Thomas Titus (ca. 1785-1849)

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This person of African descent has 5 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
Identifier
NJS-PER-01080
Given Name
Thomas
Family Name
Titus
Birth Date
1785
Death Date
July 21, 1849
Sex
Male
Occupation
Agriculture, Forestry, and/or Livestock
Biographical Description
Thomas Titus was a Black man who lived in South Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ. His wife was Sarah TenBroek. He was enslaved by a farmer named Gerardus Beekman. On March 1, 1802, Titus and Beekman made an agreement that Titus would gain his freedom after serving Beekman for another 15 years until March 1, 1817. Titus was aged about 17 or 18 when the agreement was made. Beekman mentioned this agreement in his last will and testament (which he wrote in 1814) to ensure that if Beekman died before Titus's term was over, the enslaver's heirs would have to honor the agreement.

In August of 1817, Thomas Titus and Sarah TenBroek purchased a small farm for $50 from Ferdinand Van Dyke in South Brunswick. Their family would go on to cultivate this farm for 53 years.

It seems that Titus was beginning to live his life as a free man by the summer of 1817, since he was able to purchase the farm. But the manumission process was not official until April 13, 1818, when Beekman and Titus appeared together before two Overseers of the Poor of South Brunswick and two Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County to obtain a certificate of manumission. A copy of the certificate was filed with the Middlesex County Clerk on August 3, 1818.

Today, a historical marker commemorates Thomas Titus and his family. The plaque reads:

"The Titus Farm

For 53 years, Thomas Titus and his descendants farmed this plot of land. Once an enslaved person, his remains lie here in an unmarked grave, as if keeping watch over the old farmstead.
Gerardus Beekman, the slave holder, was a member of the prominent Beekman family of New York and New Jersey. In 1814, Beekman penned his final wishes, “I will that my negro man Thomas shall have freedom after serving my heirs, or any man he shall choose, so long as a time to make fifteen years from the first day of March Eighteen Hundred and Two.” Although not yet a free man, Thomas and his wife, Sarah Tenbroeck, purchased a small farm for $50 from Ferdinand Van Dyke, in August 1817. On August 3rd, 1818, the official manumission was written and filed at the county clerk’s office in New Brunswick.

Thomas farmed this land for the next 32 years. Oats, wheat, potatoes and corn were cultivated near an orchard of peach trees.

Thomas and his wife Sarah also raised twelve children, six of whom were born after the family’s manumission. On July 21st 1849, Thomas Titus died of the Plague at 64 years of age."
Keywords
African descent person
Places
South Brunswick
Titus Farm, South Brunswick
Enslaved by
Gerardus Beekman (1736-1822)
Jane Beekman (1755-1841)
Parent of
Charlotte Titus (b. 1805)
Spouse of
Sarah TenBroeck Titus
References

The Titus Farm, The Historical Marker Database. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=173417

Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
Linked Events

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Resource class
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