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Community Corner

A Glimpse into the Lives of Middlesex County African Americans in the 1800's

Part three of a three-part column.

The in Brainerd Cemetery only represent a small amount of the burials which have taken place in the area.

Records of the state other family members may have been buried above the existing graves. Also many have been buried without headstones, only represented by wooded crosses which have long rotted away.

Baptism and marriage records of the First Presbyterian Church, from 1802 until 1833, record over 90 names of African Americans.  Parents, children or newlywed couples are also listed in the official church records.

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Most of the recorded marriages list only first names and the name of the masters who owned each slave. Only a few list themselves by surname, Peter Ongue, Catherine Hawkins and Solomon Sharp, which may someday assist in research of these family names.

The Baptisms lists show many more surnames such as Ditmars, Freeman, Baird, Little and Scudder. This makes the lack of records more curious at the African Methodist Church, which many would have moved to worship at.

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The African Americans also have long family bible records history that would lead us to believe the church records would have high priority.

These records and the oral history of Viola Phares Nixon give a small glimpse into the lives of African Americans in Cranbury and throughout Middlesex County in this time period.

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