1823-09-03 Manumission: Suzan Lawrance

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00517
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 396
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 397

Manumission of Suzan Lawrance (certificate dated 1823-09-03, deed dated 1823-09-03), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 396-397. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Suzan Lawrance, aged 21, was manumitted by John Rattoone of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of Perth Amboy (Charles Ford and Joseph Marsh) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (James Skinner and Robert Arnold) on September 3, 1823. The document stated that Suzan Lawrance 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 executed on September 3, 1823, by John Rattoone in the presence of witnesses John Young and Judge Robert Arnold. The deed described Suzan thus: "female slave named Suzan Lawrance who will be twenty two years of age in July next" (i.e. July 1824).

Both the certificate and the deed were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on October 29, 1823.
Event Type
Manumission
Date
September 3, 1823
Location of Event
Perth Amboy
Primary Participants

Suzan Lawrance (b. 1802)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01479
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 21
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- John Rattoone (1744-1823)
Verbatim description from source:
"female slave named Suzan Lawrance who will be twenty two years of age in July next"
Additional Participants

James Skinner
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00297
Role: Judge

Robert Arnold
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00298
Role: Judge

Charles Ford
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00295
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Joseph Marsh
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00365
Role: Overseer of the Poor

John Young
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01773
Role: Witness

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

John Rattoone (1744-1823)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00316
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event