1777-11-30 Sale: Unnamed Black man captured from the enemy [Neilson]

Title

1777-11-30 Sale: Unnamed Black man captured from the enemy [Neilson]

Identifier

NJS-EVE-00666

Source

Receipt issued to Colonel John Neilson recording the sale of an enslaved Black man who was taken from the enemy in war

Receipt issued to Colonel John Neilson recording the sale of an enslaved Black man who was taken from the enemy in war, November 30, 1777. Neilson Family Papers, 1768-1908 (MC 933). Box 2, Folder 4A: Correspondence, etc. 1774 (1777-8). Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Event Description

On November 30, 1777, Thomas Bullman issued a receipt to Colonel John Neilson (1745-1833) for 55 pounds for the sale of an enslaved Black man at public auction. The name of this Black man was not recorded on the receipt, but the document mentioned that the man was "taken from the enemy" and then sold at public vendue (i.e. auction). The receipt was issued in Elizabethtown. Neilson probably became the man's new legal owner; however, the receipt does not clarify whether Neilson purchased the man for himself or for someone else. Other archival documents from the Revolutionary War era in the Neilson Family Papers indicate that John Neilson bought and sold enslaved people during the war for himself and for others.

This document was issued during the Revolutionary War, and the Black man mentioned had been captured by the New Jersey militia from the enemy, i.e. from a Loyalist enslaver. During the war, the New Jersey militia routinely captured enslaved men and women who belonged to Loyalist enslavers in New York and New Jersey. The Patriots typically sold these enslaved persons to the highest bidder at a public auction to raise money for the war effort.

---

The following is a full transcript of the receipt:

[FRONT]

Elizh Town }

Novr 30th 1777 }

Receiv’d of Col John Neilson Fifty-five Pounds for a negro Man taken from the the Enemy & Sold Of Publick Vendue this Day —

Thos. Bullman



Rec-d 30th Novr. 1777 of Col Neilson Four pounds four Shillings for 2 Handkerchiefs. bougt. at Vendue by Col Runyon

Thos. Bullman


[BACK]


Bullman paid

For Negro & handfs

30 Nov 1777

Event Type

Freedom status transaction: Sale

Date

30 November 1777

Location of Event

Elizabeth (formerly Elizabethtown)

Primary Participant

Unnamed Black man captured from the enemy {Neilson household}

Enslaver

John Neilson (1745-1833)

Additional Participant

Thomas Bullman

Participant Details

DETAILS FOR PRIMARY PARTICIPANTS:

*** Unnamed Black man captured from the enemy {Neilson household} ***
Role: Sold Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- John Neilson (1745-1833)
Verbatim description from source:
"negro Man taken from the the Enemy & Sold Of Publick Vendue this Day"

==========

DETAILS FOR OTHER PARTICIPANTS:

Thomas Bullman
Role: Seller

John Neilson (1745-1833)
Role: Enslaver - Buyer

Record Contributor

Jesse Bayker