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Documentary Sources Database. American Multiculturalism Series. Unit one. Documenting the African American Experience.
Early American Imprints, 1st series, no. 27391 (filmed)
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Evans 27391. AT a general Meeting of the NEW-JERSEY SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING
THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY, September 2, 1793, RESOLVED,
That the President of this Society collect and have
printed, the `Decisions of the Supreme Court in this State,
relative to the Manumission of Negroes and others, unlawfully
holden in Bondage.'
EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES, ROBERT SMITH, JUN. SECRETARY.
On Habeas Corpus for to bring the Body of Beulah, a Negro Girl.
BY the Admission of the Counsel, it appeared that Beulah the Negro Girl, brought up by the Habeas Corpus, and now before the Court, is the Daughter of a Negro Man and Negro Woman, the first named David, and the other named Dinah, both of whom formerly belonged to Caleb Haines, of the City of Burlington, which said Negroes David and Dinah, were set free by the said Caleb Haines in his life time, and before the Birth of the said Girl Beulah, without having given any Bond pursuant to the Act of Assembly, passed in the twelfth and thirteenth Years of her late Majesty Queen Ann ; for which Reason the said Manumission was alledged to be void.
The Court having heard the Arguments of Counsel, as well for
the said Esther Barber and others, as for the said Beulah, at the
Term of May last, and now again at this present Term, and having
fully considered thereof are of Opinion, That the said
Manumission by the said Caleb Haines, of the said David and
Dinah, the Parents of the said Beulah, was good in Law against
the said Caleb
Page 8
Haines and those claiming under him, notwithstanding the not
giving Bond as aforesaid ; and that the same Beulah is entitled
to her Freedom under the said Manumission against the said Caled
Haines, and all claiming under him ; and do order her the said
Beulah to be delivered up from out of the Custody of the said
Esther Barber and others, in which she hath been illegally
detained.
On Habeas Corpus for Negro Will Claiming his Freedom.
THE Court having heard the Arguments of Counsel on the Part of Negro Will, and the Reasons assigned for and against his Freedom, and the Evidence in Support thereof : It is ordered by the Court that the said Negro Will be, and he is hereby discharged and set Free from the said Jacobus Vanhuys, on Motion of Mr Deare.
Kinsey, Elias Boudinot, and the Attorney General for the Negro. Sergeant, and Paterson, for Defendant.
On Habeas Corpus of Negro Nelly.
IT appearing to the Court, and the said Edmund
Bainbridge conceding, that the said Negro Nelly was formerly
the Property of Edmund Bainbridge, the elder, of Maidenhead,
deceased, who let his Daughter Abigail,
Page 9
late the Wife of Thomas Biles, of Bucks County in Pennsylvania,
deceased, gave her when very young ; that many Years afterwards
he made his Will and bequeathed her to his said Daughter Abigail,
during the Life of his said Daughter, and to her Issue, and did
further order, that if she should die childless, then the said
Negro Nelly should be sold, and the Money appropriated as
mentioned in his said Will ; that the said Abigail Biles who
survived her Husband and her Father, did by her Will dated 30th
April 1779, set forth and declare, that the said Negro Nelly had
by her said Father been presented to her on a New-Year's Day,
when she was a Child, and therefore, both from that Gift and from
bringing her up, she had a better Right to dispose of her than
any other Person, and did therein order and direct, that the said
Negro Nelly should be manumitted and set free, a thing which she
had very much at Heart ; that the said Negro Nelly resided in the
State of Pennsylvania at the Time of the passing of the Act for
the gradual Abolition of Slavery, 1st March, 1780, and until the
first of November in the same Year, the Term and Period allowed
and fixed in the said Act for registering Slaves and for some
Time afterwards ; that she was not registered as the said Act
requires, and that she is not within the Exceptions specified
therein.
