1814, Grace, Sale
- Title
- 1814, Grace, Sale
- Description
-
Grace was sold by the executors of the estate of the Rev. Joseph Clark (late pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick) in 1814 to a man named Mr. Linn. Clark had left his estate to wife Margaret Clark and his children, naming several prominent members of his church as executors of his will.
On April 21, 1814, John Neilson and John Pool, two of the executors of Clark's estate, placed a sale advertisement for two Black women in the New Brunswick newspaper the Fredonian. The ad also mentioned that buyers could inquire with "P. I. Clark" which refers to Joseph Clark's son Peter Imlay Clark, although he was not one of the executors of his father's estate. The text of the ad was as follows:
"For Sale, TWO BLACK WOMEN, Belonging to the estate of Rev. Dr. J. Clark, dec— one in her 25th the other in her 18th year. They are sober, honest, and industrious. For terms enquire of JOHN NEILSON, JOHN POOL, Executers. Or of P.I. CLARK. Also for sale— A CHAIR AND HARNESS. April 21."
Although the ad did not mention the women's names, we are able to identify the women as Grace and Dine based on related receipts that were preserved in the Neilson Family Papers at Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives. Since Grace is known to have given a birth to a son in 1806, we can be certain that Grace is the older of the two women mentioned in the ad, being aged 24 to 25 when the sale took place.
Grace was sold to Mr. Linn sometime between April 21 and August 4, 1814, for the sum of 150 dollars. On August 4, 1814, John Neilson delivered the payment of 150 dollars for Grace's sale to Margaret Clark, the widow of Joseph Clark. Neilson obtained a receipt from Margaret Clark, which was actually signed by Margaret's daughter Hannah Clark on Margaret's behalf.
The following is a transcript of the receipt:
"New Brunswick 4 August 1814
Received from John Neilson one hundred
& fifty dollars which he received from
Mr. Linn for a black girl Grace belonging
to the estate of the late Revd Doctr Clark
sold to the said Mr. Linn.
Margaret Clark
by
Hannah Clark" - Identifier
- NJS-EVE-00670
- Action Status
- https://www.onthesegrounds.org/s/OTG/item/546
- Date
- 21 April 1814 – 4 August 1814
- Date Certainty
- https://www.onthesegrounds.org/s/OTG/item/550
- Source
- Sale ad for two Black women from the estate of Joseph Clark. Fredonian. April 21, 1814.
- Receipt to John Neilson for the sale of Grace. August 4, 1814. Neilson Family Papers, 1768-1908 (MC 933). Box 4, Folder 27: Rev Jos Clark: estate papers, John Neilson, adm. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.
- Related Event
- 1815, Dine, Sale
- Primary Participant
- Grace (b. 1790)
- Primary Participant Description
- black girl Grace
- Freedom Status
- https://www.onthesegrounds.org/s/OTG/item/553
- Age
- Adult
- 24
- Additional Participant
- Hannah Clark
- Buyer
- Mr. Linn
- Seller
-
John Neilson (1745-1833)
- Currency
- dollar
- Price
- 150
- Source Resource
- https://records.njslavery.org/api/items/3703
- Source Site
- https://records.njslavery.org/s/doc/page/home
- Sex
- Female
- Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
Linked resources
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