Details:

Partly printed and manuscript-completed New York freedom certificate dated April 28, 1814, documenting the legal recognition of Henry Stevens, a Black man born in Elizabeth County, Virginia, as a free man under the laws of the State of New York. The folio bears the sworn affidavit of Jacob Ricketts Jr. of New York City’s Third Ward and the certification of Alderman Jonas Mapes, providing a remarkable early record of the legal protections afforded to free Black Americans during the antebellum period.

The document states that Ricketts had known Henry Stevens for two years and affirmed under oath that Stevens, approximately sixty-eight years of age, had long been regarded as free and had “continually acted as a free man.” It further records that Stevens had been free “before the year eighteen hundred,” despite having been born in Virginia, a slaveholding state.

Following this sworn testimony, Alderman Jonas Mapes formally certified that Henry Stevens had produced satisfactory written proof of his freedom and was therefore “free according to the laws of this State.” The certificate also provides a detailed physical description of Stevens, noting his approximate height of five feet two inches, dark eyes, gray hair, age, Virginia birthplace, and that he “became free in or before the year eighteen hundred.” Such identifying descriptions were intended to help protect free Black citizens by documenting their legal status should it ever be challenged.

Freedom certificates such as this were critically important documents for free African Americans in the early nineteenth century. Many carried them at all times as evidence of their legal status, particularly when traveling or living in areas where they risked being wrongfully detained or claimed as escaped enslaved persons.

Overall good condition for a document of this age, with expected fold separations, edge losses, scattered toning, and period repairs along several folds. A rare and historically significant early American freedom document illustrating the precarious legal realities faced by free Black Americans during the antebellum era.

Authentication:
Includes a full letter of authenticity from JG Autographs, Inc.

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Reference sku: 11674 1416977-1