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1782, Harry, Capture
Item
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Title
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1782, Harry, Capture
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Identifier
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NJS-EVE-00770
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Event Description
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On June 17, 1782, enslaver Jacob Van Dike paid 8 pounds and 9 shillings proclamation money of New Jersey for the capture and return of a Black man named Harry. The men who captured and returned Harry were James Dunn, Joseph Thickstun, and David Dunham. The three of them issued a receipt to Jacob Van Dike for the money they received. The receipt mentioned that Harry had been "carried off by the followers of the British army" in 1776 and that he was lately "apprehended with a detachment of the British army."
Evidently, Harry was with the British troops for several years from 1776 to 1782. It is unclear whether Harry was taken by the Loyalists against his will or left with them willingly to escape from his enslaver.
The exact location of this event is uncertain, but it was likely in the area of Middlesex County or Somerset County as this is the area associated with Jacob Van Dike's family in the Revolutionary Era. The men who apprehended Harry also hailed from Middlesex County. Harry's exact age was not mentioned in the document.
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Date
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1782
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Primary Participant
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Harry
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Primary Participant Description (verbatim)
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negro man Harry
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Sex
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Male
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Age
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Adult
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Witness
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Frederick Van Dike
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W. Robert Morris
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Currency
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New Jersey pound
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Price
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8.9.0
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Source
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Receipt issued to Jacob Van Dike related to Harry, a Black man carried away by followers of the British army
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Receipt issued to Jacob Van Dike related to Harry, a Black man carried away by followers of the British army, June 17, 1782. Van Dike Family Papers, 1711–1838 (MC 505). Box 1, Folder 3: Jacob Van Dike Papers, 1766-1819: Deeds, Bonds, etc., Papers relating to his estate 1809-1819. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
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Record Contributor
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Daniel Dias
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Jesse Bayker