1818-02-12 Removal Registration: Sarah, Diana
- Research Tips
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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.
This event is related to a notorious slave trading ring in Middlesex County, New Jersey. See our guide to the Van Wickle Slave Trading Ring for more information.
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-00213
- Source
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Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 231
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Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 231. Archival location: Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. Middlesex County (N.J.). Records, 1688-1929 (MC 784.1). Vol. XI.
- Event Description
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A removal certificate authorizing enslaver Nicholas Van Wickle to remove Sarah, an enslaved woman aged 21, together with her infant daughter Diannah, aged 7 months, from the State of New Jersey was issued by the Court of Common Pleas of Middlesex County on February 12, 1818. The certificate was signed by two judges (Jacob Van Wickle and John Outcalt). The document stated that Sarah was examined by the judges and consented to move with Nicholas Van Wickle from Middlesex County, NJ, to Pointe Coupee, Louisiana, there to serve Nicholas Van Wickle and Charles Morgan or either of them (although only Nicholas Van Wickle appeared in court according to the certificate). The certificate was recorded by the County Clerk (William P. Deare) on May 20, 1818.
Sarah and Diannah were two of the victims of the slave trading ring that revolved around Judge Jacob Van Wickle. Van Wickle and his associates exploited loopholes in New Jersey law in order to enrich themselves through the interstate slave trade. In 1818, Van Wickle falsified many removal certificates, signing the certificates without the consent of the enslaved people named in the documents, and then putting enslaved New Jerseyans on ships bound for Louisiana.
The details listed in the removal certificates issued by Jacob Van Wickle in 1818 are questionable. The dates of the supposed court appearances, the recorded ages, and the family circumstances of the enslaved individuals listed in the documents might have been falsified. - Event Type
- Removal Registration
- Keywords
- Removal signed by Judge Jacob Van Wickle
- Removal of mother and child
- Removal of person eligible for gradual emancipation
- Date
- February 12, 1818
- Date Certainty
- Questionable
- Primary Participants
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Sarah (b. ca. 1797) {mother of Diana}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00661
Role: Relocated Person
Age: 21
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Nicholas Van Wickle (1796-1865)
- Charles Morgan (1775-1848)
Verbatim description from source:
"female slave named Sarah aged twenty one years"Diana (b. 1817) {daughter of Sarah}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00660
Role: Relocated Person
Age category: Infant
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Nicholas Van Wickle (1796-1865)
- Charles Morgan (1775-1848)
Verbatim description from source:
"female child named Diannah aged seven months" - Additional Participants
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Nicholas Van Wickle (1796-1865)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00072
Role: Enslaver
Comment: obtained removal certificate in New JerseyCharles Morgan (1775-1848)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00073
Role: Enslaver
Comment: prospective enslaver in LouisianaJacob Van Wickle (1770-1854)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00068
Role: JudgeJohn Outcalt (1770-1853)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00035
Role: JudgeWilliam Philips Deare (d. 1826)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00008
Role: County Clerk - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker