(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION) Inventory of the estate of a wealthy

Sale 2562 - Lot 9

Price Realized: $ 688

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200

(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) Inventory of the estate of a wealthy New Jersey man, including 6 named "Blacks." Contemporary manuscript copy signed by Caleb Mayo of the Surrogate Court. 7 pages plus docketing on final blank, 12 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches, on 2 folding sheets, stitched; moderate water damage and wear. Monmouth County, NJ, 27 December 1817

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Additional Details

Rulef Van Meter (1738-1817), whose extensive estate is listed here, was apparently an affluent man, but his single most valuable asset was Bob, valued at $300. The other "Blacks" listed on page 4 were Robin ($10), Jude ($125), Dinah ($50), Carline ($30), and Sam ($50). In the room-by-room inventory, they were listed in the section headed "Kitchen Furniture," followed by "9 common Windsor chairs" and a small table.

New Jersey passed a "Gradual Abolition Act" in 1804, but it was even more gradual than in most northern states. The state's 16 final remaining enslaved people were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865.