William Lee
- Research Tips
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This person was connected with a notorious slave trading ring in New Jersey. To learn more about the scheme, see our guide to the Van Wickle Slave Trading Ring.
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-01296
- Given Name
- William
- Family Name
- Lee
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
- William Lee was a captain involved in the illegal transportation of Black people from New Jersey to Louisiana. He was part of the slave trading ring organized by Middlesex County Judge Jacob Van Wickle, Charles Morgan, and their associates. In the spring of 1818, William Lee sailed the brig Mary Ann from New York City to New Orleans. En route to New Orleans, he dropped anchor between Sandy Hook and Perth Amboy to secretly receive a group of captive Black men, women, and children assembled by Van Wickle and Morgan in New Jersey. Over thirty captives were put on board the Mary Ann. Captain Lee was indicted upon his arrival in New Orleans because the customs officials there became suspicious that the ship's manifest was forged and fraudulent. He stood trial, but was ultimately acquitted by the jury in New Orleans.
- Keywords
- white person
- enslaver
- Van Wickle and associates
- References
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Gigantino, James J., II. "Trading in Jersey Souls: New Jersey and the Interstate Slave Trade." Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 77, no. 3 (2010): 281–302. https://doi.org/10.5325/pennhistory.77.3.0281
Drake, Jarrett. "Off the Record: The Production of Evidence in 19th Century New Jersey." New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 1, no. 1 (2015): 104–25. https://doi.org/10.14713/njs.v1i1.16
Pingeon, Frances D. “An Abominable Business: The New Jersey Slave Trade, 1818.” New Jersey History 109, no. 3 (1991): 15–35.
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Sources
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Mentioned in:
- Seizure of the brig Mary Ann in New Orleans (Trenton Federalist version) (Seizure of the brig Mary Ann in New Orleans (Trenton Federalist version), "From the Newark Messenger," Trenton Federalist, June 29, 1818, p. 3.)
- Kidnapping (report from New Orleans) (Kidnapping (report from New Orleans), "KIDNAPPING.," Trenton Federalist, August 3, 1818, p. 2.)
- Seizure of the brig Mary Ann in New Orleans (Centinel of Freedom version) (Seizure of the brig Mary Ann in New Orleans (Centinel of Freedom version), "Extract of a letter from New-Orleans, dated May 10, 1818.," Centinel of Freedom, June 23, 1818, p. 3.)
- Resource class
- Agent