1799 Transfer: Sojourner Truth, James Baumfree, Elizabeth Baumfree

Identifier
NJS-EVE-00035
Source
Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Truth, Sojourner. Narrative of Sojourner Truth. Edited by Olive Gilbert. 1850. Reprint, Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Office, 1884. Page 13.
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.

The following is a copy of the relevant passage from her book 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
Transfer
Keywords
Estate (deceased enslaver)
Date
1799
Location of Event
Swartekill, Rifton, New York
Primary Participants

Sojourner Truth (ca. 1799-1883)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00369
Role: Transferred Person
Age category: Infant
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. (1729-1799)
- Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)

James Baumfree
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01751
Role: Transferred Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. (1729-1799)
- Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)

Elizabeth Baumfree
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01726
Role: Transferred Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. (1729-1799)
- Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Additional Participants

Johannes Hardenbergh Jr. (1729-1799)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00356
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00410
Role: Enslaver, Heir or Beneficiary
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event