1814-09-16 Manumission: Betty · New Jersey Slavery Records

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Identifier

NJS-EVE-00643

Source

Middlesex County Manumissions and Removals, page 151

Manumission of Betty (certificate dated 1814-09-16), recorded in Manumissions and Removals Book, p. 151. Middlesex County (N.J.) Records, 1688-1929, Vol. XI (MC 784.1). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Event Description

Betty, aged 21 to 40 , was manumitted by the last will and testament of Arietta Smock of North Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The executors of Arietta Smock's estate (Martin Schenck and John Van Nuys) brought Betty to court to complete the process and obtain a certificate of manumission. The certificate of manumission was signed by the Overseer
of the Poor of North Brunswick (Moses Guest) and Justices of the Peace for Middlesex County (Asa Runyon and Thomas Hance) on September 16, 1814. The document stated that Betty 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 recorded by the Middlesex County Clerk (William P. Deare) on September 16, 1814.

The name of the deceased enslaver is variously spelled Arietta or Arrietta throughout this document.

Event Type

Manumission

Keywords

Estate (deceased enslaver)

Date

September 16, 1814

Location of Event

North Brunswick

Primary Participants

Betty
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01370
Role: Manumitted Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Transition
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Arietta Smock (d. 1814)
Verbatim description from source:
"negress Betty late slave of said Arrietta Smock"

Additional Participants

Asa Runyon
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00034
Role: Judge

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

Moses Guest
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00226
Role: Overseer of the Poor

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

Arietta Smock (d. 1814)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00224
Role: Enslaver, Deceased

John Van Nuis
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00054
Role: Executor or Administrator

Martin Schenck (1770-1823)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00225
Role: Executor or Administrator

Record Contributor

Isaac Guzmán

Jesse Bayker