Understanding the Context

New Jersey

The state of New Jersey unfortunately had a long and fraught history with slavery. As Dr. Chambers explains in his book Cranbury, "Unlike abolitionist New England, the majority of New Jerseans, especially before the outbreak of the Civil War, maintained that their state stood on the middle ground, 'geographically and politically between all extremes,' as a New Jersey Republican congressman put it in 1860" (63). Dr Chambers goes on to state that "New Jersey had lagged behind other northern states in abolishing slavery. Partly this was due to the comparatively large number of slaves in the state..." (64) 

One instance of the extreme brutality of chattel slavery in New Jersey can be seen in the 1741 execution of three enslaved men. In front of the Union County court house, three enslaved men were burned at the stake following false reports of a slave revolt.   By 1804, a state law concerning the gradual abolition of slavery was passed. This law manumitted enslaved peoples only after they had served 21 or 25 years, depending on the enslaved person's gender, as "bound apprentices" (not "slaves") for their enslavers. 

The Van Winkle Slave ring:

Despite the promise of freedom for enslaved peoples from the Gradual Abolition Act of 1804, enslavers found ways to continue to profit off of their enslaved peoples.  The Van Winkle Slave Ring  typifies the enslavers' pernicious desire for continued profit. As Rutgers's Scarlet & Black research center explains, "Middlesex County Court Judge Jacob Van Wickle got around that ‘problem’ by running a slave ring where he would send slaves south to Louisiana to evade the law. That allowed him to make a profit off slaves who would otherwise have to be freed once they reached twenty-five or twenty-one."

An End to Slavery?

By 1846, pressure from the abolitionist movement, free Blacks, Quakers, and the American Colonization Society in the state led to the passing of a new state law that eliminated the forced "apprenticeships" for all Black children born after the law's passing. This law technically outlawed slavery simply by recategorizing all enslaved peoples as "indentured servants." As "indentured servants" they were not allowed to be sold without their permission, but their consent was often either manufactured or ignored by their enslavers. While slavery technically no longer existed in New Jersey, it was still very much alive.

On December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment was signed thereby legally abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude. 

Finally on January 23, 1866, New Jersey became the last Northern state to end slavery when governor Marcus L. Ward signed a state constitutional amendment that brought about an absolute end to slavery in the state. 

Cranbury

Cranbury, too, was also deeply involved with slavery. The stories of the town, and the congregation itself, serve as a helpful microcosm in understanding the attitudes in the state and the wider nation regarding slavery. For example, we know for a fact that at least one pastor of the church and numerous members were enslavers. Rev. Symmes Henry, for example, enslaved at least two women--Betty & Charlotte. We only know of Betty and Charlotte from the church's marriage records. While Rev. Symmes Henry enslaved at least two people, his successor, Rev. Joseph Symmes, was a staunch abolitionist. 

We know too that Isaac Snowden, an elder of the church, enslaved at least two people--including one child. His son, though, Rev. Gilbert Snowden, another pastor of First Presbyterian, intentionally purchased an individual, David, with the express intent on freeing him. 

The Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church also had a long and problematic history with chattel slavery. Many of the denomination's members owned slaves and supported the institution. The denomination itself also financially benefitted from enslavement.

The Presbyterian Church's seminaries were intertwined with it as well. For example, Princeton Seminary, the denomination's flagship seminary located roughly 10 miles from Cranbury, had multiple professors who were enslavers. These professors include Samuel Miller, Archibald Alexander, and Charles Hodge--all three of which either had or currently have buildings named after them on the seminary's campus. Princeton Seminary's faculty and staff, along with other local Presbyterians, were also influential in the American Colonization Society, the ACS. While many members of the faculty actively benefitted from slavery, they did seemingly acknowledge the evils of slavery and desired for the institutions end. However, they did not think that full integration was possible. Their solution, then, was to send the formerly enslaved people to Liberia. Archibald Alexander explained the reasoning thusly: 

Two races of men, nearly equal in numbers, but differing as much as the whites and blacks, cannot form one harmonious society in any other way than by amalgamation; but the whites and blacks, in this country, by no human efforts, could be amalgamated into one homogeneous mass in a thousand years; and during this long period, the state of society would be perpetually disturbed by many contending factions. Either the whites must remove and give up the country to the coloured people, or the coloured people must be removed; otherwise the latter must remain in subjection to the former. (Princeton University)

Despite the faculty's lack of theological imagination, there were students who were active abolitionists. For example, Theodore S. Wright, for whom the seminary library is now named, was the first Black graduate of the seminary and a staunch abolitionist as both a student and pastor.

For more information regarding the seminary and slavery, we suggest exploring Princeton University's page on the topic and the seminary's own slavery audit report. And for a deep dive into the denomination's history with slavery, we recommend reading Dr. William Yoo's 2022 book What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church.