1814-10-15 Manumission: Tom

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00511
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 157

Manumission of Tom (certificate dated 1814-10-15), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 155, 157. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Tom, aged 22, was manumitted by Thomas Manning and William B. Manning, beneficiaries and executors of the estate of William Manning. They brought Tom to court to complete the process and obtain a certificate of manumission. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of Piscataway (Samuel Stelle and Ephraim Runyon) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Samuel Drake and George Boice Jr.) on October 15, 1814. The document stated that Tom 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 also executed on October 15, 1814. The certificate was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on October 21, 1814, and the deed was recorded on November 11, 1814.

Although William Manning's will stipulated that Tom should be liberated on May 1, 1818, Thomas Manning and William B. Manning proceeded to manumit Tom immediately after they took over the estate rather than waiting until 1818. Tom also was supposed to receive $100 from the estate at the time of manumission, per William Manning's will.

Three other manumissions related to William Manning's estate were filed on the same day. See related events for William Manning's will and the manumissions of Rachel, Jacob, and Hetty.
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: Rachel
1814-10-15 Manumission: Hetty
Primary Participants

Tom (b. ca. 1792)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00743
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 22
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- William Manning (1740-1814)
Verbatim description from source:
"negro slave called Tom"
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