Alexander Hendrik Overwoud gains legal freedom

The Suriname manumission index records Betje’s release on 6 November 1832. Her entry names her mother as well as the estate and people who stood surety. The required guarantee of 400 guilders...

Two days before their execution, Gerrit Schouten visited Kodjo, Mentor, and Present in custody and drew ink portraits of them. Historian Natalie Zemon Davis notes the portraits show individual...

Colonial authorities burned Kodjo, Mentor, and Present alive in a public execution on 26 January 1833 after convicting them in connection with the Paramaribo fire. The punishment made state violence a...

On 3 July 1833, Laurentius Haarlo was manumitted. The National Archives identifies him as the son of Fanny Haarlo and records that he later petitioned to change his surname to Thijm. His record...

The index dates Jan Jacob Dunsborg’s manumission to 30 August 1833 and does not name his mother in the available index. In 1842, with the former owners’ consent, he petitioned to take the surname De...

The register records the manumission of Winst, entered under the family name Morra, on 11 March 1844. The record notes that the resolution also rendered the name as Morro. This variation warns against...

The National Archives lists Thomas Acton and William Acton as manumitted on 11 April 1844. Both entries identify them as sons of Leentje Acton; their owner was Thomas Duncan Acton, and a 300-guilder...

On 23 April 1844, Annaatje was manumitted and recorded with the name Anna Visser. The entry identifies her owner as J.G. Balfour van Burleigh and preserves a resolution number. The change from...

Jansie was manumitted on 2 July 1844. The archive records her as the daughter of Louisa van Muller and notes a 200-guilder surety. The record offers a fragment of maternal genealogy, but its...

A certificate recorded on 31 December 1846 recognized Manus Besel as free. The archival entry says he came from the French brig La Legere and identifies the document as a manumission certificate for a...