Friday Truehart (b. 1767)

Friday Truehart (b. 1767)
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This person of African descent has 3 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
Identifier
NJS-PER-02700
Given Name
Friday
Family Name
Truehart
Birth Date
May 29, 1767
Sex
Male
Biographical Description
Friday Truehart was a Black man born in 1767. His mother, Dinah, was about 16 years old when he was born. In 1771, when he was almost 4 years old, the Rev. Oliver Hart, a Baptist minister, bought Friday together with his mother. The sale took place in Charleston, South Carolina, and Friday lived in Hart's household there as a child. In 1780, Oliver Hart moved to Hopewell, New Jersey, and brought Friday with him. In Hopewell, Friday served Oliver Hart and his wife Anne, while Friday's mother Dinah eventually went to serve in the household of Oliver Hart's daughter-in-law Sarah Hart. Friday became a member of the Baptist Church that Oliver Hart ministered in Hopewell. He was known in Hopewell as Friday Truehart. He was manumitted in 1802, following the instructions given by Oliver Hart in his will, which stipulated that Friday would gain freedom 7 years after Hart's death (Hart died in 1795).

Friday Truehart's story was documented by Beverly Mills and Elaine Buck in their book, titled If These Stones Could Talk: African American Presence in the Hopewell Valley, Sourland Mountain and Surrounding Regions of New Jersey. Hopewell historians and educators came together with the Witness Stones Project to memorialize Friday Truehart with a commemorative Witness Stone unveiled on April 28, 2022, at the Hopewell Old School Baptist Meeting House.
Keywords
African descent person
Places
Charleston, South Carolina
Hopewell (Mercer County)
Enslaved by
Anne Sealey Grimball Hart (1741-1813)
Oliver Hart Sr. (1723-1795)
Child of
Dinah (b. 1751)
Image Rights and Source
Commemorative Witness Stone for Friday Truehart, which was unveiled in 2022 at the Hopewell Old School Baptist Meeting House. Courtesy of the Witness Stones Project and the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
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