On June 20th, the State Library presented our annual Juneteenth Celebration Lecture with Kristal Langford and Toni Hendrix of the Lost Souls Memorial Project. This non-profit organization is dedicated to preserving the memory and resilience of the victims of the Van Wickle human trafficking ring, which operated out of Middlesex County, and was exposed to great public outrage in 1818. Jacob Van Wickle, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, signed off on the transportation of enslaved persons by his brother-in-law Charles Morgan to Louisiana. At least 137 people were transported. Ms. Langford detailed the events and highlighted the stories of those transported, many of them young mothers and children.
The New Jersey State Archives has created the Van Wickle Slave Ring Digital Collection, a free, online collection of historical documents related to the Van Wickle human trafficking operation. These documents come from a variety of the State Archives’ collections and validate the existence of these tragic events in New Jersey history. The digital collection includes: court documents, newspaper articles, petitions, and relevant laws from several different collections at the State Archives.
The original manuscripts within the digital collection are available for viewing at the New Jersey State Archives. Please visit the State Archives website to make a research appointment.
Vivian Thiele, Archivist and curator of the digital collection, sat down with NJSL Genealogy Librarian Regina Fitzpatrick to highlight the collection items and offer advice and insights on how to further research the 1818 events.
Some useful resources mentioned in the discussion but not part of the digital collection:
- Digitized Historic New Jersey Newspapers Research Guide – find where select New Jersey newspapers have been digitized. Please note that the State Library does not subscribe to some of the services mentioned.
- New Jersey Supreme Court Case Files – researchers can select ethnicity or search by name to find court case documents related to enslaved persons.
- Middlesex County Manumissions Book (vol. XI in collection) – mixed in with manumissions are transportation agreements, including those “agreeing” to be transported to Louisiana by Charles Morgan and related parties. This resource is available for in person use only on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives. The original book is owned by Rutgers University. If you are not able to visit the State Archives in person, please contact Rutgers.
- Middlesex County Court of Common Pleas minute books (see volumes XXII and XXIII for 1818) -minute books provide a timeline of events for court cases passing through the Court, possibly including the ruling or outcome of the case. Again, this resource is available for in-person microfilm use at the State Archives, and the original records are owned by Rutgers University. If you can’t travel to the State Archives, please contact Rutgers.
- Norman’s Chart of the Lower Mississippi River (1858) – shows Charles Morgan’s plantation in Louisiana named Morganzia. A portion of this map is shown during the discussion video. This is where many of the victims of the 1818 trafficking operation were bound. Other property owners of note include: S. Van Wickle and J.C. Van Wickle.
- NJ Department of Transportation’s January 2008 issue of Cultural Digest, featuring information on the Morgan Pottery. The publication includes genealogical information on the Van Wickle and Morgan families.
If you have any questions regarding the Van Wickle Slave Ring Digital Collection, or the associated documents, please contact njarchives@sos.nj.gov or (609) 292-6260.
Happy Juneteenth, everyone!
From the original blog post on June 28, 2023.
