1818-02-11 Manumission: Simon

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This event is related to a notorious slave trading ring in Middlesex County, New Jersey. See our guide to the Van Wickle Slave Trading Ring for more information.

See the Middlesex County Research Guide for information about related records.
Identifier
NJS-EVE-00521
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 218

Manumission of Simon (certificate dated 1818-02-11), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 218. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Manumission of Simon, a Black man enslaved by James Morgan of South Amboy, NJ, was registered on February 11, 1818.

The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseer of the Poor of South Amboy (Matthias Mount) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (John Outcalt and Jacob Van Wickle) on February 11, 1818. The document stated that Simon 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. Simon's exact age was not recorded in the document. This document was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on May 25, 1818.

Note that Simon did not actually obtain freedom at this time, but rather was taken to Louisiana to toil in bondage for Charles Morgan, the brother of Simon's original enslaver James Morgan. See the related removal registration for Simon, which was issued on the same day, February 11, 1818, by the same judges (John Outcalt and Jacob Van Wickle). Simon was one of the victims of the notorious slave trading ring operated by Judge Jacob Van Wickle and Charles Morgan.
Event Type
Manumission
Date
February 11, 1818
Location of Event
South Amboy
Related Event
1818-02-11 Removal Registration: Simon
Primary Participants

Simon
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00675
Role: Manumitted Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- James Morgan (1756-1822)
Verbatim description from source:
"male slave named SImon"
Additional Participants

John Outcalt (1770-1853)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00035
Role: Judge

Jacob Van Wickle (1770-1854)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00068
Role: Judge

Matthias Mount
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00281
Role: Overseer of the Poor

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

James Morgan (1756-1822)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00246
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event