1814-10-15 Manumission: Rachel

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00545
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 159
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 154

Manumission of Rachel (certificate dated 1814-10-15, deed dated 1814-10-15), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 154, 159. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Rachel, aged 24, was manumitted by Anna Manning of Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey. 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) on October 15, 1814. The document stated that Rachel 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, by Anna Manning. These documents were recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on October 21, 1814.

Additional details not mentioned in the manumission documents: Anna Manning was the widow of William Manning, who died on September 26, 1814, and who was the previous legal owner of Rachel. William Manning's will stipulated that Rachel should stay with Anna Manning until Rachel reached age 25. At age 25, Rachel was to be liberated. Rather than waiting until Rachel turned 25 as stipulated in the will, Anna Manning proceeded to manumit Rachel days after William Manning's will was proved by the court.

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 Jacob, Tom, 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: Hetty
1814-10-15 Manumission: Tom
Primary Participants

Rachel (b. ca. 1790)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00736
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 24
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Anna Merrill Manning
- William Manning (1740-1814)
Verbatim description from source:
"negro slave called Rachel"
Additional Participants

Anna Merrill Manning
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00229
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter

William Manning (1740-1814)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00198
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

Samuel Drake
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00230
Role: Judge

George Boice
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00199
Role: Judge

Samuel Stelle
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00185
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Ephraim Runyon
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00141
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