1817-05-03 Manumission: Violet

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00508
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 198
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 199

Manumission of Violet (certificate dated 1817-05-03, deed dated 1817-05-03), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 198-199. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Violet, aged 35, was manumitted by the last will and testament of Ezekiel Smith Sr. of West Windsor, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Note that the will of Ezekiel Smith Sr., who died in 1804, actually stipulated that Violet should be manumitted when she reached age 33, but the manumission documents filed in 1817 noted that Violet was aged 35 at the time, so it appears that her manumission was delayed by two years.

The executor of Ezekiel Smith Sr.'s estate (his son Ezekiel Smith Jr.) brought Violet to court to complete the process and obtain a certificate of manumission. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseer of the Poor of West Windsor (Henry Dye) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Moses Morris and Samuel R. Hamilton) on May 3, 1817. The document stated that Violet was examined in court and met the eligibility requirements for manumission in New Jersey, i.e. the person was 21 to 40 years old and was "sound in mind and not under any bodily incapacity" of obtaining a livelihood. The deed of manumission was signed on May 3, 1817, by executor Ezekiel Smith Jr. These documents were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on May 14, 1817.
Event Type
Manumission
Keywords
Estate (deceased enslaver)
Date
May 3, 1817
Location of Event
West Windsor
Primary Participants

Violet (b. 1782)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01401
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 35
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Ezekiel Smith Sr. (1736-1804)
Additional Participants

Moses Morris
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00190
Role: Judge

Samuel R. Hamilton
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00270
Role: Judge

Henry Dye
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00104
Role: Overseer of the Poor

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

Ezekiel Smith Sr. (1736-1804)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00271
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Ezekiel Smith Jr. (1784-1826)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00272
Role: Executor or Administrator
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event