Stories of Slavery in New Jersey

by Rick Geffken

Dutch 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.

Genres: History

208 pages, Paperback

Published January 4, 2021

Reviews

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I think of slavery, I usually think of southern states, but New Jersey had a number of slaves as well. The book is focused on the slave ownership largely in Monmouth County (which is fine, because I am most familiar with Monmouth County), although the other counties are also mentioned. An interesting read.

[Gregg Puluka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

Few know that NJ was only a free state a few years prior to the civil war. It also wasn’t clear that we would join the union in their cause. We also came very close to rioting when the draft started.

However NJ was a big player in the Underground Railroad with Harriet Tubman making many trips through our state.

It’s a complex topic that this book handles well

[Janet Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

It can't be easy to make a well-researched historically accurate book - very interesting. But this author did it.

However, this book lost a couple of stars for being so heavy-handed.

I loved the ending; for such a heavy topic, it ended on a high note.