1812-05-02 Manumission: Thomas Oppie · New Jersey Slavery Records

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See the Middlesex County Research Guide for information about related records.

Identifier

NJS-EVE-00144

Source

Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 125

Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 126

Manumission of Thomas Oppie (certificate dated 1812-05-02, deed dated 1812-05-02), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 125-126. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Event Description

Thomas Oppie, aged 35, was manumitted by Elizabeth Story and Joseph Story, the administrators of the estate of Joseph Story West Windsor, Middlesex County, New Jersey, who died intestate circa 1811. The administrators issued a deed of manumission for Thomas Oppie on May 2, 1812, and brought him to court to complete the process and obtain a certificate of manumission. On the same day, the Storys also manumitted Thomas Oppie's wife Jane.

The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of West Windsor (Henry Dye, Giles W. Olden) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Andrew Rowan, William Tindall) on May 2, 1812. The document stated that Thomas Oppie 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.

These documents were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on October 30, 1812.

Event Type

Manumission

Keywords

Estate (deceased enslaver)

Date

May 2, 1812

Location of Event

West Windsor

Related Event

1812-05-02 Manumission: Jane Oppie

Primary Participants

Thomas Oppie (b. 1777)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00589
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 35
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Joseph Story (d. ca. 1811)
Verbatim description from source:
"negro slave called Thomas Oppie"

Additional Participants

William Tindall (1745-1816)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00045
Role: Judge

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

Henry Dye
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00104
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Giles W. Olden
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00182
Role: Overseer of the Poor

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

Joseph Story (d. ca. 1811)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00183
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Elizabeth Story
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00305
Role: Executor or Administrator

Record Contributor

Isaac Guzmán

Jesse Bayker