The Court having fully considered the Premises, are
unanimously of Opinion, That the Manumission of the said
Negro Nelly by the said Abigail Biles, Daughter of the aforesaid
Edmund Bainbridge, is good in Law against all Persons claiming
under either of them ; the said Edmund Bainbridge, having given
her to his said Daughter, when she the said Negro Nelly was a
Child, and his said Daughter having directed by her Will that she
should be manumitted ; and further that the said Negro Nelly, not
having been registered as the above mentioned Act of the State of
Pennsylvania requires, and therefore entitled to Freedom in that
State, is not by Law put in a worse Situation here : It is
therefore Ordered, That the said Negro Nelly be discharged
and set at Liberty from the said Edmund Bainbridge. On Motion of
Mr. Morris for Mr. Houston. On Habeas Corpus to bring the Body of Negro
Caesar Tite. THE Defendant having returned the Habeas Corpus, and
brought up the Body of the said Negro Caesar Tite, It is ordered
that the Defendant enter into Security in the Sum of Two Hundred
Pounds to bring up the Body of the said Negro Caesar on the
second Tuesday in November next, and abide the Judgment of the
Court respecting the said Negro, and that in Case the said Negro
should be adjudged by this Court free, that the said Lewis
M`Knight shall pay for the Service of the said Negro from this
Time. Recognizance accordingly. WHEREAS, it hath appeared to this Court, upon the
Affidavit of Jack Tappen, that the Defendant holds a certain
Anthony Tappen in Bondage and Slavery, without lawful Authority
for the same as the said Jack alledgeth : therefore,
Ordered, on Motion of Mr. Leake for the said Anthony, that
a Writ of Habeas Corpus ad faciendum subjiciendum et
Recipiendum do issue, returnable to this Court at the next
Term. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Caesar Tite. AGREEABLY to the Command of the within Writ, I have
here in Court the Body of the within mentioned Caesar Tite, and
do say that the said Negro Tite is my Property, being bought of
Kenneth Hankinson, Esquire, for valuable Consideration, and he is
not a free Man ; but I am willing and desirous to contest that
Property by a Jury of the Country, agreeably to the Laws of this
State, and pray that it may not be taken from me without a Trial
by Jury, &c. IT appearing to the Court, that the said Negro Caesar
Tite, brought up by Habeas Corpus, and now before the
Court, heretofore belonged to Grace Tite, of the County of
Monmouth, who by her last Will and Testament ordered that he
should be free when he attained the Age of Twenty-one Years, till
which period he was to serve Thomas Leonard of the said County of
Monmouth ; that the said Thomas Leonard joined the Enemy some
Time before the Expiration of the said Service, and the said
Negro Caesar Tite was sold at Public Vendue, with other
confiscated personal Property of the said The Court having heard the Arguments of Counsel on both
sides, and fully considered thereof, are unanimously of
Opinion, That the said Manumission is good in Law against all
Persons claiming under the said Grace Tite, notwithstanding Bond
was not given as aforesaid ; and do order, on Motion of
Mr. Bloomfield for the Attorney-General, that the Negro Caesar
Tite be discharged and set at Liberty from the said Lewis
M`Knight. On Habeas Corpus for Manumission. IT being alledged by the Counsel, for the said Mercy
Hill the Plaintiff, that she is the Daughter of a certain Jupiter
Lee, a Negro Slave, heretofore belonging to Samuel Lec of the
Town of Swansey in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, now
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Deliverence Hill, a free-born
native Indian Woman ; that in her Infancy she was put apprentice
to James Power of that Place, with whom, or his Assigns she
served many Years, and then laboured for her Livelihood in
different Places as other free Persons usually do ; that long
afterwards she was by some Means sold as a Slave, and by sundry
Transfers and Sales came at length into the Possession of the
Defendant William Leddell. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Philip for
Manumission. THE Court having fully considered the Evidence, and
the Arguments of Counsel in this Cause, are unanimously of
Opinion, and do adjudge, that the said Negro Philip be
discharged and set at Liberty from the said Tierck Tenbroeck, and
also from John Vanhorne of Rocky-Hill, in the County of
Somerset, who hath appeared and claimed the said Negro Philip, On
Motion of Mr. Paterson for the State. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Charles and
Wife. In November Term, 1781. (p. 467.) ON the hearing of this Case, the Court adjudged in
favor of the discharge of the Negroes, and ordered the Defendant
to deliver them to the Sheriff of Bergen, And now, on Motion of Mr. Elias Boudinot for Nicholas
Covenhoven, Master of the said Negroes, it is ordered by the
Court, that the Sheriff of Bergen, do on service of this Rule,
deliver to the said Nicholas Covenhoven, or his Order, the said
Negro Charles and Wife. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Peter Ridley,
claiming to be manumitted. THE said Negro Peter being brought into Court
by Habeas Corpus, and it appearing to the Court on Testimony,
that the said Negro Peter is the Son of a certain William Ridley,
a free Negro and his Wife Dianna, a Negro Woman sometime the
Property of Dollans Hegeman, and who became free before the Birth
of the said Negro Peter, and that the said Parents of the said
Negro Peter have ever since lived and been reputed as free. The Court are of Opinion and do adjudge, that
the said Negro Peter was free-born, and is entitled to be
discharged as a free Man ; and do order that he be discharged
accordingly, on Motion of Mr. Paterson for the State. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Prime, claiming
his Freedom. THE Court in September Term, 1784. (p.
125.) on return of the Habeas Corpus, obliged Defendant to
enter into Recognizance with Security in \cp\140. conditioned for
the Appearance of the said Negro Prime at the next Term,
to abide &c. and not depart &c. November Term, 1784, (p. 195.) Recognizance
continued. April Term, 1785, (p. 299.) Argument postponed,
and Recognizance continued. And now (May Term, 1785.) Moore Furman,
Esquire, Agent of forfeited Estates for the County of Hunterdon,
having applied to the Court, and represented that the State hath
a Claim to the said Negro Prime ; it is ordered by the Court that
the said Negro Prime be delivered into the Custody of John
Anderson, Esquire, Sheriff of Hunterdon, until a Trial of the
Property can be had, and until the further Order of the Court.
