LITTLE SILVER - Monmouth County had the earliest records of slave ownership in New Jersey and one of the state's largest slave populations. But the records of enslaved blacks are scant.

Monmouth County Historical Commissioner and author Joe Grabas has combed through land deeds and mortgages at the Hall of Records in Freehold to piece together that story.

"There are few places to find history on African Americans because they were often overlooked. One place they appear in the older historical records are land deeds," said Grabas, who will present Monmouth County's ties to slavery in a talk Sunday at the Parker Homestead.



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Grabas will explore topics such as the start of slavery in Monmouth County at Tinton Manor Ironworks, which you can see the above video, and the community of free blacks established at Fair Haven.

Tinton Falls burial site

Often overlooked by passersby is a burial site at the corner of Water Street and Tinton Avenue. It was the final resting place for slaves who labored at Lewis Morris' ironworks. A placard marks the site, which is roped off and maintained by the town.

Col. Lewis Morris of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, is identified as owning approximately 60 to 70 slaves in 1680. Tinton Falls was part of Shrewsbury Township, one of the original three towns of Monmouth County. Freehold and Middletown were the other two.

The Tinton Manor Ironworks, started in 1676, was the first in New Jersey, relying on water power from the nearby falls on Pine Brook, local supplies of bog iron and the labor of slaves brought from the Caribbean. See the waterfall in the video below.

Fair Haven's free blacks

In 1838, Jacob Corlies sold eight acres of land in Fair Haven to Jacob Brown, a freed slave, according to Grabas. Brown then subdivided the land and sold off pieces to his friends and family.

The purchase helped establish a free black community in Fair Haven.The purchase is Browns Lanes today, named after Jacob Brown. Descendants of this community lived in the area until the early 2000s.

Jesse Harris and his wife Marcelline were the last to sell their home in 2015 as the area gentrified.

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"The law prevented African Americans from owning property until 1798. Property was the one way enslaved people could obtain true equality and freedom," Grabas said.

Parker Homestead open house

The Parker Homestead is one of the oldest extant surviving homes in New Jersey. The homestead was started in 1665 by Peter Parker on land granted after the Dutch ouster of the region in 1665.

The home and barns were improved by each generation but remained in the Parker family until 1995 when the last owner, Julia Parker, passed away gifting it to Little Silver.

An open house is being held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Grabas' lecture will be in the Horse Barn at 2 p.m. The event is free but donations are welcome.

Dan Radel: @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com