1818-06 Criminal action: victim Claus (slave trafficking case, defendants Charles Morgan, Lewis Compton, and James Edgar)
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-01236
- Source
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Documents related to Claus, a Black man transported on the brig Mary Ann, 1818. Archival location: New Jersey State Archives, Department of State. Van Wickle Slave Ring Digital Collection. https://www.state.nj.us/state/darm/WebCatalogPDF/VanWickle/CLAUS_Mary_Ann.pdf
Documents at the New Jersey State Archives relating to the Van Wickle Slave Ring (Van Wickle Slave Ring Digital Collection) https://www.nj.gov/state/darm/WebCatalogPDF/VanWickle/VanWickleTableOfContents.pdf - Event Description
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In June 1818, Charles Morgan and Lewis Compton were indicted in Middlesex County on misdemeanor charges in connection with the trafficking of a Black man named Claus out of the state of New Jersey without his consent. Additionally, a constable named James Edgar was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of aiding and abetting Lewis Compton in his scheme to illegally take Claus away from New Jersey.
Claus had been taken to Louisiana aboard the brig Mary Ann, departing New Jersey on March 10, 1818. The brig Mary Ann carried over 30 Black people to Louisiana, but only some of them were named as victims in the criminal case that arose from this incident of slave trafficking. Claus was the only adult victim named in the indictments related to the brig Mary Ann. His age at the time of these events is not known, but the indictments described him as "being of full age," i.e., an adult over the age of 21.
In addition to Claus, the grand jury in Middlesex County handed down indictments related to nine children under the age of 10 who were taken away on the Mary Ann. (See the linked Criminal Action event for extensive information about the nine children victims.) All of the victims were already in Louisiana by the time these indictments were handed down in June 1818.
Note that, while many removal certificates were filed in Middlesex County for the Black people who were taken away on the brig Mary Ann, there was never a removal certificate filed for Claus. His disappearance from New Jersey without any legal paperwork recording his consent to go away to Louisiana attracted scrutiny and served as one of the key elements of the state's case against the defendants.
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ARCHIVAL LOCATION OF THE SOURCES.
These sources were digitized by the New Jersey State Archives in 2023 and gathered together in the Van Wickle Slave Ring Digital Collection (aka Documents at the New Jersey State Archives relating to the Van Wickle Slave Ring).
Documents related to Claus include four separate items from different archival series.
1. Indictment against Charles Morgan, late of South Amboy Township, for misdemeanor, charged with taking away Claus. This document was found in the following series: Department of Education, New Jersey State Library, Bureau of Archives and History Manuscript Collection, 1680s-1970s (Control number: SEDSL006). The indictment was part of the records of the Court of Oyer and Terminer for Middlesex County, in Box 1-22, Folder 81.
Note that the indictment against Charles Morgan variously refers to Claus as a "servant for a term of years" or a "slave for life" on the same page.
The indictment for Charles Morgan was signed by Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, Theodore Frelinghuysen, and witnesses Aaron Hassert, John Young, James Skinner, Abraham Webb, John Disbrow, Thomas Dey, and David Bloomfield. The foreman of the grand jury was James Parker.
2. Indictment against James Edgar, late of Perth Amboy Township, for misdemeanor, charged with aiding and abetting Lewis Compton in taking and carrying away Claus. This document was found in the following series: Department of Education, New Jersey State Library, Bureau of Archives and History Manuscript Collection, 1680s-1970s (Control number: SEDSL006). The indictment was part of the records of the Court of Oyer and Terminer for Middlesex County, in Box 1-26, Folder 47.
The indictment for James Edgar was signed by Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, Theodore Frelinghuysen, and witnesses Aaron Hassert, John Young, James Skinner, Abraham Webb, John Disbrow, and Thomas Dey. The foreman of the grand jury was James Parker.
3. Memorandum concerning the removal of slaves from Perth Amboy on March 10, 1818. This document appears to be an unofficial record of witness statements relating the circumstances whereby Claus, a black man enslaved by Lewis Compton, came to be consigned to Charles Morgan and put onto the brig Mary Ann bound for New Orleans. Witnesses listed here are James Skinner, John Young, Abraham Webb, Aaron Hassert, and John Disborough. This document was found in the following series: Department of Education, New Jersey State Library, Bureau of Archives and History Manuscript Collection, 1680s-1970s (Control number: SEDSL006). This document is in Box 1-39, Folder 34.
4. Record of default on recognizance of $1250 (i.e., failing to appear in court) for two indictments against Lewis Compton in the matters of Claus and John. (John, a 3-year-old boy, was a different victim of Lewis Compton and Charles Morgan, taken to Louisiana on the sloop Thorn in May 1818.) This document was found in the following series: Supreme Court of New Jersey Case Files, 1704–1844 (Control number: SSV00001). This document is filed as Case No. 34789*. - Event Type
- Criminal Action
- Date
- June 1818
- Location of Event
- Middlesex County
- Related Place
- Louisiana
- Morganza, Louisiana
- New Brunswick
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Perth Amboy
- South Amboy
- Primary Participants
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Claus
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02885
Role: Victim
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Charles Morgan (1775-1848)
- Lewis Compton
Verbatim description from source:
"a certain Negro man named Clause then & there being a servant for a term of years of one Lewis Compton; he the said negro Clause then & there being of full age; a certain negro man Clause then and there being the slave for life of one Lewis Compton"
Comment: Claus's status is variously listed in the indictments as a "servant for a term of years" or a "slave for life." - Additional Participants
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Charles Morgan (1775-1848)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00073
Role: Enslaver, Defendant
Comment: accused of taking Claus away from New Jersey without consentLewis Compton
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00480
Role: Enslaver, Defendant
Comment: accused of taking Claus away from New Jersey without consentJames Edgar
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02886
Role: Defendant
Comment: accused of aiding and abetting Lewis Compton in taking and carrying Claus away from New Jersey without consentTheodore Frelinghuysen (1787-1862)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02562
Role: Overseer of the Poor
Comment: attorney general for the State of New JerseyJames Parker Jr. (1776-1868)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00193
Role: Overseer of the Poor
Comment: foreman for the grand inquest in Middlesex CountyAaron Hassert (1769-1842)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00245
Role: WitnessJohn Young
Person identifier: NJS-PER-01773
Role: WitnessJames Skinner
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00297
Role: WitnessAbraham Webb
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02887
Role: WitnessJohn Disbrow
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02883
Role: WitnessThomas Dye
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02884
Role: WitnessDavid Bloomfield
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02882
Role: WitnessWilliam Philips Deare (d. 1826)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-00008
Role: County Clerk - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Resource class
- Event