1805-07-20 Manumission: Martha Richards

Research Tips

See the Middlesex County Research Guide for information about related records.
Identifier
NJS-EVE-00086
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 60

Manumission of Martha Richards (certificate dated 1805-07-20), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 60. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Martha Richards was manumitted jointly by Samuel Berrien (c. 1766-1830) and his wife Ann Berrien (d. ca 1833) of East Windsor, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of East Windsor (John Smith, Jonathan Brown) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (John James, Andrew Rowan) on July 20, 1805. The document stated that Martha Richards 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. Martha Richards's exact age was not recorded in the document. This manumission was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on September 11, 1805.

East Windsor was part of Middlesex County at this time, but it would later become part of Mercer County in 1838.
Event Type
Manumission
Date
July 20, 1805
Location of Event
East Windsor
Primary Participants

Martha Richards
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00531
Role: Manumitted Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Samuel Berrien (ca. 1766-1830)
- Ann Hepburn Berrien (d. ca. 1833)
Additional Participants

John James
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00128
Role: Judge

Andrew Rowan
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00118
Role: Judge

John Smith {Overseer of the Poor}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00116
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Jonathan Brown
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00060
Role: Overseer of the Poor

William Philips Deare (d. 1826)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00008
Role: County Clerk

Samuel Berrien (ca. 1766-1830)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00115
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter

Ann Hepburn Berrien (d. ca. 1833)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00497
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event