Moore Furman, Esq. Agent of Forfeitures for the
County of Hunterdon -- against John Eauhouse, In
Detinue. This action having been brought by Agreement of Parties under
the Direction of the Court, to try the Property of a certain
Negro Prime, and a Verdict and Judgment having passed in favor of
the Plaintiff, It is ordered by the Court, on the Motion
of Mr. Houston for the Plaintiff, that the said Negro Prime now
in the Custody of the Sheriff of Hunterdon, agreeably to an Order
of On Habeas Corpus and complaint of cruel
Treatment. THE hearing of this Cause coming on, and the Evidence
being gone through, Mr. Elias Boudinot on behalf of the Negro,
prayed that Mr. De Klyn should oblige himself not to send the
said Negro George out of the State, and the Court having
considered thereof, required Mr. De Klyn so to do, which he
accordingly did in open Court. On Habeas Corpus for Manumission. IT being alledged on the Part of the said Negro
Quamini, that several Years ago he belonged to Dr. Samuel
Tuthill, of Morris County, from whom he was purchased
The Court having heard the Testimony for establishing the
several Facts aforesaid, and having duly considered the same,
do order, on Motion of Mr. William De Hart, that the said
Negro Quamini be discharged, and set at Liberty from the said
William Leddel, Esquire. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Obadiah Gale. THE Court having heard the Evidence and Argument of
Counsel in this Cause, do order that the said Jacob
Phillips enter into Recognizance in the Sum of One Hundred
Pounds, conditioned, that the said Jacob Phillips on the
Twenty-sixth Day of June next, liberate and discharge from his
Service the said Obadiah Gale, and the Court do further adjudge
and order, that on the Twenty-sixth Day of June next, the said
Obadiah Gale shall be set at Liberty, and go thereof free without
Day, and that the said Obediah Gale be in Custody of the Sheriff
of Hunterdon till the said Twenty-sixth Day of June next, unless
the Recognizance is entered into by the said On Habeas Corpus of Negro Kate. THE Court after hearing the Arguments of Counsel,
are of Opinion, that the said John B. Oliver enter into
Recognizance in Five Hundred Pounds, conditioned that he do not
send or suffer to be sent, the Negro Kate mentioned in the said
Habeas Corpus, out of this State, till the Court shall take
further Order therein at the next Term. Recognizance entered into
accordingly by the said John B. Oliver. The Attorney General and Elisha Boudinot for State. Elias Boudinot and Aaron Ogden for Defendants.
On Habeas Corpus for the bringing up a Negro Man
named Harry. THE Habeas Corpus being returned, the Court proceeded
to consider the same, and Counsel both in favor of the Negro, and
on behalf of the said Daniel Taylor, Jun. being heard ; It is
ordered, that the said Negro Man be discharged from being a
Slave, and that he serve the said Daniel Taylor, Jun. his Master
as a Servant for the Space of Six Years, from the First Day of
September instant, and that from thenceforward he be entirely
discharged and free from Servitude. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Margaret Reap,
claiming her Freedom. UPON the hearing before the Court, it appeared, that
Zacheus Mayhew, of Massachusetts, by Deed of Gift, dated the
first Day of March, 1750, did give a certain Negro Girl
called Flora, unto his Daughter, Lucy Little, then the Wife of
Little -- That the said Lucy Little afterwards being a Widow, and
having One Son called William Little, intermarried in
Massachusetts with a Dr. Joseph Eaton, who came from thence with
his Wife to Shrewsberry in New-Jersey, and at the same
Time brought the said Negro Flora with them -- That on the 31st
Day of August, 1752, the said Dr. Eaton sold the said
Negro Flora with a Child she then had called Bloomfield, Attorney General, and R. Stockton for the
State. -- M. Williamson, and Aaron Ogden for Defendant. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Lydia Reap,
returnable the first Day of this Term. THE Court order an Attachment against the said John
Leighton, for contempt in not returning the said Writ of
Habeas Corpus, agreeably to the Command thereof, and for
divers Expressions made use of by him reflecting on the Authority
of this Court and its process, on Motion of Mr. Attorney-General.
On Habeas Corpus of Negro Thomas claiming his
Freedom. [Habeas Corpus returned and filed.] RETURN, "WE have the Negro in the above Writ named,
at the Day and Place as by the said Writ we are commanded, and
we do certify, that we as Administrators of all and singular
the Goods and Chattels, Rights and Credits which were of Isaac
Prall, deceased, took Possession of said Negro as part of the
personal Property of the said Isaac Prall, and that there is no
other Cause of detaining him. LEWIS PRALL, ROBERT ROSS, JUN.
