While in Cape May a few weeks ago at the Harriet Tubman Museum, I was given a fairly new (2019) publication, pre-pandemic, publication about Slavery in New Jersey. Its by Gail R. Safian and is based on an exhibit produced by the Durand-Hidden House in Maplewood, New Jersey. I haven’t been to see the exhibit but I am eager to visit the museum. The publication is a good primer, or overview on slavery, gradual abolition, emancipation, an excellent 1830 census map of free and enslaved communities by county, and a chock full of other wonderful details. Thomas Mundy Peterson, of Perth Amboy, the first African American to vote in the U.S. under the new 15th Amendment is also mentioned. It’s a good introduction and it’s published also in a portable document format which you can download here.
Another introductory publication titled Guide to the Underground Railroad in New Jersey is shared here for reading also. It’s produced and published by the New Jersey Historical Commission and features a chronology of important dates leading up to Emancipation, Undgeround Railroad sites, Railroad Operatives, and suggested readings.
