1805-06 Death: Joe (allegedly murdered by Claus)

Identifier
NJS-EVE-01155
Source
Conviction of Claus for the murder of Joe by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in Hackensack, Bergen County
Execution of Claus (report from the Hackensack Register)
Murders (report of a conviction of Claus for the murder of Joe in Bergen County and a suspected case of poisoning in Newark)

Conviction of Claus for the murder of Joe by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in Hackensack, Bergen County, Centinel of Freedom, July 2, 1805, p. 3.

Execution of Claus (report from the Hackensack Register), "Execution of Claus," True American, July 15, 1805, p. 2.

Murders (report of a conviction of Claus for the murder of Joe in Bergen County and a suspected case of poisoning in Newark), "TRENTON, July 15. MURDERS.," Trenton Federalist, July 15, 1805.
Event Description
Joe, a Black man enslaved by Mr. Van Orden of Preakness, Bergen County (now in Passaic County), died around June 1805 (or possibly earlier). He was allegedly murdered by Claus, who was a Black man and a close associate of his. According to the news reports that came out after Claus was convicted of murdering Joe, the cause of their conflict was Claus's jealousy and his suspicion that Joe had a love affair with Claus's wife. Claus never admitted to killing Joe.

The following is a partial transcript of the article "Execution of Claus," True American, July 15, 1805:

"On Friday the 28th of June last was executed at Hackensack, in New-Jersey, agreeably to the sentence of the Court, a negro man named Claus, for the murder of a black man named Joe, the property of a Mr. Vanorden, at Prakeness, in the county of Bergen. On this melancholy occasion there was a larger assemblage of persons of various descriptions collected together than have been witnessed for many years in this place. Throughout his whole life the culprit has sustained a character notoriously bad, a prominent trait was that of a cruel and vindictive spirit. The supposed cause of the murder was jealousy, proceeding from a suspicion of an amorous connection between the murdered and his (Claus's) wife—As there was no positive proof offered, he was convicted on the strongest presumptive evidence. There is reason to believe he has had an accomplice in perpetrating the horrid deed. He was unwilling to make any discovery, and persisted in denial of the charge. With insolent audacity he ascended the scaffold, betrayed no fear or dismay, and breathed his last without a struggle or a groan."
Event Type
Death
Date
June 1805
Date Certainty
Inferred
Location of Event
Preakness, Wayne
Following Event
1805-06-14 Criminal action: Claus (murder of Joe)
Primary Participants

Claus (d. 1805)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02634
Role: Perpetrator
Age category: Adult
Status: Unknown
Verbatim description from source:
"Negro man named Claus"
Comment: alleged killer of Joe

Joe (d. 1805)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02633
Role: Deceased Person
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Mr. Van Orden
Verbatim description from source:
"black man named Joe, the property of a Mr. Vanorden, at Prakeness, in the county of Bergen"
Comment: killed
Additional Participants

Mr. Van Orden
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02686
Role: Enslaver
Comment: enslaver of Joe
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
Resource class
Event