1817-02-22 Manumission: Lewis

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00575
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 192
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 194

Manumission of Lewis (certificate dated 1817-02-22, deed dated 1817-04-09), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 192, 194. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Lewis, aged 31, was manumitted in South Amboy, Middlesex Country, New Jersey. Two different enslavers were named in the documents manumitting Lewis: Obadiah Burlew and Joseph Cottrell, both of South Amboy. The relationship between the two enslavers is unclear.

The certificate of manumission for Lewis was issued on February 22, 1817. The certificate was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of South Amboy (David Smith and John Perrine) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (David Bowne and Samuel Pitney). This certificate stated that Obadiah Burlew of South Amboy was Lewis's enslaver and that Obadiah Burlew appeared with Lewis before these officials to obtain the certificate authorizing the manumission. The document stated that Lewis 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. This document was recored by Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on February 27, 1817, on page 192 of the county manumission book.

Six weeks later, a man named Joseph Cottrell of South Amboy signed a deed of manumission for Lewis on April 9, 1817, where Cottrell relinquished all rights to Lewis's service and declared Lewis a free man. The deed was witnessed by Joseph I. Voorhees and Justice of the Peace Thomas Hance. This deed acknowledged that Lewis had previously received a certificate that named Obadiah Burlew as Lewis's legal owner. The deed stated "I Joseph Cottrell of the Township of South Amboy in the County of Middlesex New Jersey have and by these presents do absolutely and entirely emancipate and set free my negro slave named Lewis aged about thirty one years [the said Lewis being of sound mind and body as appears by the certificate of David Smith and John Perrine Overseers of the Poor of the township of South Amboyd in said County and David Bowne and Samuel Pitney Justices of the Peace of said County duly recorded in Middlesex Clerks office in Book of Manumissions folio 192 being there described as the slave of Obadiah Burlew]." However, the deed did not explain the situation or the relationship between Obadiah Burlew and Joseph Cottrell. This is unusual because the enslaver named in the certificate of manumission and the enslaver named in the deed of manumission should typically be one and the same person. This deed was recorded by Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on April 9, 1817, on page 194 of the county manumission book.
Event Type
Manumission
Date
February 22, 1817 – April 9, 1817
Location of Event
South Amboy
Primary Participants

Lewis (b. 1786)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01399
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 31
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Obadiah Burlew
- Joseph Cottrell
Verbatim description from source:
"slave named Lewis"
Additional Participants

Samuel Pitney
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00266
Role: Judge

David Bowne
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01336
Role: Judge

David Smith
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00247
Role: Overseer of the Poor

John Perrine
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00208
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Thomas Hance
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00227
Role: Witness

Joseph I. Voorhees
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01775
Role: Witness

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

Obadiah Burlew
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01271
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter

Joseph Cottrell
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01337
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event