The Cobb Collection at Half-Time

This blogpost is an update of the August 15, 2017 blog written by Phoebe Duke, an intern at the time from Hamilton College entitled The Cobbs of Morristown. She described her task of curating a 40 box plus collection of various and mostly business documents from Lemuel Cobb and his son Andrew. This collection was originally donated to Morristown by Andrew Lemuel Cobb Jr. before his death in 1967.

The collection was loaned to The Morristown & Morris Township Library – Local History and Genealogy Department in the early 1980’s until it was returned around 2010. While at the library the collection was put into a 40 plus set of boxes, with folders created for each document. Anecdotally, it was seen to be of interest to Morristown residents who might find their ancestors included as parties to the documents which covered the 1760s to the late 1860s. The documents included primarily land deeds, mortgages, maps, surveys, accounts, receipts, to and from the Cobbs and local citizens – some historically famous.

Both Lemuel Cobb and his son were lawyers and surveyors, contemporaries of the Ford Family and  involved in regional economic and business matters. Lemuel and Andrew served as Justices of the Peace for the Morris County Court of Common Pleas so the collection also includes affidavits and other legal items. As Phoebe pointed out in creating a finding aid and rehousing the documents in archive-friendly acid-free folders, most of the documents were ‘less than thrilling’, but found a few that included novel material which she detailed in her blog.

During her summer internship she established a very workable finding aid and process summary for the first 9 boxes of the collection. She returned the following summer in 1918 and rehoused another 4 boxes of the collection and added to the finding aid.

I became a volunteer in the Research Library in September 2018 after my retirement from Livingston High School where I taught Social Studies including Modern World History and US History to 9^th and 10^th graders. In August 2019 I was asked to continue Phoebe’s work. This effort was suspended in March 2020 by COVID, but resumed in January 2022. I have now completed processing additional boxes contents of which have been added to the finding aid – up to Box 22!! I can appreciate Phoebe’s comments about the majority of the documents, but, like her, have found some terrific historical jewels. She ends her 2017 blog with

 “ …Although tedious at times, my time with  the Cobb Collection has also been at turns amusing, enlightening and affecting. I can only imagine what other diamonds in the rough are waiting to be found in the rest of the forty boxes” (click here)

When I reviewed the now 67 pages of finding aid details for boxes 1 through 22  I placed the new ‘diamonds’ into two categories – documents involving African Americans and other Miscellaneous Documents of interest. Three original documents are included in this blog along with typed transcriptions. Others are available upon request.

Cobb Collection – Boxes 1 -22 – Documents involving African Americans

Box	Folder	Year	Description
1	70	1791	Bill of sale for female slave and child from Cornelius Jacobus to Lemuel Cobb
2	21	1797	Death certificate for ‘molatoe’ child (female 5 months) belonging to Jonah Davis
2	29	1797	Bill of sale for male slave (26 years named Tom) from Jacob Romine to Lemuel Cobb
2	42	1798	Bill of sale for female slave (3 years) from Elisabeth Righter to Lemuel Cobb
2	43	1798	Bill of sale for female slave (5 years)
2	58	1799	Bill of sale for female slave and her children Jack (2 years) and Peg (9 months) from Jacob Romine to Lemuel Cobb
2	66	1799	Bill of sale from Elias Bayley to John Sanford for ‘molatto negro’ child (3 years 8 months)
3	6	1800	Bill of sale of ‘Negro Man’ from Gavin McCoy to Andrew Kirkpatrick
3	15	1801	Bill of sale for ‘molatto wench’ named Gin from Lemuel Cobb to John Sanford
3	37	1803	Bill of sale for ‘Negro boy’ (19 years) from Lemuel Cobb to Peter Righter
3	54	1811	Bill of sale for slave named Jack (7 years) from John P. Cooke to John Hinckman
3	57	1812	Bill of sale for ‘negro man’ Dick from David Kirkpatrick to his son-in-law Dickinson Millar
3	92	1818	Bill of sale for Abraham (about 20 years) from Sheriff (David) Mills to Lemuel Cobb
8	37	1822	Affidavit of Ann Thompson against Abraham and Nancy Van Vleck for chicken poaching. Lemuel Cobb acting as Justice of the Peace; deponent and defendants all free people of color
22	8	1818	Bill to Lemuel Cobb from Calvin Crane for tuition of ‘black girl’ - $1.50

Most the 15 documents are bills of sale for slaves – but the last two indicate that free people of color co-existed with the white and slave populations of Morris County.

Cobb Collection – Box 1 Folder 70

Bill of Sale for Female Slave and Child from Cornelius Jacobus to Lemuel Cobb 1791

 

Know all men by these presence that I Cornelius J Jacobus of Pequannock in the County of Morris and State of New Jersey for the consideration of the sum of sixty five pounds current law full money of New Jersey give grant bargain sell convey and confirm unto Lemuel Cobb of the Township of Hanover in the County of Morris one certain Negro Wench named Gin sixteen years old last November and also her male child named Jack eight months old To have and to hold the said Negro Wench her male child unto the said Lemuel Cobb his heirs and assigns forever, and the said Cornelius J Jacobus for himself his heirs Executors and Administrators do covenant and agree to and with the said Lemuel Cobb his heirs and assigns that thus said Cornelius J Jacobus have just right to full sell and convey the said Negro Wench and her said child to the said Lemuel Cobb in manner above said and do engage to warrant and defend them unto the said Lemuel Cobb his heirs and assigns and that they neither of them have any old Body by Disorder. In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal this 30^th day of May in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred ninety one.

