1814-10-15 Manumission: Hetty

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00302
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 155
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 158

Manumission with blank name for the estate of William Manning (certificate dated 1814-10-15, deed dated 1814-10-15), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 155, 158. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Event Description
Four manumissions related to the estate of William Manning (1740-1814) were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) in October 1814, shortly after Thomas Manning and William B. Manning were appointed executors of William Manning's will. Thomas Manning (brother) and William B. Manning (nephew) were two of the main beneficiaries named in the will.

The first three certificates were for Rachel (manumitted by the widow Anna Manning) and Jacob and Tom (manumitted by the executors Thomas Manning and William B. Manning). However, the fourth certificate was copied into the Clerk's book without the name of the person being liberated. This is highly unusual, and it appears to be the only manumission in the book where the name was omitted, leaving a blank space where the name should appear in the manumission certificate on p. 155 and likewise leaving a blank space in the accompanying manumission deed on p. 158. One might assume that the Clerk was unsure of the correct name when he copied the documents and then forgot to rectify the record later. All of the documents were dated October 15, 1814. These certificates were signed by the Overseers of the Poor of Piscataway (Ephraim Runyon and Samuel Stelle) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Samuel Drake and George Boice Jr.).

The manumission deed on p. 158 refers to the freed person as "Negro gearl ___ aged twenty three years or thereabout." She was manumitted by "Thomas Manning and William B. Manning Exectors to the estate of Capt. William Manning decd. all of the township of Piscataway."

Using William Manning's will, it is possible to deduce that this certificate most likely belonged to a young woman named Hetty. William Manning mentioned 3 young women or girls in his will, all to be manumitted by the time they reached age 25. They were Rachel, Nell, and Hetty. Rachel and Nell were to live with William's widow, Anna Manning, until they were liberated/ Hetty was not listed as one of the people who would serve Anna Manning. The executors of the estate would be responsible for making arrangements for Hetty. Anna Manning promptly filed a manumission certificate for Rachel. This leaves Nell and Hetty as the possible candidates for the blank manumission certificate. Anna Manning was responsible for Nell, and Anna would have to sign the deed of manumission for Nell in due time. Considering the fact that the manumission record with the blank name was executed by Thomas Manning and William B. Manning (not by Anna Manning), we can conclude that the blank certificate belonged to Hetty (not Nell).
Event Type
Manumission
Keywords
Estate (deceased enslaver)
Date
October 15, 1814
Location of Event
Piscataway
Preceding Event
1814-09-23 Will (of William Manning): Phebe, Rachel, Nell, Peter, Jacob, Tom, Hetty, Harry
Related Event
1814-10-15 Manumission: Jacob
1814-10-15 Manumission: Tom
1814-10-15 Manumission: Rachel
Primary Participants

Hetty (b. ca. 1791)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00744
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 23
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- William Manning (1740-1814)
Verbatim description from source:
"Negro gearl named ___ aged twenty three years or thereabout"
Additional Participants

William Manning (1740-1814)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00198
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Thomas Manning (1753-1819)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00231
Role: Executor or Administrator

William Benjamin Manning (1786-1847)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00232
Role: Executor or Administrator

George Boice
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00199
Role: Judge

Samuel Drake
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00230
Role: Judge

Ephraim Runyon
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00141
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Samuel Stelle
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00185
Role: Overseer of the Poor

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