New Jersey Slavery Records · 1803, Betty, Will

1803, Betty, Will

Item

Title: 1803, Betty, Will
Identifier: NJS-EVE-00771
Event Description: Jacob Van Dike mentioned Betty in his will, which he wrote in 1803. The will stipulated that two women, Betty and Jenny, should be liberated and should also receive clothes, bed, and bedding, and a spinning wheel. Van Dike also directed his executors to invest 800 dollars in a bond or some security and to pay the annual interest to Betty and Jenny for the rest of their lives in equal shares.

Van Dike died in 1809, six years after writing his will.

Below is the relevant passage from the will:

"Whereas my Negro Woman Betty and Jenny have served me with fidelity and attention and have at all times behaved themselves both to me and my family with decency and respect, therefore it is my will and I do hereby order and direct that they be made free and set at liberty immediately after my decease and I do hereby give and bequeath unto each of them her freedom accordingly. I also give and bequeath unto each of them her wearing apparel her bed and bedding and her spinning wheel; I also order and direct that eight hundred dollars of the proceeds of my estate be placed on loan or good security and that the interest thence arising be paid to my said Negro women Betty and Jenny in equal moieties or shares for and during their respective natural lives."
Event Type: Legal: Will
Action Status: Completed
Date: 16 June 1803
Location: Middlesex County, NJ
Related Event: 1803, Jenny, Will
Primary Participant: Betty
Primary Participant Description (verbatim): Negro Woman Betty
Sex: Female
Age: Adult
Freedom Status: Enslaved
Enslaver of Primary Event Participant: Jacob Van Dike (1723-1809)
Additional Participant: Jenny
Source: Will of Jacob Van Dike, Middlesex County, NJ; Will of Jacob Van Dike, Middlesex County, NJ, June 16, 1803. In Hutchinson, Elmer T., ed. Documents Relating to the Colonial, Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey. Archives of the State of New Jersey, 1st series. Vol. 40. Calendar of Wills, Vol. 11, 1806-1809. Trenton, NJ: MacCrellish and Quigley, 1947.; Microfilm: Middlesex County, NJ, Surrogate Court Records, Wills, Vol. A (1804-1813).
Record Contributor: Jesse Bayker

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1803, Jenny, Will	Event