Sealed and delivered in the presence of (names of two witnesses’ signatures undecipherable)

                                                                                                Cornelius J Jacobus

Cobb Collection – Box 2 Folder 29

Bill of Sale for Male Slave 26 Years Old named Tom from Jacob Romine to Lemuel Cobb 1797

 

Know all men by these presents that Jacob Romine of Hanover in the County of Morris and State of New Jersey for the consideration of the sum of one hundred and ten pounds in hand from the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged have given granted bargained and sold and by these presents do give bargain convey and confirm unto Lemuel Cobb of the same place and to his heirs and assigns forever one certain Negro man named Tom aged about twenty six years Together with the Hereditaments Right Estate and Demand whatsoever which I have wrought to have of in or to the said Negro man Tom unto the said Lemuel Cobb his heirs and assigns to the only sole proper use benefit and behoof of the said Lemuel Cobb his Heirs and Assigns forever. And Furthermore I the said Jacob Romine for myself my heirs Executors or Administrators doth promise and engage to warrant and Defend the said Negro Man Tom unto the said Lemuel Cobb his heirs and assigns forever against the just and law full claims and demand of all manner of persons in witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal this Eleventh Day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety seven.

Sealed and delivered in the presence of Molly Ward and Susanna Bower (signed)

                                                                                                                Jacob Romine

Cobb Collection– Box 2 Folder 66

Bill of Sale from Elias Bayley to John Sanford for Molatto Negro Child 1799

 

Know All men by these presents that I Elias Bayley of Pompton in the County of Bergen and State of New Jersey for the consideration of four pounds good and Lawfull money of the state aforesaid Hath given granted bargained sold conveyed and confirmed to John Sanford of the same place his Heirs and Assigns one certain Molatto Negro Child aged three years and eight months named Gin. To have and to hold the said Negro Child to him the said John Sanford his Heirs and assigns to the only proper use benefit on behalf of the said John Sanford his Heirs and assigns forever  In Witness whereof the said Elias Bayley hath hereunto set his hand and seal the twenty third day of September in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred and Ninety nine

Sealed and delivered in the presence of Gameliel Sanford and David Schofield          

                                                                                                                         his

                                                                                                            Elias       X   Bailey

                                                                                                                        mark

 

As you review and compare the three bills of sale – consider the following:

• Did you think it was unusual to review bills of sale for slaves in a Northern state?
• Why did the prices for the slaves being sold vary so greatly?
• Why do you think so much detail was included about the sale being ‘forever’?

Cobb Collection – Boxes 1-22 – Other Miscellaneous Documents of Interest

Box	Folder	Year	Description
4	51	1831	Copy of Lemuel Cobb’s Last Will and Testament (marked at Exhibit 1 in chancery of NJ court case); Andrew J. Smith et al. defendants
13	60	1866	Letter from George Sykes to Andrew Cobb mentioning the Civil War, the Lincoln assassination, Stephen Douglas and Andrew Johnson (they are both supporters of Andrew Johnson)
13	80	1818	Affidavit of statement by Rachel Broadwell, a single woman currently with child, naming John M. Pierson as father of her unborn. Lemuel Cobb acting as Justice of the Peace.
16	92	1835	Letter from attorney George Drake on behalf of the widow of Lemuel Cobb, Elizabeth Cobb advocating an increase in her monthly allowance ‘to furnish her with that decent and comfortable maintenance which was bequeathed to her by his Will’
18	1	1776	Written on July 2 1776, copy of the Last Will and Testament of Jacob Ford of Morristown, at the time owner of the Ford Mansion.
18	38	1772	David Ogden’s receipt of payment of 162 pounds, 13 shillings and 10 pence – in New York Currency, from Ebenezer Farrand.  Notable because the document was dated February 18, 1772 and was reviewed on the same date in 2022 exactly 250 years later!

Note – pictures of the original documents and typed transcriptions of any of these documents are available upon request.

I chose these documents as notable and of interest because they did not overlap with those chosen for the 2017 blogpost – the first five also show how situations that still occur today were handled in Morristown over a century ago. The last one was celebrating a 250 year birthday and we just happened to notice!

The current finding aid which covers through Box 22 is for serious researchers and is available through the Research Library upon request.

Copies of any of the documents and their typed transcriptions can be arranged through the Research Library upon request.

Final thoughts

I will now continue to curate the Cobb Collection from Box 23 but may not be here long enough to complete it – like Phoebe I can only imagine the diamonds in the rough waiting to be found!

Cultural Resources Education Liaison, Michael P. Collins, MAT