This document is an exceptionally rare piece of historical ephemera in that it delineates the sale of a male negro slave in the Northern state of New Jersey during a period in history where it is assumed by most present day Americans that the horrendous practice of slavery had been long since abolished.

While the New Jersey Legislature passed "An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery" in 1804, it was not until 1846 that slavery was permanently abolished in the state of New Jersey. After that date, former slaves were then termed apprentices and were still subject to servitude to their owners. Only the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution adopted in 1865 resulted in final and permanent abolition of slavery in New Jersey.

This sale deed outlines the sale of a Negro slave by one Simeon Van Wincle “in the township of Acquackanock County of Essex (Currently Passaic County)and the state of New Jersey for and in consideration of the Sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars… paid by John Hopper of the township of New Barbados in the County of Bergen and the state of New Jersey…a certain negro slave named Jacob about 40 years of age.”

This deed was only recently de-accessioned from the collection of the present day owner of the John Hopper homestead - an impressive home which was built primarily by Hopper's slave labor force and where the negro slave, Jacob, had once served. The aforementioned current owner of the Hopper homestead discovered this document under the attic floor boards of the Hopper home while playing as a young child in the 1950s and had retained it in her possession until recently offering it for sale.

The document remains in excellent, all-original condition. It measures approximately 7.75 inches wide x 12 inches long.