1821-08-14 Manumission: Ruth Dennis Ryer

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00534
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 343
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 344

Manumission of Ruth Ryer (certificate dated 1821-08-14, deed dated 1821-08-14), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 343-344. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Ruth Ryer (née Ruth Dennis) was manumitted by the last will and testament of Marmaduke Hunt of Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey, who died in 1814 when Ruth was a child.

Isaac Sayres, the son-in-law and executor of Marmaduke Hunt's estate, brought Ruth Ryer to court to complete the legal process and obtain a certificate of manumission. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of Woodbridge (Jonathan Freeman and Frazee Ayers) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Josiah Ford and Ichabod Potter) on August 14, 1821. The document stated that Ruth Ryer 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 August 14, 1821, by Isaac Sayres. These documents were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on August 22, 1821.

Ruth's exact age was not recorded in the documents from 1821. Note that Marmaduke Hunt wished for Ruth to be freed when she turned age 18, but New Jersey law required individuals to be at least 21 years old before they were eligible to be legally manumitted. It can be inferred that Ruth was close to age 21 at the time of her manumission. The manumission documents refer to her as "Ruth Ryer formerly called Ruth Dennis," suggesting that she was probably married by this time to a man named Ryer.
Event Type
Manumission
Keywords
Estate (deceased enslaver)
Date
August 14, 1821
Location of Event
Woodbridge
Primary Participants

Ruth Dennis Ryer (b. ca. 1800)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01446
Role: Manumitted Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Marmaduke Hunt (1735-1814)
Verbatim description from source:
"Ruth Ryer formerly called Ruth Dennis late the slave of said Hunt"
Additional Participants

Josiah Ford
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00300
Role: Judge

Ichabod Potter
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00032
Role: Judge

Jonathan Freeman
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00334
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Frazee Ayers
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00335
Role: Overseer of the Poor

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

Marmaduke Hunt (1735-1814)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00360
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Isaac Sayres
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00361
Role: Executor or Administrator
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event