New Jersey Slavery Records · 1802, Solomon Laing, Manumission

1802, Solomon Laing, Manumission

Item

Title: 1802, Solomon Laing, Manumission
Identifier: NJS-EVE-00056
Event Description: Solomon Laing was manumitted by Isaac Laing Jr. of Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of Woodbridge (Ezekiel Ayers, Francis Everitt) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Henry Marsh, James Bonney) on April 20, 1802. The document stated that Solomon Laing was examined in court and met the eligibility requirements for manumission in New Jersey, i.e. the person was 21 to 40 years old and was "sound in mind and not under any bodily incapacity" of obtaining a livelihood. Solomon Laing's exact age was not recorded in the document. The manumission certificate was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on May 10, 1802. The related deed of manumission signed by Isaac Laing Jr. was later recorded by the County Clerk on January 20, 1803.
Event Type: Legal: Manumission registration
Action Status: Completed
Date: 20 April 1802
Location: Woodbridge, NJ
Primary Participant: Solomon Laing
Primary Participant Description (verbatim): slave named Solomon Laing
Sex: Male
Age: Adult; 21 to 40
Freedom Status: Transition
Enslaver of Primary Event Participant: Isaac Laing Jr.
Officiator: Ezekiel Ayers; Francis Everitt
Judge: Henry Marsh; James Bonney
Witness: Thomas Laing; Elijah Phillips
Source: Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 32; Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 40; Manumission of Solomon Laing (certificate dated 1802-04-20, deed dated 1802-04-20), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 32, 40. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Author: William Philips Deare (d. 1826)
Record Contributor: Isaac Guzmán; Jesse Bayker