1811-11-29 Birth: Elias

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See the Middlesex County Research Guide for information about related records.
Identifier
NJS-EVE-00424
Source
Middlesex County Births of Enslaved Children, page 48

Middlesex County Births of Enslaved Children, page 48. Archival location: Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. Middlesex County (N.J.). Records, 1688-1929 (MC 784.1). Vol. X.
Event Description
Middlesex County Births of Enslaved Children book contains the following record:

Page: 48
Child: Elias
Mother: Peggy
Father: Cyrus
Enslaver of mother and child: John Bergen
Location: South Brunswick, NJ
Birth date: November 29, 1811
Reported date: March 17, 1812
Clerk: William Philips Deare

The document indicates that the enslaver was a farmer and his middle initial was I (or possibly J). The birth certificate does not list the father's name, but sale documents for Elias and his parents indicate that his father was Cyrus.

Some enslavers in New Jersey falsified birth certificates in order to keep children in bondage longer than allowed by law. It appears that John Bergen may have done this with Elias's birth registration.

Note that the birth date listed on the birth certificate appears to be wrong as other archival documents indicate that John Bergen sold the infant Elias and his parents to Peter Kean and Susan U. Niemcewicz on March 18, 1811. Elias could not have been born on November 29, 1811 (as stated on the birth certificate), because he had already been sold ten months before this date. Thus the birth certificate makes Elias seem younger than he really was. Elias was likely born in 1810 or possibly earlier. This error or deliberate falsification of his birth certificate could have dire consequences for Elias. Since he was born under the provisions of New Jersey's 1804 Gradual Abolition Act, he was supposed to be emancipated when he reached age 25 from the date listed on the birth certificate. But if his birth certificate was wrong, Elias's new enslavers could keep him in bondage longer, well past his 25th birthday.
Event Type
Birth
Date
November 29, 1811
Date Certainty
Questionable
Location of Event
South Brunswick
Primary Participants

Elias (b. ca. 1811) {son of Cyrus and Peggy}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00922
Role: Child
Age category: Infant
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- John I. Bergen

Peggy
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01027
Role: Parent
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- John I. Bergen

Cyrus
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01081
Role: Parent
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- John I. Bergen
Additional Participants

William Philips Deare (d. 1826)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00008
Role: County Clerk

John I. Bergen
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00411
Role: Enslaver
Record Contributor
Lindsey Dixon
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event