(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION) Conditional manumission to Thomas Pe

Sale 2562 - Lot 23

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(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) Conditional manumission to "Thomas Peterson, now my slave" granted by a prominent New York politician. Contemporary manuscript transcript, one page, 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches, docketed on verso; folds, toning, minor wear. New York, 24 February 1818

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"In consideration of the faithful service & good conduct of my man Thomas Peterson, now my slave, & in the further consideration that he shall continue so to serve me & my wife faithfully & honestly . . . I do hereby promise & engage at the expiration of four years from this day to manumit & emancipate him & give him his freedom."

The man granting the manumission is named only as "DTB," likely Dirck Ten Broeck (1765-1833), who had been Speaker of the New York General Assembly. The witnesses are Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778-1847), his brother-in-law, later president of the New-York Historical Society; and Stephen Philip Van Rensselaer Ten Broeck (1802-1866), his 16-year-old son. What we don't know: whether Thomas Peterson managed to jump through enough hoops in the ensuing years to gain his freedom.