Slavery Era Newspaper Clippings

Description

This collection consists of New Jersey newspaper clippings from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, including runaway ads, slave sale ads, and articles that highlight the activities of Queen's College trustees.

Note that these items, and hundreds of other newspaper clippings and documents from the slavery era, have now been integrated into the New Jersey Slavery Records database. Visit the new searchable database to explore archival sources and digital maps.

Image of three historical documents with a link to the New Jersey Slavery Records website

Collection Items

Run away from Philip Livingston [unnamed African man]
Slaveholder and slave trader Philip Livingston offers a reward of three dollars for the capture of an African man who escaped from Livingston in New York City. The man does not speak any Dutch or English, suggesting that he was only recently brought…

A black woman named Nell ran away from slaveholder Isaac Kingsland in Bergen County. Her master's ad mentions that Nell formerly belonged to Robert J. Livingston, a New York merchant. Isaac Kingsland describes the clothing Nell wore and took with her…

FOR SALE By the subscriber, a Negro wench
Jacob R. Hardenberg (Queen's College trustee and son of the college's first president) advertises a 35-year-old black woman for sale in Somerville. The ad was first issued on December 16, 1800, and ran for at least 3 months until March 1801 in…
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