New Jersey Slavery Records · John Smith (Judge of Common Pleas)

John Smith (Judge of Common Pleas)

Person: John Smith (Judge of Common Pleas)
Identifier: NJS-PER-00635
Given Name: John
Family Name: Smith
Sex: Male
Biographical Description: John Smith was a Judge of Common Pleas for Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the early 19th century.

In this role he was responsible for approving removal certificates to authorize the movement of enslaved people out of New Jersey to other states. In 1818, he colluded with the corrupt Judge Jacob Van Wickle and his associates who were engaged in a notorious slave trading operation in Middlesex County. Judge Smith signed about a dozen removal certificates that helped Van Wickle and his associates send Black New Jerseyans to the Deep South.

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See also a potentially related record for a man named John Smith [Identifier NJS-PER-00116], who was the Overseer of the Poor of East Windsor in the early 19th century. It is possible that this is the same man. The relationship between these records has not been confirmed.
Place of Significance: Middlesex County, NJ
Occupation: Legal
Related Person or Resource: John Smith (Overseer of the Poor); New Jersey Slavery Records > Understanding removal certificates and slave trading; Lost Souls Memorial Project website
Keywords: Van Wickle and associates

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Title	Class
John Smith (Overseer of the Poor)	Agent