1823-09-04 Manumission: Sarah

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00528
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 388
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 389

Manumission of Sarah (certificate dated 1823-09-04, deed dated 1823-09-04), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 388-389. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Sarah was manumitted by Garret Voorhees of South Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseer of the Poor of South Amboy (George Snowhill) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Robert McChesney and John Dey) on September 4, 1823. The document stated that Sarah 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 certificate did not list Sarah's age.

The deed of manumission was executed on September 4, 1823, by Garret Voorhees in the presence of witnesses James P. Voorhees and Judge Robert McChesney. Both of these documents were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on September 10, 1823. The copy of the deed of manumission in the Clerk's book described Sarah thus: "negro female slave named Sarah of the age of twenty ___ years or thereabouts," leaving a blank space after the word twenty. It can be inferred that Sarah was probably between the ages of 21 and 29 at the time of her manumission (since 21 was the minimum age required for the manumission process).
Event Type
Manumission
Date
September 4, 1823
Location of Event
South Amboy
Primary Participants

Sarah
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01475
Role: Manumitted Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Garret Voorhees
Verbatim description from source:
"negro female slave named Sarah of the age of twenty ___ years or thereabouts"
Additional Participants

Robert McChesney
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00234
Role: Judge

John Dey
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00326
Role: Judge

George Snowhill
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01361
Role: Overseer of the Poor

James P. Voorhees
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01754
Role: Witness

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

Garret Voorhees
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00471
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event