Administrators." Upon the hearing in this Cause, it appeared to the Court that
the said Negro Thomas belonged to the said Isaac Prall, deceased
-- That the Intestate, about Three Years before his Death, and
frequently afterwards, declared that Tom should never have
another Master -- That he had been a faithful Servant to him --
That they had been born under one Roof, that they had received
Sustenance from one Breast, and had broke up the Ground, and
always lived together ; and continued to shew great Affection and
Regard for the Negro until his last Sickness, and during that
Sickness whilst he had his Senses -- That in his last Illness, on
the Friday before he died, he requested a Person might be sent
for to make his Will, at which Time his Sister being present, she
asked him what he intended to do with his Negroes, he replied
they should all be sold but Tom, and he should be free ; which
Declaration he also made the same Day to several others, with
this, further, that Tom should not serve any other Master -- The
Person sent for to write his Will, did not come 'till the next
Day, when The Court having considered of the whole Case, and the
Arguments of Counsel for and against the Manumission of the
Negro, are unanimously of Opinion, That the frequent and
full Declarations of the Intestate, amounted to more than a bare
Intention of doing something in future ; that even if these
Declarations were taken in the Sense of a Promise to do something
in future, the good Behaviour of the Negro which was admitted on
all Hands, the evident Continuation of the Affection of the
Master as long as he had his Senses, and even when in some
Measure deprived of them, afforded a strong Ground of Presumption
of a Contract between the Negro and Master for his Freedom,
conditionally on his behaving well, which having performed on his
Part, the Negro was entitled to his Liberty, and that the
Performance of the Condition on the Part of the Master and his
Representatives, might be effected on this Habeas Corpus, do
therefore adjudge, That the said Negro Tom being entitled to
his Freedom, be discharged from the Custody of the said
Administrators, and all the Representatives of the said Isaac
Prall, deceased. On the Motion of Mr. Bloomfield,
Attorney-General. Attorney-General, and Elisha Boudinot, for the State.
Freelinghuysen and Aaron Ogden, for Defendants. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Jack claiming his
Freedom. THE Court having considered this Case under all its
Circumstances, and it appearing that John Coward the former
Master, under whom Tobias Hendrickson claims Title to the Negro,
antecedent to the Year 1785, actually entered into an Agreement
with Jack for his Freedom, the Terms of which have been fully
complied with ; The Court are therefore of Opinion, and
do order, the said Negro Jack to be liberated from the
Custody of the said Tobias Hendrickson -- But as John Coward the
former Master is not before the Court, and of Course not heard,
and his Interest may be materially concerned, this Judgment for
the Liberation of the said Jack is not to affect any present or
future Claim of the said John Coward. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Jethro (Son of
Charity Briggs) claiming his Freedom. IT appearing to the Court that the said Negro Jethro
was born on the eighth Day of September, 1768, in the
County of Cape-May in this State ; that his Mother Charity Briggs
a (Mulatto Woman) was free at the Time of his Birth -- That the
said Charity was by Indenture bound by the Justices and Overseers
of the Poor of the Lower Precinct of Cape-May to one Nathaniel
Foster, in order to bear the Expences of her having had the
Small-Pox -- That in the said Year of 1768, the said Charity was
purchased by a certain John Connel, she And the Court having taken the said Case into Consideration,
are unanimously of Opinion, That the said Jethro being the
Son of a free Woman, and of the Age of Twenty-one Years, is now
entitled to his Freedom, and do therefore adjudge, that the said
Negro Jethro (otherwise called Jethro Briggs) be
discharged from the Custody of the said John Ware, on the Motion
of Joseph Bloomfield, Attorney General. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Silas claiming his
Freedom. Returnable Saturday 11th September, and returned
accordingly. The Defendant appears with the Negro, to do and receive,
&c. pursuant to Recognizance. THE Case stated by Counsel for, the Opinion of the
Court is as follows, That on the fourth Day of December, 1761,
John Horsfield was entitled to Two Negro Girls, named Betty and
Nelly as Slaves ; and on the said fourth Day of December by his
last Will and Testament, (then dated) made the following Devise,
"Item, my Two Negro Girls named Betty and Nelly, I leave to be
sold by my Executors, hereafter named, for the Term of Fifteen
Years, and at the end of that Time to be free, and The Court having considered the above State of Facts, are
are unanimously of Opinion, That on the Death of John
Horsfield the Testator, Betty ceased to be a Slave, that she
ceasing to be a Slave, no Child born of her Body can be deemed so
by the Birth of such Child during the Fifteen Years, and that the
Claim of James Anderson to hold the said Negro Silas as a Slave,
is not warranted by Law : Wherefore it is ordered, That
the same Silas be liberated from the illegal Detention of the
same James Anderson, and he is hereby liberated accordingly,
ex motione J. Bloomfield, Attorney-General. The Attorney-General, Fisher, Howell and Todd for the
negro. -- R. Stockton and Frelinghysen for defendant.
