1818-08-04 Removal Registration: Charles

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00265
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 273

Removal certificate for Charles (1818-08-04) recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 273. 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 authorizing enslaver Redford Jobs to remove Charles, an enslaved man aged 22, from the State of New Jersey, was issued by the Court of Common Pleas of Middlesex County on August 4, 1818. The certificate was signed by two judges (John Smith and Joseph McChesney). The document stated that Charles was examined by the judges and consented "to remove and go out of this State to Charleston in the State of Virginia and there to serve for life." The certificate was recorded by the County Clerk (William P. Deare) on August 5, 1818.

The certificate does not state the name of the enslaver whom Charles would "serve for life" in Charleston (which is located in present-day West Virginia). A typical removal certificate would either explicitly state that the original enslaver intended to relocate and bring the enslaved person along, or else record the name of the new enslaver who would be holding the person in bondage henceforth (usually as the result of a sale). However, this certificate does not provide such information. Thus, the circumstances of Charles's relocation out of New Jersey are uncertain. Redford Jobs was a long-time resident of New Jersey (around the area of West Windsor), and it appears likely that he did not leave New Jersey, but rather sold Charles out of the state.
Event Type
Removal Registration
Date
August 4, 1818
Location of Event
West Windsor
Charleston, West Virginia
Primary Participants

Charles (b. 1796)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00713
Role: Relocated Person
Age: 22
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Redford Jobs
Verbatim description from source:
"male slave named Charles aged twenty two years"
Additional Participants

Redford Jobs
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00288
Role: Enslaver
Comment: testified to obtain removal certificate

Joseph McChesney
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00067
Role: Judge

John Smith {Judge of Common Pleas}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00635
Role: Judge

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