1818-10-15 Removal: Sam
- Title
- 1818-10-15 Removal: Sam
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-00272
- Source
-
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 289
- Removal certificate for Sam (1818-10-15) recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 289. 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 Lewis Compton to remove Sam, an enslaved man aged 21, from the State of New Jersey was issued by the Court of Common Pleas of Middlesex County on October 15, 1818. The certificate was signed by two judges (Jacob Van Wickle and John Smith). The document stated that Sam was examined by the judges and consented to move to Mississippi, "there to serve Allen Reynolds as a servant for six years." The certificate was recorded by the County Clerk (William P. Deare) on December 29, 1818.
The language used in the certificate 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. However, going to Mississippi would likely deprive him of the opportunity to gain freedom because enforcing his legal rights under northern abolition laws would be nearly impossible in the Deep South.
The certificate mentioned Mississippi, but did not list a specific locality. According to other related removal certificates, Allen Reynolds was a resident of Palmyra, Mississippi, so it can be inferred that this was Sam's intended destination.
Sam was one 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. - Event Type
- Legal: Removal registration
- Keywords
- Removal signed by Judge Jacob Van Wickle
- Date
- 15 October 1818
- Date Certainty
- Questionable
- Primary Participant
- Sam (b. 1797)
- Additional Participant
- Jacob Van Wickle (1770-1854)
- John Smith {Judge of Common Pleas}
- William Philips Deare (d. 1826)
- Participant Details
-
DETAILS FOR PRIMARY PARTICIPANTS:
*** Sam (b. 1797) ***
Role: Relocated Person
Age: 21
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Lewis Compton
- Allen Reynolds
Verbatim description from source:
"servant named Sam aged twenty one years"
==========
DETAILS FOR OTHER PARTICIPANTS:
Jacob Van Wickle (1770-1854)
Role: Judge
John Smith {Judge of Common Pleas}
Role: Judge
William Philips Deare (d. 1826)
Role: County Clerk
Lewis Compton
Role: Enslaver
Comment: obtained removal certificate in New Jersey
Allen Reynolds
Role: Enslaver
Comment: prospective enslaver in Mississippi - Browse Records
- Browse: Removal Records Index
- Related Resource
- Lost Souls Memorial Project website
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
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