New Jersey Slavery Records · 1803, John Wycoof, Manumission

1803, John Wycoof, Manumission

Item

Title: 1803, John Wycoof, Manumission
Identifier: NJS-EVE-00070
Event Description: John Wycoof was manumitted by Henry Shotwell 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 (Jeremiah Manning, Henry Marsh) on April 11, 1803. The document stated that John Wycoof 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. John Wycoof's exact age was not recorded in the document. This manumission was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on April 15, 1803.
Event Type: Legal: Manumission registration
Action Status: Completed
Date: 11 April 1803
Location: Woodbridge, NJ
Primary Participant: John Wycoof
Primary Participant Description (verbatim): slave namde John Wycoof
Sex: Male
Age: Adult; 21 to 40
Freedom Status: Transition
Enslaver of Primary Event Participant: Henry Shotwell
Officiator: Ezekiel Ayers; Francis Everitt
Judge: Jeremiah Manning (1736-1803); Henry Marsh
Source: Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 44; Manumission of John Wycoof (certificate dated 1803-04-11), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 44. 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