1812-05-29 Birth: Alexander

Title

1812-05-29 Birth: Alexander

Identifier

NJS-EVE-00765

Source

Middlesex County Births of Enslaved Children, page 81

Middlesex County Births of Enslaved Children, page 81. Middlesex County (N.J.). Records, 1688-1929 (MC 784.1). Vol. X. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Event Description

Middlesex County Births of Enslaved Children book contains the following record:

Page: 81
Child: Alexander
Mother: Jane
Enslaver signed: Austin D. Blackwell
Location: Mapletown, NJ
Birth date: May 29, 1812
Reported date: November 17, 1830
Clerk: T. S. Van Arsdalen

The record also contains the names and dates of birth for the child’s 5 siblings. Note that this document was submitted by enslaver Austin D. Blackwell in 1830, many years after Jane’s children were born. Although this is not mentioned in this document, Austin was too young to have been Jane’s enslaver at the time when the children were born, and it can therefore be inferred that Austin’s father Thomas Blackwell (the head of the Blackwell household) was Jane’s original enslaver during her childbearing years. It appears that Thomas failed to report the children’s births as the law required, and Austin finally submitted birth records to the Middlesex County Clerk in 1830, five years after his father’s death.

Note that the date “November 8th 1820” that appears in the transcript below is likely an error made either by Austin Blackwell or by the County Clerk, considering that two other dates on the document indicate that it was signed in November 1830 (not 1820), and the document appears in the Clerk’s book on page 81 alongside other records from 1830.

The following is a complete transcript of the document:

"Charles was born September 6th 1809
Letty was born February 1st 1811
Alexander was born May 29th 1812
Sam was born January 20th 1814
Phebe was born June 8th 1815
Sally was born August 10th 1817
all of the same mother Jane

Dated November 8th 1820
Austin D. Blackwell

I do hereby certify that the above names is taken from the family record

Dated Mapleton
November 17th 1830
Austin D. Blackwell

Recd November 22, 1830 & recorded by
T. S. Van Arsdalen Clerk"

Event Type

Life event: Birth

Date

29 May 1812

Location of Event

Mapletown, South Brunswick

Primary Participant

Alexander (b. 1812) {son of Jane}

Jane

Enslaver

Thomas Blackwell (1741-1825)

Austin Davis Blackwell (1794-1878)

Additional Participant

T. S. Van Arsdalen

Participant Details

DETAILS FOR PRIMARY PARTICIPANTS:

*** Alexander (b. 1812) {son of Jane} ***
Role: Child
Age category: Infant
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Austin Davis Blackwell (1794-1878)
- Thomas Blackwell (1741-1825)

*** Jane ***
Role: Parent
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Austin Davis Blackwell (1794-1878)
- Thomas Blackwell (1741-1825)

==========

DETAILS FOR OTHER PARTICIPANTS:

T. S. Van Arsdalen
Role: County Clerk

Thomas Blackwell (1741-1825)
Role: Enslaver - Original or Previous
Comment: enslaver at the time of birth

Austin Davis Blackwell (1794-1878)
Role: Enslaver - New or Subsequent
Comment: filed birth certificate years later

Research Guide

Research Guide: Middlesex County Slavery Records

Record Contributor

Lindsey Dixon

Jesse Bayker