of Raritan), which was pastored by the Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, and the Van Hornes were members of the church. This connection between Van Horne and Rev. Frelinghuysen's Raritan Church is the reason that Cornelius Van Horne is believed to be the enslaver "Mr. Vanhorne" mentioned in Gronniosaw's autobiography.

Gronniosaw's autobiography also mentioned another Black person in Van Horne's household: an old man named Ned, who received a whipping from Van Horne on at least one occasion. Gronniosaw also mentioned multiple other servants, but did not specify whether they were Black.

Cornelius Van Horne was the father of Philip Van Horne (1719-1786), and his son purchased a nearby property in 1751. That property has been preserved and is now on the National Register of Historic Places, known as the "Van Horne House" in Bridgewater.

Cornelius Van Horne died circa 1770, as judged from the fact that his will was proved in May of that year.
Keywords
white person
enslaver
Places
Finderne, Bridgewater (formerly Raritan)
New York City, New York
Enslaver of
Tom
Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (c. 1710-1775)
Child of
John Van Horne (1669-1735)
Parent of
Philip Van Horne (1719-1786)
Spouse of
Elizabeth French Van Horne (b. 1700)
References

Van Rossum, Helene. “Updates about Ukawsaw Gronniosaw Part 1: The Van Horne Plantation.” What Exit? New Jerseyana at Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives (blog), August 23, 2023. https://sinclairnj.blogs.rutgers.edu/2023/08/updates-about-ukawsaw-gronniosaw-part-1-the-van-horne-plantation/.

Hanley, Ryan. “Calvinism, Proslavery and James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw.” Slavery & Abolition 36, no. 2 (April 3, 2015): 360–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144039X.2014.920973.

See genealogical record for Cornelius VAN HORNE, ID JCVH 017, Frost Gilchrist and Related Families genealogy database, https://www.frostandgilchrist.com/getperson.php?personID=I20389&tree=frostinaz01.
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
Helene van Rossum
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