William Merritt, Mayor 1695–1698: Merritt (d.1708) owned four enslaved men, one enslaved woman, and three enslaved children (one boy and two girls) in his household in a 1702 census of Orange County, New York.

In an example of the precariousness of the lives of the enslaved, in 1696, Prince, an enslaved man, slapped Merritt on the face when the mayor tried to disband a noisy gathering [it is unclear if this is the same person who Gabriel Minvielle sold]. The next day, Prince was “stripped, tied to a cart, and dragged around the perimeter of the city.”[1]

[1] In the Shadow of Slavery, p.36; for his slaves: List of Inhabitants of Colonial New York, List of the Inhabitants in the County of Orange, 1702; Census of the counties of Orange, Dutches & Albany. 1702, 1714, 1720, link, Merritt Family History, link; The Memorial History of the City of New York, p.53-54 also has Merritt in Orange County

Copyright 2025 Paul Hortenstine

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