New Jersey Slavery Records · 1803, George Hawkins, Manumission

1803, George Hawkins, Manumission

Item

Title: 1803, George Hawkins, Manumission
Identifier: NJS-EVE-00075
Event Description: George Hawkins was manumitted by Robert Davison of South Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of South Brunswick (Thomas McDowell, John Davison) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Nathaniel Hunt, Andrew McDowell) on December 14, 1803. The document stated that George Hawkins 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. George Hawkins's exact age was not recorded in the document. This manumission was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on December 22, 1803.
Event Type: Legal: Manumission registration
Action Status: Completed
Date: 14 December 1803
Location: South Brunswick, NJ
Primary Participant: George Hawkins
Primary Participant Description (verbatim): slave named George Hawkins
Sex: Male
Age: Adult; 21 to 40
Freedom Status: Transition
Enslaver of Primary Event Participant: Robert Davison
Officiator: Thomas McDowell; John Davison
Judge: Nathaniel Hunt; Andrew McDowell (1757-1834)
Source: Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 48; Manumission of George Hawkins (certificate dated 1803-12-14), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 48. 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