1822-03-18 Manumission: Dinah

Research Tips

See the Middlesex County Research Guide for information about related records.
Identifier
NJS-EVE-00622
Source
Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 354

Manumission of Dinah (deed dated 1822-03-18), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 354. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
Event Description
The Middlesex County Book of Manumissions contains a copy of a deed of manumission for Dinah, signed by William DeGroot on March 18, 1822. The deed describes her thus: "Dinah my female slave, being a minor under the age of twenty one years." The deed was witnessed by Thomas [Letson?] and Edmund Dunham and notarized by Justice of the Peace Joseph McChesney. This document was recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on March 19, 1822, on page 354 of the book. No certificate of manumission is attached to this deed, and it is uncertain whether Dinah's manumission was ever finalized and made legal.

Note that an enslaved person had to be an adult aged at least 21 (and not over 40) in order to be eligible for manumission under New Jersey law. The manumission process required the enslaved person's age and physical and mental ability to be certified by the local Overseer of the Poor and two Justices of the Peace for the county. This means that, if Dinah was a minor in 1822, she could not be officially manumitted under the law at that time. It is possible that William DeGroot would go on to complete the manumission process for Dinah at a later time when she reached age 21, but a certificate of manumission from county officials has not been recorded for her in the county clerk's book.

The location of this event is uncertain, but may be Piscataway. The manumission deed for Dinah lists the location as Middlesex County and does not specify a locality. William DeGroot was known to be a resident of the township of Piscataway (based on other county records), and one of the witnesses being Edmund Dunham also points to Piscataway as the Dunham family mostly resided in that township. On the other hand, Justice of the Peace Joseph McChesney, who notarized the deed, worked mostly (though not exclusively) in South Brunswick Township.
Event Type
Manumission
Date
March 18, 1822
Location of Event
Piscataway
Primary Participants

Dinah
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01453
Role: Manumitted Person
Age category: Young Adult
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- William DeGroot (1752-1840)
Verbatim description from source:
"Dinah my female slave, being a minor under the age of twenty one years"
Additional Participants

Joseph McChesney
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00067
Role: Witness

Edmund Dunham
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01738
Role: Witness

Thomas Letson
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01805
Role: Witness

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

William DeGroot (1752-1840)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00466
Role: Enslaver, Manumitter
Record Contributor
Isaac Guzmán
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event