ORDERED, that a Habeas Corpus do issue, directed to
the said Joshua Farley for the Body of Negro He thought this might be sufficient to say on the present
Occasion, but he would go further, and say that in his Opinion,
at the Death of the Testator, the two Negro Women were not
Slaves, no body at that Time had that absolute Property in
either, which distinguishes the Slave from what we call a
Servant, and the Retention of the temporary Interest excludes
that Supposition intirely -- The Argument made use of by the
Counsel for the Claimant, from the Word sell, might have
had some Weight if it had not been coupled with and explained by
the particular Time to which it applies, but taken together, it
is of no kind of Consequence, neither could he give his assent to
the Idea suggested that both were Slaves until the Expiration of
the Fifteen Years : Indeed the thought in his Opinion was absurd,
for he had no other Idea of a Slave but where, the Servitude is
perpetual, or in other Words for Life -- Neither did he see the
Impropriety of supposing, that the Right to Freedom subject to
the Temporary servitude, might vest in the Negro at the Death of
the Testator -- If this be so, and if the Misbehaviour of the
Mothers were not to affect themselves, he could not bring himself
to entertain an Opinion that it should affect their innocent
offspring and make them Slaves : all that Anderson bought was the
Service of the Mother for a Term of Years, and that too subject
to all Risques : As the Party buying, had nothing else in
Contemplation, no Construction can be unjust which gives that
Right in the fullest extent to him, and if he suffers by his
Bargain, it is no more than he undertook to subject himself to,
and a Construction of this Nature appeared much more Rational
than one which subjects a human Creature to be a Slave for no
Fault of his own. For these Reasons the Court were unanimously of
Opinion that the Claim of James Anderson is unfounded and the
Negro Boy should be liberated from his Custody. Joseph here on the first Day of the next Term, ex
me-Linn. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Joe claiming his
Freedom. THE said Joshua Farley having returned that the said
Negro Joe in the Writ named, before the coming of the said Writ,
was and still is, the Negro Slave of him the said Joshua Farley,
and that he had, and still hath Right and Title to hold the said
Joe a Slave during Life ; and thereof tendered an Issue to the
Country, and prayed the Court that the said Issue so tendered
might be tried by a Jury of his Country ; whereupon, The Court
having heard Counsel, and taking the Matter into Consideration,
are of Opinion that a Jury in this Case is improper, and
therefore do refuse the same. The Evidence both for and against the Claim of the said Negro
Joe to be set at Liberty, being fully heard, and Counsel
thereupon on both sides. The Court do adjudge that the said Negro Joe is illegally
detained in the Custody of the said Joshua Farley, and therefore
do order him to be discharged from the said Custody and illegal
Detention of him the said Joshua Farley, on the Motion of Elisha
Boudinot. On Habeas Corpus ad subjiciendum, for the
Liberation of Negro Abraham Solomons, and Negro Dolly
his Wife. The Attorney-General, Elisha Boudinot, and Linn, Counsel
for the Negroes. -- Leake and Richard Stockton, Counsel for the
said Administrators. THE Defendants having returned the Bodies with the
Cause &c. "That they are the Negro Slaves of The Court considering that this Point was fully argued and
determined by them in the Case of the State against Joshua
Farley, November Term last, do refuse to hear any Argument
thereupon, and do direct that the Cause be opened and heard
before the Court in the usual Manner ; whereupon, The Court
having heard the Return filed and Evidence and Allegations of the
Parties, do order, on Motion of Mr. Leake Attorney for the
said Administrators, that the said Abraham and Dolley be remanded
into the Custody of the said Administrators. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Hagar, Wife of
Cornelius Wilson, and Cornelius, Lydia and Anna
their Children, praying their Freedom, detained by the
Defendant, claiming their Service for Life. [Habeas Corpus
returned this Term and filed.] THE Court having fully heard the Allegations and
Proofs of all Parties, and the Arguments of Counsel thereon ; it
appeared to the Court, that the said Negroes brought up on the
said Writ, were in the Year 1776, the Slaves of William Winds,
Esq. of the County of Morris ; -- That the said William Winds,
in consideration of the good Behaviour of the said Negro
Cornelius Wilson the Father, in the said Year 1776, did manumit
and set free the said Cornelius, his Wife Hagar, and all the said
Children -- That the said Cornelius and his Family built a House
on the Lands of the said William Winds by his Assistance, and
with his Permission, and lived thereon as Free Citizens for the
Term of Three Years, when the said Cornelius Wilson and Wife were
taken sick ; on which the said William Winds removed them to a
House near his own, and took care of them till they recovered,
when he employed them and paid them On Habeas Corpus of Negro Rachel claiming
her Freedom. [The Writ returned and filed.] THE Court taking into Consideration this Case, and it
appearing to depend on the Decision, in the Case of the State
against James Anderson, on the Habeas Corpus of Negro Silas,
September Term, 1790, ordered, That the said Negro Rachel
be discharged and entirely liberated from the Custody of the said
William Laird, on the Motion of the Attorney-General. On Habeas Corpus of Negro Agnus, claiming
her Freedom. [The Writ returned and filed.] THE Court having considered this Case, and it
appearing that the same depends on the Decisions in the Case of
the State against James Anderson, on the Habeas Corpus of Negro
Silas, September Term, 1790, ordered that the said Negro
Agnus be discharged, and entirely liberated from the Custody of
the said Benjamin Covenhoven, on Motion of the Attorney-General.
On Habeas Corpus of Negro James, a Boy about
Thirteen Years of Age, claiming his Freedom. THE Case upon the Habeas Corpus and Return,
coming before the Court appeared to be as follows, Jasper Smith of the Township of Maidenhead, in the County of
Hunterdon, by Will bearing Date the 29th Day of November,
1769, (amongst others) made the following Devise, "And as for all
my Negroes, Jack, old Juddy, and young Juddy, with all her
Children, and with all their Cloaths, Chests, Beds, and Bedding,
after my Decease, I do hereby order that they are all
Page 10
IN THE SAME TERM OF September, 1782.
(p. 48.)
