1821-11-12 Manumission: Henry Compton

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Identifier
NJS-EVE-00596
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 350
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 435

Manumission of Henry Compton (certificate dated 1821-11-12, deed dated 1821-11-12), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 350, 435. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
Henry Compton, aged 22, was manumitted by Miles Smith of Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseers of the Poor of Piscataway (Ephraim Runyon and John Dayton) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (James Dunham and Samuel Stelle) on November 12, 1821. The document stated that Henry Compton 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 was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on December 15, 1821.

The deed of manumission was also executed on November 12, 1821, by Miles Smith and witnessed by Littleton Kirkpatrick and Miles C. Smith. The deed was recorded by Deare years later in June of 1825.
Event Type
Manumission
Date
November 12, 1821
Location of Event
Piscataway
Primary Participants

Henry Compton (b. 1799)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01452
Role: Manumitted Person
Age: 22
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Miles Smith
Verbatim description from source:
"slave named Henry Compton; negro slave belonging to me, called Henry, of the age of twenty two years or thereabouts"
Additional Participants

James Dunham
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00340
Role: Judge

Samuel Stelle
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00185
Role: Judge

Ephraim Runyon
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00141
Role: Overseer of the Poor

John Dayton
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00253
Role: Overseer of the Poor

Littleton Kirkpatrick
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01779
Role: Witness

Miles C. Smith
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01786
Role: Witness

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

Miles Smith
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00064
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event