Clara Voorhees (1793-1892)
- Research Tips
-
This person of African descent has 4 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-02520
- Given Name
- Clara
- Family Name
- Voorhees
- Birth Date
- May 10, 1793
- Death Date
- January 24, 1892
- Sex
- Female
- Occupation
- Domestic Service
- Biographical Description
-
Clara Voorhees was a Black woman who lived in Princeton and worked for many years as a cook on Princeton University's campus in the 19th century. Information about her life comes from her obituary, published in the Princeton Press newspaper after her death in 1896. Voorhees was Clara's married surname; her husband predeceased her by many years, and his first name was not mentioned in Clara's obituary.
According to the obituary, Clara Voorhees's family bible said that she was born on May 10, 1793, and she had a twin sister named Flora Stryker. Clara and Flora were born into slavery and grew up in the household of enslaver Matthew Rue near Scott's Corner (a place in present-day Plainsboro, which would have been part of South Brunswick at that time). Matthew Rue sold the girls to John Joline of Princeton. The obituary states that the sale took place in 1806 and that the girls would have been aged 17 at this time (although this timeline does not fully line up with the statement that they were born in 1793).
The obituary notes that, when John Joline bought Clara and Flora, an agreement was made that they would serve him until age 25, at which time he would release them from slavery. This statement is questionable. Clara Voorhees eventually attained freedom, but the actual date of her manumission is uncertain, and she may have been older than 25. A manumission certificate for her has not been found in Somerset County to date. However, the Somerset County Clerk's Office has a manumission certificate for her sister Flora Stryker, who was set free by John Joline in 1833. By that time, Flora Stryker was about 39 or 40 years old. An enslaved person in New Jersey had to be under the age of 40 to be eligible for manumission; in other words, John Joline waited until the last possible moment to manumit Flora Stryker, and he certainly did not manumit her when she was 25 years old. Considering the fate of her sister Flora, Clara Voorhees may not have been freed at age 25.
John Joline was well known as the innkeeper of the Nassau Inn in Princeton, which he operated from 1812 to 1836. Clara Voorhees's obituary notes that she worked at the famous hotel for about a year after John Joline bought her. John Joline then hired out Clara to other households (or possibly sold her). The obituary provides a list of other households where Clara Voorhees worked both before and after she attained freedom. These include the households of Joseph Bullock, Rev. George S. Woodhull, and then, for a long time, the family of Princeton President Ashbel Green. In her later years, she was with the family of Dr. Schanck.
Clara Voorhees was well-known as a cook and was in charge of cooking commencement dinners at Princeton University for decades. In addition to the substantial obituary published by the Princeton Press, the New York Times also published a short obituary noting Clara Voorhees's fame as a cook on Princeton University's campus.
Eventually, Clara Voorhees was able to purchase the house where she lived on Witherspoon Street, and this is the location where she passed away in January 1892. - Keywords
- African descent person
- Princeton University history
- Organization
-
Princeton University
- Relationship to Princeton
- Laborer
- Sibling of
- Flora Stryker (1793-1882)
- References
-
Washington, Jack. The Long Journey Home: A Bicentennial History of the Black Community of Princeton, New Jersey 1776-1976. Trenton, NJ: Africa World, 2005. Page 34-45. http://archive.org/details/longjourneyhomeb0000wash.
Joseph Yannielli, "African Americans on Campus, 1746-1876," Princeton & Slavery Project. https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/african-americans-on-campus-1746-1876.
- Record Contributor
- Indy Davis
- Princeton & Slavery Project
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Events
-
Primary Participant in:
- 1793-05-10 Birth: Clara Voorhees, Flora Stryker (twins) (Role: Child)
- 1806 Sale: Clara Voorhees, Flora Stryker (Role: Sold Person)
- 1818 Manumission: Clara Voorhees (Role: Manumitted Person)
- 1892-01-24 Death: Clara Voorhees (Role: Deceased Person)