Samuel Finley (1715-1766)
- Research Tips
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This white person has 2 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
This person is related to Princeton University history. See our Princeton University research guide for more information about finding Princeton affiliates and campus locations in the New Jersey Slavery Records database.
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-02421
- Given Name
- Samuel
- Family Name
- Finley
- Birth Date
- 1715
- Death Date
- 1766
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
- Samuel Finley (1715-1766) was a Presbyterian minister and the fifth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He served as the president from 1761 until his death in 1766. Research conducted by the Princeton & Slavery Project shows that Finley held at least seven Black persons in bondage while he lived on campus with his wife Ann Finley née Clarkson.
- Keywords
- white person
- enslaver
- Princeton University history
- clergy
- Organization
-
Princeton University
- Relationship to Princeton
- President
- Enslaver of
- Peg
- Parent of
- Rebecca Finley Breese (1745-1767)
- Spouse of
- Ann Clarkson Finley (1727-1808)
- Related Person
- Samuel Breese (1737-1800)
- References
-
Shelby Lohr and R. Isabela Morales, "Samuel Finley," Princeton & Slavery Project. https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/samuel-finley.
R. Isabela Morales, “Princeton’s Slaveholding Presidents,” Princeton & Slavery Project. https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/slaveholding-presidents.
R. Isabela Morales, "Slavery at the President's House," Princeton & Slavery Project. https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/presidents-house.
This person is represented on the following page(s):
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Finley
WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Finley-86
Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68888447 - Image Rights and Source
- Portrait of Samuel Finley, attributed to John Hesselius. Princeton University Art Museum, object number PP459. https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/45491
- Record Contributor
- Kayra Guven
- Princeton & Slavery Project
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Sources
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Mentioned in:
- Slave sale ad for Two Women, a Man, and Three Children, to be sold at public auction for the estate of Samuel Finley in Princeton (Slave sale ad for Two Women, a Man, and Three Children, to be sold at public auction for the estate of Samuel Finley in Princeton, "TO BE SOLD," Pennsylvania Journal, July 31, 1766, p. 3.)
- Linked Events
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Additional Participant in:
- 1766-06-25 Will (of Samuel Finley): Peg (Role: Enslaver, Testator)
- 1766-07-31 Advertisement: 2 Black women, a Black man, and 3 Black children for the estate of Samuel Finley (Role: Enslaver, Deceased)
