Stories of Slavery in New JerseyDutch and English settlers brought the first enslaved people to New Jersey in the seventeenth century. By the time of the Revolutionary War, slavery was an established practice on labor-intensive farms throughout what became known as the Garden State. The progenitor of the influential Morris family, Lewis Morris, brought Barbadian slaves to toil on his estate of Tinton Manor in Monmouth County. "Colonel Tye," an escaped slave from Shrewsbury, joined the British "Ethiopian Regiment" during the Revolutionary War and led raids throughout the towns and villages near his former home. Charles Reeves and Hannah Van Clief married soon after their emancipation in 1850 and became prominent citizens of Lincroft, as did their next four generations. Author Rick Geffken reveals stories from New Jersey's dark history of slavery. |
Contents
Foreword by Dr Walter D Greason | 9 |
Slavery Takes Hold in Monmouth County | 43 |
Shrewsbury Slavery and the Revolutionary War | 57 |
Slaves of Freehold Holmdel and Middletown | 79 |
Slave Entrepôt | 99 |
George Washingtons Slaves Hunterdon and Morris Counties | 119 |
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abolitionist acres African American Barbados became Bergen County Boen born British Burlew Burlington Cemetery century Charles and Hannah Charles Reeves Christ Church colonial Crawford Delaware River died Disbrow Dutch East Jersey enslaved escape farm father free Black freed freedom Freehold Friends Fugitive Geffken George Washington Gronniosaw Hackensack Hannah Reeves Harriet Tubman Historical Society History James Jersey City Jersey slaves Jersey's John Corlies Knott labor land Lewis Morris Lincroft lived Loyalists Malick manumission manumitted married master Middletown Monmouth County Monmouth County Historical Morgan Morris's Negro owners Peter Philadelphia Pitney plantation Princeton Quaker records Reeves family Reverend Revolutionary runaway slaves Samuel Cooke Sandy Hook Schuyler servant Shrewsbury Shrewsbury Town slaveholders slavery sold Somerset County Stockton story Sutphin Tinton Falls Tinton Manor Titus took Trent Trenton UGRR Underground Railroad Veghten West Wickle wife William Penn woman wrote Yaff Yombo York