New Jersey Slavery Records · 1799, Sojourner Truth, Transfer

1799, Sojourner Truth, Transfer

Title: 1799, Sojourner Truth, Transfer
Identifier: NJS-EVE-00035
Event Description: In 1799, when Sojourner Truth was an infant, her first enslaver Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. (1729-1799) died. Johannes Hardenbergh Jr.'s son Charles Hardenbergh inherited Sojourner Truth and her parents James and Betsey Baumfree as part of the Hardenbergh estate. At the time of this event, Sojourner Truth's name was Isabella.

RELEVANT PASSAGE FROM THE NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH:

"Of her first master, she can give no account, as she must have been a mere infant when he died; and she with her parents and some ten or twelve other fellow human chattels, became the legal property of his son, Charles Ardinburgh." (p. 13)
Event Type: Freedom status transaction: Transfer
Action Status: Completed
Date: 1799
Location: Hurley, NY
Primary Participant: Sojourner Truth (c. 1797-1883)
Sex: Female
Age: Infant
Freedom Status: Enslaved
Enslaver of Primary Event Participant: Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. (1729-1799); Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Additional Participant: James Baumfree; Betsey Baumfree
Source: Narrative of Sojourner Truth; Sojourner Truth. Narrative of Sojourner Truth. Edited by Olive Gilbert. Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Office, 1884. Page 13.
Author: Sojourner Truth (c. 1797-1883)
Record Contributor: Jesse Bayker