1807-06-03 Manumission: Margaret

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00096
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 68

Manumission of Margaret (certificate dated 1807-06-04, deed dated 1807-06-03), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 68. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Margaret was manumitted jointly by John Dunham and his wife Ruth Dunham (late Ruth Stelle) of Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of Piscataway (Edward Griffith, David Coriell Jr.) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Samuel Randolph, John F. Randolph) on June 4, 1807. The document stated that Margaret 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. This manumission was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on June 13, 1807.

County records also include a copy of the deed of manumission for Margaret, signed by John Dunham and Ruth Dunham (by her mark) on July 3, 1807. The deed of manumission stated that Margaret was "aged twenty one years and more" at the time of manumission, leaving some ambiguity about Margaret's exact age. It is possible that Margaret was just over the age of 21 (born around 1786) or she could have been significantly older than 21 at the time of her manumission. The deed of manumission was witnessed by David Oliver and Benjamin Runyon and notarized by judge Asa Runyon.
Event Type
Manumission
Date
June 3, 1807
Location of Event
Piscataway
Primary Participants

Margaret (b. 1786)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00541
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 21
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- John Dunham (1740-1823)
- Ruth Sharp Stelle Dunham
Verbatim description from source:
"slave named Margaret aged twenty one years and more"
Additional Participants

Samuel Fitz Randolph (1741-1811)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00030
Role: Judge

John Fitz Randolph
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00133
Role: Judge

Edward Griffith
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00025
Role: Overseer of the Poor

David Coriell Jr.
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00026
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Asa Runyon
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00034
Role: Witness

Benjamin Runyon
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01725
Role: Witness

David Oliver
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01734
Role: Witness

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

John Dunham (1740-1823)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00132
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter

Ruth Sharp Stelle Dunham
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00498
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event