The STATE against LEWIS Mc. KNIGHT.
September Term, 1782.
(p. 49.)
The STATE against ENLOES PHILPOT.
Page 11
November Term, 1782.
(p. 59.)
The STATE against LEWIS Mc. KNIGHT.
LEWIS Mc. KNIGHT.
IN THE SAME TERM OF November, 1782.
(p. 76.)
IN THE SAME CAUSE OF The STATE against LEWIS Mc.
KNIGHT.
Page 12
Thomas Leonard, by the Commissioners of forfeited Estates for
the County of Monmouth, and bought by David Forman, Esq. who
afterwards sold him to Kenneth Hankinson, Esq. and he to the said
Lewis M`Knight the Defendant ; that no Bond was given by the said
Grace Tite, pursuant to the Act of Assembly, passed in the
twelfth and thirteenth Years of the late Queen Ann : And that the
said Negro Caesar Tite is now above Twenty-one Years old, to
wit, of the Age of about Twenty-four or Twenty-five.
September Term, 1783.
(p. 252. 270.)
MERCY HILL against WILLIAM LEDDELL.
Page 13
The Court having heard the Testimony, with sundry Affidavits
offered and read, to prove the Truth of the foregoing
Allegations, and having also heard the Arguments of Counsel on
both Sides, and maturely considered thereof, are unanimously
of Opinion, That the said Mercy Hill is entitled to her
Freedom, and ought not to be held in Slavery ; and do accordingly
adjudge and order that the said Mercy Hill be discharged and set
at Liberty from the said William Leddell, on Motion of Mr. Morris
in behalf of Mercy Hill.
IN THE SAME TERM OF September, 1783.
(p. 286. 295.)
The STATE against TIERCK TENBROECK.
May Term, 1784.
(p. 33.)
The STATE against ADRIAN POST.
Page 14
to remain in his Custody, until the further Order of the Court.
April Term, 1785.
(p. 300.)
The STATE against BENJAMIN APPLEGATE.
Page 15
May Term, 1785.
(p. 358.)
The STATE against JOHN VANHORNE.
AFTERWARDS IN THE Term of May, 1786, (p. 128.)
Page 16
this Court of May Term last, be delivered to the said Moore
Furman, Esq. Agent of Forfeitures for the County of Hunterdon.
November Term, 1785.
(p. 519 and 472.)
Negro GEORGE against BARNT DE KLYN.
IN THE SAME TERM OF November, 1785.
(p. 525.)
Negro QUAMINI against WILLIAM LEDDEL,
Esquire.
Page 17
by Captain Augustine Bayles of the same County, that the said
Captain Bayles, divers Times in his Lifetime promised the said
Negro Quamini, that if he would be honest, faithful, and
industrious, he never should serve any other Master, but should
be free at his the said Captain Bayles's decease ; that the said
Captain Bayles on his Death-Bed, considering that his Wife would
be left very destitute of Help, directed that the said Negro
Quamini should continue in her Service during her Widowhood, and
that then he should be free ; that the said Captain Bayles died
in the Year 1781, or 1782, and that about Two Years ago, Keziah
Bayles his Widow intermarried with one Thomas Faircloth.
May Term 1787.
(p. 449.)
The STATE against JACOB PHILLIPS.
Page 18
Jacob Phillips before one of the Justices of the Supreme Court,
on Motion of Mr. Elias Boudinot.
September Term, 1787.
(p. 36, -- 39.)
The STATE against JOHN B. OLIVER and his Wife.
[Note: Note, The Counsel for the Defendants in this Case,
contended that they ought not to be compelled to answer the
Allegation of Abuse, because, as the Habeas Corpus, was in common
form to bring the Body, and no Cause in particular alledged, they
could not be presumed to come prepared to answer any thing but
the illegal Detainer of the Negro as a Slave, and insisted that
they ought not to be compelled to answer this until a sufficient
Prosecutor should be indorsed on the Habeas Corpus, and Security
given for the Costs : All this the Court over ruled. The Counsel
for the Defendants undertook that the Negro should not be
ill-treated, and the dispute was afterwards settled and the Court
heard nothing further of the Affair. ]
Page 19
September Term, 1788.
(p. 356.)
The STATE against DANIEL TAYLOR, Junior.
April Term, 1789.
(p. 437.)
The STATE against DAVID LYON.
Page 20
Rose, unto one John Worthley -- That the said John Worthley by
Bill of Sale, dated 27th September, 1753, sold the said
Negro Flora to one John Williams -- That John Williams the 8th of
May, 1754, sold the said Negro Flora to the aforesaid Dr.
Eaton for the Sum of Sixty-Pounds York-Money -- That the said Dr.
