1795-03-10 Manumission: Gabriel

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00099
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 70

Manumission of Gabriel (deed dated 1795-03-10), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 70. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
The Middlesex County Book of Manumissions and Removals contains a copy of a document signed by Joseph Freeman Sr. (1709-1797), promising to manumit an enslaved man named Gabriel after the decease of Joseph Freeman Sr. and his wife Susannah Freeman. This document was originally signed on March 10, 1795, and witnessed by Joseph Freeman Jr. and Enos Freeman.

On February 15, 1808, Enos Freeman appeared before judge Henry Freeman and acknowledged the authenticity of the document. The document was then recorded into the book by the Middlesex County Clerk on February 27, 1808.

The following is a transcript of Joseph Freeman Sr.'s 1795 document:

"I Joseph Freeman in the County of Middlesex and State of New Jersey this tenth day of March in the year of our Lord Christ one thousand seven hundred and ninety five do certify that after the decease of me and my wife Susannah, that my negro man Gabriel shall be set free. In Witness I have hereunto set my hand and seal. - Joseph Freeman"

Joseph Freeman Sr. died in 1797. The date of death of his wife Susannah Freeman is uncertain. Whether and when Gabriel attained freedom is uncertain. It is likely that Gabriel attained freedom by 1808. However, a copy of the requisite manumission certificate for Gabriel (which would typically be issued by the Justice of the Peace of Middlesex County) has not been found in the book.
Event Type
Manumission
Keywords
Estate (deceased enslaver)
Date
March 10, 1795
Location of Event
Woodbridge
Primary Participants

Gabriel
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00544
Role: Manumitted Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Joseph Freeman Sr. (1709-1797)
Verbatim description from source:
"negro man Gabriel"
Additional Participants

Joseph Freeman Sr. (1709-1797)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00499
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Joseph Freeman Jr.
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00081
Role: Witness

Henry Freeman
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00136
Role: Witness

Enos Freeman
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01741
Role: Witness

William Philips Deare (d. 1826)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00008
Role: County Clerk
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event