1808-05-12 Probate (of Charles Hardenbergh): Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Baumfree, Peter Baumfree, Sam

Identifier
NJS-EVE-00037
Source
Will of Charles Hardenbergh, Hurley, NY
Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Will of Charles Hardenbergh, Hurley, NY, January 4, 1808.

Inventory of the estate of Charles Hardenbergh, May 12, 1808. Archival location: Ulster County Surrogates Court. Original filed with Ulster County, NY, Surrogate's Office, on January 2, 1810. Scan available at New York Heritage Digital Collections. https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/nptr/id/215/rec/1

Truth, Sojourner. Narrative of Sojourner Truth. Edited by Olive Gilbert. 1850. Reprint, Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Office, 1884.
Event Description
The probate documents related to the estate of Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808) are related to the famed abolitionist Sojourner Truth and her family.

On January 4, 1808, shortly before his death, Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808) signed his last will and testament in Hurley, Ulster County, NY, in the presence of witnesses William Hutchins, Cornelia Hardenbergh, and John C. Hardenbergh. The will was proved by the Surrogate of Ulster County on May 10, 1808, following Charles Hardenbergh's death.

In this document, Hardenbergh declared his wish for his estate to be liquidated and the proceeds divided among his heirs, writing, "it is my will and desire that all my real and personal property shall be sold by my executors herein after named within a convenient time after my decease." Hardenbergh did not mention any Black people by name in his will. His instructions would affect all of the enslaved people in his household, who would all be sold shortly after his death.

The inventory of the estate of Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808) was taken on May 12, 1808, by Peter LeFever and Lewis Hardenbergh, and filed with the Surrogate of Ulster County on January 2, 1810.

Page 5 of the inventory lists four enslaved persons who were part of the estate of Charles Hardenbergh. The following is a transcript of their names and the monetary values assigned to them by the inventory:

"Negro slave Sam $100
Negro wench Bett $1
Negro wench Isabella $100
Negro boy Peet $100"

The name Isabella refers to Sojourner Truth (Isabella was her birth name). Bett refers to her mother, Betsey Baumfree. Peet likely refers to Sojourner Truth's brother Peter.

The inventory does not state the ages of these enslaved individuals, but according to The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, at the time of Charles Hardenbergh's death, she was nine years old: "Isabella and Peter, her youngest brother, remained, with their parents, the legal property of Charles Ardinburgh till his decease, which took place when Isabella was near nine years old." (Narrative of Sojourner Truth, p. 17)
Event Type
Probate
Date
May 12, 1808
Location of Event
Hurley, New York
Following Event
1808 Sale: Sojourner Truth
Primary Participants

Sojourner Truth (ca. 1799-1883)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00369
Role: Registered Person
Age: 9
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Verbatim description from source:
"Negro wench Isabella $100"
Comment: to be sold

Elizabeth Baumfree
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01726
Role: Registered Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Verbatim description from source:
"Negro wench Bett $1"
Comment: to be sold

Peter Baumfree
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01935
Role: Registered Person
Age category: Child
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Verbatim description from source:
"Negro boy Peet $100"
Comment: to be sold

Sam
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01936
Role: Registered Person
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Verbatim description from source:
"Negro slave Sam $100"
Comment: to be sold
Additional Participants

Charles Hardenbergh (1765-1808)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00410
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Daniel Broadhead Jr.
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01729
Role: Judge

Peter LeFever
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01792
Role: Witness

Lewis Hardenbergh
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01778
Role: Witness
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event