Eaton upwards of Twenty Years ago, and about Five Days after one
Jacob Dennis had purchased the aforesaid Negro Girl Rose,
Daughter of the said Flora, of the said John Worthley, he the
said Dr. Eaton informed the said Jacob Dennis, he was collecting
those Negroes for William Little (his Son-in-Law) -- that they
should return to him again as they belonged to him ; and at that
Time and often afterwards declared that he was principled against
Slavery, and that he never intended the said Flora should belong
to his Estate, nor should any of his Children be benefited by
having her as their Property -- It also appeared that the said
Lucy Eaton survived her said Husband, the said Dr. Eaton -- That
shortly after the Death of the said Dr. Eaton (to wit,
about Seventeen Years ago) one Thomas White applied to the said
Lucy Eaton to purchase and did purchase at private Sale, a small
Spinning Wheel, which she then said she had not any further Use
for, as she had given Flora free who used to spin on the said
Wheel -- That since that Time the said Flora has passed for, and
been esteemed a free Woman, and for a considerable Time worked
about in the Neighborhood of the said Widow Eaton, and in the
House of the said Widow, and for the Wife of John Eaton the
eldest Son of the said Dr. Eaton, and always received her Wages
as well from the said John Eaton's Wife, as the Neighbours ; and
the said Widow Eaton herself promised to compensate her therefor
-- And it further appeared that whilst the said Flora worked
about for herself as aforesaid, she intermarried with a certain
Joseph Reap, a free Negro, with whom the said Flora has ever
since lived unmolested and as a free Woman, and still continues
so to live -- That after the marriage of the said Flora with the
said Joseph Reap, she had Two Children called Lydia, and
Margaret (the present Claimant), that these Children lived
with their said Father and Mother, who brought them up by their
own Industry without any Expence or Trouble to any other Person
whatsoever, until
Page 21
last Fall, when they were taken away from their said Parents
without their Consent -- That since the said taking, it appears
by a certain Instrument of Writing, bearing date the 8th Day of
January, 1789, executed under the Hand and Seal of the
aforesaid William Little, (the Son-in-Law of the said Dr. Eaton,
and for whom the said Dr. Eaton declared as aforesaid, he was
collecting the Negroes) -- That the said William Little hath
manumitted and set at Liberty the said Flora and her said Two
Children, Lydia and Margaret ; whereupon The Court having
considered this state of Facts, and the arguments of Counsel on
both Sides thereupon, are of Opinion, That, permitting the
said Negro Woman Flora to remain at Liberty for so long a Time,
and to work for herself, and having intermarried with the said
Joseph Reap a free Man, with whom she has ever since lived as a
free Woman, is such Evidence of Freedom, both of the said Negro
Woman Flora, and consequently of her Children, as to entitle the
said Negro Margaret Reap to her Discharge ; and the Court do
therefore accordingly order the said Negro Margaret Reap
to be discharged and set at Liberty from the said David Lyon ; on
Motion of the Attorney General.
IN THE SAME TERM OF April, 1789,
(p. 438.)
The STATE against JOHN LEIGHTON.
Page 22
April Term, 1790.
(p. 42.)
The STATE against LEWIS PRALL and ROBERT ROSS
Administrators of ISAAC PRALL, deceased.
Page 23
the Intestate was so deranged in his Mind as to be incapable of
making his Will, and continued so until he died, which was on the
Wednesday following ; that the said Intestate, after he was in
some measure deranged, continued to shew strong and evident Marks
of Affection for the said Negro, and of the Continuance of his
Design and Intention to make him free : It also appeared to the
Court that the said Negro had always before the Death of the
Intestate, and till that Event took place, been much attached to
his Master, had shewn a great Affection for him, and had behaved
himself well and faithfully.
Page 24
May Term, 1790.
(p. 85.)
The STATE against TOBIAS HENDRICKSON.
September Term, 1790.
(p. 119.) The STATE against JOHN WARE.
Page 25
then having the said Jethro an Infant at her Breast -- That
afterwards the Time of Service of the said Charity was sold by
Connel to Captain Jonathan Jenkins, and that the said Charity
took her said Son with her -- That the said Jethro her Son, was
brought up by Jenkins until he was sit for Business, and then was
sold unto Christopher Leaming of the said County of Cape-May, who
kept the said Jethro a number of Years, and within Two Years last
past sold the said Jethro unto John Ware of Cumberland, the
Defendant now in Court, for the Term of Twelve Years and Eight
Months, and by Bill of Sale engaged to warrant the Service of the
said Negro Jethro for the said Term.
IN THE SAME TERM OF September, 1790.
(p. 141.)
The STATE against JAMES ANDERSON.
Page 26
the Money arising thereby, to be equally divided amongst my Four
youngest Daughters, and they that buy the said Negro Girls, if
the said Girls or either of them Misbehave, or become chargeable,
it must be at the Risque or Cost of the Buyer." That the said
Executors sold the said Negro Girls to one Covenhoven, who sold
them to the present Defendant Anderson, for the Term mentioned in
the Will -- That Betty had a Child (the Negro Silas) now of full
Age, which Child was not born in Matrimony.
