James (b. 1802)
- Research Tips
-
This person of African descent has 1 related event in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
This person was a victim of a notorious slave trading ring in New Jersey. To learn more about the scheme, see our guide to the Van Wickle Slave Trading Ring.
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-00703
- Given Name
- James
- Alternate Name
- Jams
- Birth Date
- March 16, 1802
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
-
James was one of the victims of Jacob Van Wickle's slave trading ring in Middlesex County, New Jersey, in 1818. The legal documents related to the removal of James from the state of New Jersey to Louisiana suggest that he was born around 1802 and was aged 16 at the time of these events. These documents also list James as an indentured servant who had a remaining term of servitude of 4 years, 10 months, and 16 days. That is, James's term of servitude was supposed to end on or about March 16, 1823, which was likely the date of his 21st birthday.
Based on his projected 21 year term of servitude, it appears that James was likely born to an enslaved mother in Rhode Island or Connecticut, two states where male children born in the same year as James (1802) were eligible for emancipation at age 21 under the gradual abolition laws of those states (James's peers born in New Jersey were enslaved for life as New Jersey did not pass a gradual abolition law until 1804).
However, by taking James to Louisiana, the Van Wickle slave trading ring effectively deprived him of his right to freedom at age 21 because enforcing his legal rights under northern gradual abolition laws would be nearly impossible in the Deep South. - Keywords
- African descent person
- Van Wickle victims
- trafficked South
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Events
-
Primary Participant in:
- 1818-04-29 Removal Registration: James (Role: Relocated Person)
- Resource class
- Agent