1818-03-21 Removal Registration: Aaron

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To learn about the removal registration system in New Jersey, see What Is a Removal Certificate? You can use the Removal Records Index to review all removal registrations by origin, destination, and other criteria.
Identifier
NJS-EVE-00198
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 217

Removal certificate for Aaron (1818-03-21) recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 217. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
A removal certificate for a Black boy named Aaron was issued by the Court of Common Pleas of Middlesex County on March 21, 1818. The certificate was signed by two judges (Jacob Van Wickle and John Outcalt). The certificate was recorded by the County Clerk (William P. Deare) on March 21, 1818.

According to the removal certificate, Aaron was 13 years old and was enslaved by a man named Henry Suydam, a resident of New Jersey (town and county not specified). The document stated that Aaron was examined by the judges and consented to move to New York State with a different enslaver named Stephen Mundy. It can be inferred from this document that Henry Suydam sold or otherwise transferred Aaron to Stephen Mundy.

Aaron's relocation to New York with Stephen Mundy would result in family separation from his mother Peggy. According to the removal certificate, Peggy also appeared in court to give parental consent allowing Stephen Mundy to take her child out of the State of New Jersey. Peggy was likely also enslaved by Henry Suydam, although her enslavement status is not explicitly stated in the document.

The certificate does not mention Stephen Mundy's exact destination, but additional historical research has confirmed that Mundy moved to the village of Caneseraga in Allegany County, New York. Additional research also indicates that Stephen Mundy's wife was named Ann Suydam, and thus Henry Suydam must have been an in-law of his.

Another removal certificate filed in Middlesex County a week earlier indicates that Stephen Mundy also took a Black boy named Dick with him to New York. See the related event for Dick (Identifier NJS-EVE-00197).
Event Type
Removal Registration
Keywords
Removal of person eligible for gradual emancipation
Removal of unaccompanied minor with parental consent
Removal to another northern state
Date
March 21, 1818
Date Certainty
Questionable
Location of Event
Middlesex County
Canaseraga, New York
Related Event
1818-03-13 Removal Registration: Dick
Primary Participants

Aaron (b. 1805) {son of Peggy}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00646
Role: Relocated Person
Age: 13
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Henry Suydam
- Stephen Mundy (1790-1880)
Verbatim description from source:
"male servant named Aaron aged thirteen years"

Peggy {mother of Aaron}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00633
Role: Parent
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Henry Suydam
Verbatim description from source:
"Peggy the mother of the said Aaron"
Additional Participants

Henry Suydam
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00309
Role: Enslaver
Comment: testified to obtain removal certificate authorizing Aaron's relocation

Stephen Mundy (1790-1880)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00307
Role: Enslaver
Comment: moving to New York with Aaron

Jacob Van Wickle (1770-1854)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00068
Role: Judge

John Outcalt (1770-1853)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00035
Role: Judge

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