[Note: NOTE. Chief Justice Kinsey, in giving the Opinion of
the Court said, BY the words of the Will taken together, It
appears that the Testator intended to increase the Daughters'
Portions, to effect this Purpose, he ordered the Mother of the
Negro now before the Court, and another, to be sold by his
Executors for the Term of Fifteen Years, and every Construction
which will not detract from this Intention should be made in a
Case of this Nature -- It is also evident that the Testator
foreseeing probably, that some Means might, after his Death, be
made use of to frustrate his benevolent Design, took care to
guard against it, by ordering that whoever should purchase these
Negroes, the Purchasers should run all Risques, and be at all the
Expence which should arise from their Misbehaviour, the most
probable Grounds on which that Attempt might be made -- The Chief
Justice was of Opinion, that these words take in the Fact which
has happened, and the Purchaser ought not to avail himself of it
by making a Slave of the Child -- ]
Page 27
IN THE SAME TERM OF September, 1790.
(p. 120.)
The STATE against JOSHUA FARLEY.
Page 28
November Term, 1790.
(p. 165.)
The STATE against JOSHUA FARLEY.
May Term, 1791.
(p. 248.) The STATE against JOSEPH BEAVERS, JOHN CLIFFORD,
and JOHN MARTIN, Administrators of EDWARD CLIFFORD,
deceased.
Page 29
the said Defendants of the Estate of their Intestate, and that
they have Right to hold them as such, during Life," and thereof
having tendered an Issue to the Country, and prayed that the same
might be tried by a Jury of the Country.
IN THE SAME TERM OF May, 1791.
(p. 257.)
The STATE against ABRAHAM PROBASCO.
Page 30
Wages for their Labor as free Persons ; That the said William
Winds, fearing they might become a burthen on his Estate, urged
them to obtain security to indemnify him from any Expence in Case
of their becoming a Charge -- That thereupon the said William
Winds gave to the said Negro Cornelus Wilson a Pass to go into
the County of Monmouth to obtain such Security -- That the said
Cornelius accordingly went to the said County of Monmouth, and
agreed with Abraham Probasco the Defendant, that in Consideration
of his becoming Security to the said William Winds, he and his
Family would serve him Five Years -- That the said Abraham
Probasco in Consequence thereof, came to the said William Winds
and agreed with him accordingly, and in order to secure the said
William Winds, the said Abraham Probasco proposed, that the said
William Winds should give to the said Abraham a Bill of Sale for
the said Negroes, and at the end of Five Years, the said Abraham
would release the said Negroes and set them free : That a Bill of
Sale for the Consideration of Five Shillings, without any
Condition or Reservation was drawn up accordingly by the said
Abraham, and executed by the said William, and a Receipt given by
the said Abraham to the said William therefor, calling it a Deed
of Gift -- That at the Execution of the said Instrument or Bill
of Sale, the said William Winds mentioned his Fear least the said
Abraham should claim the said Negroes as Slaves by virtue of the
said Bill of Sale, when he and the Witnesses should be dead, and
declared that altho' he could get Two Hundred Pounds for the said
Negroes, yet he had given the said Bill of Sale for Five
Shillings in order that they might be free -- That the said
Negroes have faithfully served the said Abraham for more than Six
Years under the said Agreement, and are still detained by the
said Abraham who claims their Service for Life by Virtue of the
said Bill of Sale. The Court therefore having maturely considered
the Premises, are unanimously of Opinion, That the said
Negroes and every of them, be discharged from the Custody of the
said Abraham Probasco as free Citizens, and they are hereby
discharged accordingly, on Motion of Mr. Attorney-General,
Bloomfield. The Attorney General, and R. Stockton for the
Negroes. Kirkpatrick for Defendant.
Page 31
September Term, 1792.
(p. 471.)
The STATE against WILLIAM LAIRD.
April Term, 1793.
The STATE against BENJAMIN COVENHOVEN.
May Term, 1793.
The STATE against JAMES PITNEY of the County of
Morris.
Page 32
by me for ever freed from all Servitude from me or any of mine,
and from all others whatsoever at my Decease, and that they may
go and work for their Living with whomsoever they please" -- That
the said Jasper Smith afterwards died -- That notwithstanding the
said Will, the said Negroes, and in particular the said young
Juddy were detained by Joshua Smith, Son of the said Jasper, and
one of the Devisees named in the said Will, that during such
Detention, and before the Death of the said Joshua, the Negro
James in the present Habeas Corpus named, was born of the Body of
the said Juddy -- That the said Joshua Smith died, leaving Keziah
Smith and John Biles his Executors, and the said Negro Juddy and
her Son James in their Possession -- That on the 9th Day of
March, 1790, the said Keziah Smith and John Biles, as Executors
of the said Joshua Smith, by Bill of Sale of that Date, conveyed
the said Negro James to James Pitney the Defendant in the Habeas
Corpus named ; but that no Bond or other Security whatsoever was
given by the said Jasper Smith, the Master of the said young
Juddy and Testator in the Will above named, pursuant to the Act
of Assembly passed 16th November, 1769 ; whereupon, The
Court having taken due Consideration, are unanimously of
Opinion, That the said Negro Juddy the Mother of the said
James, was a free Woman by the Will of the said Jasper Smith, the
want of Security pursuant to the said Act of Assembly
notwithstanding, and that consequently the said James her Son is
entitled to his Freedom, and do therefore order, that the
said James be discharged from the illegal Detention of the said
James Pitney, and he is discharged accordingly, on the Motion of
Mr. Bloomfield for the State.
FINIS.
ERRATA.