Somerset County Register of Black Children, Book A

Identifier

NJS-SRC-00700

Source Type

Civil Document

Freedom or Emancipation Certificate

Removal Certificate

Title

Somerset County Register of Black Children, Book A

Author

Somerset County Clerk

Location Created

Somerset County

Date

1804 – 1823

Description

The Register of Black Children, Book A, is a bound manuscript volume of 19th-century records maintained by the Somerset County Clerk's Office. Although the title of the book suggests that these records pertain to children's births, in actuality the clerk's office used the book to record several different types of records: birth registrations, manumission records, and removal certificates.

The volume covers the period from 1804 to 1823. It contains 320 numbered pages followed by two alphabetical indexes of names at the end of the book. The page numbers were handwritten by the clerk at the top of each page, and there are several irregularities in the numbering. Page number 41 occurs twice, and page 275 likewise occurs twice. Page number 241 does not exist because the clerk skipped from page 240 to 242.

For the purpose of archival preservation, the original bookbinding has been removed, and the individual pages have been placed in mylar sleeves and compiled in an archival binder with the label "Register of Black Children Book A" on the spine.

Pages from this volume were scanned by the New Jersey Slavery Records team working on-site at the Somerset County Clerk's Office the spring of 2024. Our team is now in the process of reviewing these documents and adding names to our database. Most of the names and events described in these records have not been added to our database yet, but the scanned images are available for browsing. See the field "Browse Records" for a link that will allow you to browse the book by page number. If you are searching for a specific name, consult the index page images and then look up the page number referenced in the index.

Language

English

Format

Bound manuscript volume

Archive

Somerset County Clerk's Office

Archival Collection

Register of Black Children, Book A

Browse Records

Browse: Somerset County Register, Book A, by Page Number

Record Contributor

Jesse Bayker