Sam (b. ca. 1797)
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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-00720
- Given Name
- Sam
- Birth Date
- 1797
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
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Sam 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 Sam from the state of New Jersey to Mississippi suggest that he was born around 1797 and was aged 21 at the time of these events.
The language used in the documents suggests that Sam was considered an indentured servant (or a so-called slave for a term of years) and would become eligible for emancipation in 6 years. He may have been born in another northern state where gradual abolition was already under way at the time of his birth (New Jersey did not adopt a gradual abolition law until 1804), or else he may have obtained the promise of freedom from a prior enslaver before being sold to Lewis Compton (the slave trader who took Sam to Mississippi). However, going to Mississippi would likely deprive Sam of the opportunity to gain freedom because enforcing his legal rights under northern 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
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Primary Participant in:
- 1818-10-15 Removal Registration: Sam (Role: Relocated Person)
- Resource class
- Agent