Caesar Trent (d. 1813)
- Research Tips
-
This person of African descent has 2 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-01306
- Given Name
- Caesar
- Family Name
- Trent
- Alternate Name
- Cezar Trent
- Cesar Trent
- Death Date
- 1813
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
-
Caesar Trent was a Black man who lived in Princeton, NJ, in the 18th century. His name appeared on the Somerset County tax list starting in 1789. His name also appeared on the 1801 poll list for Montgomery Township, indicating that Ceasar Trent exercised his right to vote. He was married to a woman named Caty.
It appears that Caesar Trent held at least two Black persons in bondage. He published an advertisement offering to sell a Black man in 1795. Additionally, in 1793, a runaway ad for an indented Black man named Will Grigg, published by Edward Dunant in the Trenton newspaper New-Jersey State Gazette, mentioned that Will Grigg had "lately belonged to Caesar Trent, a negro in Princeton."
Caesar Trent is featured in the virtual exhibit When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807, at the Museum of the American Revolution. The virtual exhibit notes that Trent was accused and convicted of receiving stolen goods in 1808 and went to prison in Trenton for a year. The exhibit also discusses his properties in Maidenhead and Princeton and his death and estate settlement in 1813. - Keywords
- African descent person
- enslaver
- Enslaver of
- Will Griggs
- Spouse of
- Caty Trent
- References
-
Caesar Trent profile in Exploring New Jersey Voters, 1800-1807. When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807 (virtual exhibit). Museum of the American Revolution. https://www.amrevmuseum.org/virtualexhibits/when-women-lost-the-vote-a-revolutionary-story/pages/caesar-trent.
Brett Diehl, "Cezar Trent and Peter Scudder, Two Free Black Men in Antebellum Princeton," The Princeton University Library Chronicle 78, no. 1 (2020): 71–87. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48693092.
Brett Diehl, "Cezar Trent," Princeton and Slavery Project. https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/cezar-trent.
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Sources
-
Author:
- Slave sale ad for a Black man, by Caesar Trent (Slave sale ad for a Black man, by Caesar Trent, "To Be Sold," New-Jersey State Gazette, January 13, 1795, p. 3.)
Mentioned in:
- Runaway ad for Will Rigg (sic), by Edward Dunant (Runaway ad for Will Rigg (sic), by Edward Dunant, "STOP THE RUNAWAY!," New-Jersey State Gazette, January 23, 1793, p. 3.)
- Linked Events
-
Additional Participant in:
- 1793-01-12 Freedom Seeking: Will Griggs (Role: Former Enslaver Mentioned)
- 1795-01-12 Advertisement: Unnamed Black man (b. 1765) (Role: Enslaver, Advertiser)
- Resource class
- Agent