Flora Stryker (1793-1882)
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This person of African descent has 8 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-02534
- Given Name
- Flora
- Family Name
- Stryker
- Birth Date
- May 10, 1793
- Death Date
- 1882
- Sex
- Female
- Occupation
- Domestic Service
- Biographical Description
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Flora Stryker was a Black woman born in 1793 at Scott's Corner, a place in present-day Plainsboro, Middlesex County, New Jersey (but at the time this area would have been part of South Brunswick). She was enslaved by Matthew Rue who sold her to John Joline when she was in her teens. John Joline was an innkeeper and the proprietor of the Nassau Inn in Princeton, and Flora worked at the Nassau Inn for many years. Flora gave birth to at least four children while she was enslaved by John Joline, and their birth certificates are on file at the Somerset County Clerk's Office. When she was about 39 or 40 years old, John Joline manumitted and released her from slavery. The name on her manumission certificate was Flora Stryker, and it is possible that Stryker was her married name.
Flora Stryker had a twin sister named Clara Voorhees, who was a long-time cook at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Flora is mentioned in her sister's obituary, which recounts how the girls were sold to John Joline. Note that the obituary says that Flora and Clara were freed when they were aged 25, but Flora's manumission certificate indicates that this is an error of fact, and Flora did not actually gain freedom until she was 39 or 40. According to Clara's obituary, Flora died in 1882. - Keywords
- African descent person
- Princeton University history
- Sibling of
- Clara Voorhees (1793-1892)
- References
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Jack Washington, The Long Journey Home: A Bicentennial History of the Black Community of Princeton, New Jersey 1776-1976 (Trenton, NJ: Africa World, 2005). Page 34-35. http://archive.org/details/longjourneyhomeb0000wash
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Events
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Primary Participant in:
- 1793-05-10 Birth: Clara Voorhees, Flora Stryker (twins) (Role: Child)
- 1806 Sale: Clara Voorhees, Flora Stryker (Role: Sold Person)
- 1812-08-25 Birth: Dick (Role: Parent)
- 1816-01-03 Birth: Joseph (Role: Parent)
- 1818-06-20 Birth: Lewis (Role: Parent)
- 1823-01-01 Birth: Samuel (Role: Parent)
- 1833-12-10 Manumission: Flora Stryker (Role: Manumitted Person)
- 1882 Death: Flora Stryker (Role: Deceased Person)
- Resource class
- Agent