Who was Enslaved at Liberty Hall?: Abbe

Abbe may or may not have ever lived at Liberty Hall, but she did have strong family connections to the home because she was enslaved by the daughter of William Livingston, Sarah (Livingston) Jay, and her husband, John Jay. Regardless of wheter she had been enslaved at Liberty Hall before Sarah’s marriage to John Jay, she certainly came to the property frequently because her husband, whose name is unknown, was enslaved at or near Liberty Hall. 

When John Jay was asked to serve as an American diplomat in Spain and France during the Revolution, the Jays did not consider the importance of Abbe’s familial relationships. They brought her with them to Europe in 1780, in the process separating Abbe from her husband and the rest of her family.

 

A black and white print of a seated white woman, Sarah Livingston Jay. She is wearing a dress with ruffles and bows. Her hair is decorated with flowers and in an updo. The background is naturalistic.
Like many other enslavers, Sarah Jay believed that Abbe was loyal and faithful to her personally, but Abbe’s efforts to gain her freedom demonstrate that she saw their relationship very differently. Alonzo Chappel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Abbe was made to work as Sarah Jay’s maid. Each day, she completed household chores, cared for the young Jay children when necessary, and met all of Sarah’s needs. Abbe performed both physical and emotional labor for the Jay family, especially after Sarah experienced the death of her infant daughter while in Europe and relied on Abbe for comfort and care.

At the same time, Abbe was worried about her own family across the Atlantic. We know from Sarah Jay’s letters that Abbe was concerned about her husband and how her relationship would survive their forced separation. Because of their status as property, Abbe and her husband had no legal rights to one another. Enslaved people took their marriages seriously but the people who claimed ownership over them had every legal right to separate husbands from wives.

Abbe likely did not have any living children of her own, since she did not ask Sarah Jay about them when she requested information about her husband in a letter Jay wrote to Liberty Hall. If Abbe wanted a family in the future, this became impossible when the Jays brought her to Europe without her husband.

Who were Abbe’s friends?

Abbe was brought to Europe with Benoit, an enslaved teenager whom the Jays purchased in Martinique, and two other servants. Paris also had a sizable Black community, although it is unclear whether Abbe ever learned enough French to socialize with them. Abbe also lived and worked alongside white servants and laborers, although no records indicate whether they were friends or just worked together. 

Like many other enslaved people, Abbe could only send messages to her husband through the people who claimed ownership over them. On May 18, 1781, after about a year in Europe, Sarah Jay passed along Abbe’s concern over whether “she is a mistress of a husband still” in a letter to her sister Kitty.  Did Abbe want to know if her husband still lived or if he moved on from their legally unrecognized marriage? 

Abbe understood and resented the fact that the Jays had complete control over her life. John Jay was theoretically opposed to slavery and claimed to care for the people he enslaved, and Sarah Jay wrote home about Abbe’s affection and faithfulness, but Abbe’s story demonstrates the fact that the institution of slavery was always based on violence and power. 

Like other enslaved people, Abbe tried to reclaim agency over her own life whenever she could and while in Paris she made her displeasure with her enslavement known. Before Abbe self-emancipated, Sarah Jay and a white servant named Louisson described Abbe’s behavior as “impertinent.” A major challenge in understanding the lives of enslaved people is the fact that most information about them was recorded by their enslavers and the language they used is biased. What might it mean, then, that Abbe was “impertinent”? Was Abbe standing up for herself? Asserting her abilities and independence? It is impossible to know because she was unable to record her needs, thoughts, and desires herself. 

Abbe made the risky decision to self-emancipate in 1783. Even then, Sarah Jay did not consider the possibility that Abbe desired freedom and control over her life, or that she had the agency to take freedom for herself. Sarah blamed Abbe’s unhappiness on disagreements with Louisson and believed that an English washerwoman convinced Abbe to self-emancipate.

A black and white print of a large stone building. It is four floors and has several windows, all with bars. There are several people standing and walking in front of the building.
Although Abbe may have been entitled to her freedom under French law, the Jays used their influence and connections to keep her in this prison after Abbe refused to return to them. Brown University Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Although Abbe was able to escape from the Jays and work as a free woman for a short time, the Jays eventually found her with the help of Benjamin Franklin, who suggested they leave her in prison as punishment. Even then, Abbe refused to return to the Jays and made it clear that she would continue to seek freedom if forced back into their home. Abbe also asked to be returned to the United States, where she could at least be with her family. John Jay had previously promised her freedom upon their return to New Jersey, and Abbe intended to claim this freedom on her terms.

Sarah Jay blamed Abbe’s independence on having too little work to keep her occupied. John Jay thought that they gave Abbe too much freedom and that she chose to self-emancipate because she was either drunk or influenced by “improper Company.” Despite all evidence that Abbe was an independent person with strong values and  sense of self, the Jays were unwilling to believe that Abbe, an enslaved woman, could take control of her own life without anyone else’s influence.

Abbe soon became very ill in prison and despite her earlier determination to not return to the Jays, she eventually asked to be allowed to recover in their home and died soon after her return. The Jays were upset about Abbe’s death but did not take responsibility for the role they played in it and moved on from her life and death quickly. 

We cannot know when her husband and the rest of her family in America learned of Abbe’s death or what their reaction might have been. But we do know that Benoit, the enslaved teenager who labored alongside Abbe in Paris, was deeply upset by her death. He likely became free after laboring for John Jay for three years, but, like many enslaved people, it is difficult to know exactly what became of him.

Abbe’s attempt to free herself reveals a great deal about who she was as a person. She was determined and willing to take enormous risks to achieve her freedom, which she valued immensely. Although she was not treated with respect, she was still independent and self-assured, and by self-emancipating, made it clear that she was unwilling to accept poor treatment. She made her resentment about her lack of power and limited agency clear, as well as her unhappiness about how Sarah Jay managed the household. At the same time, she loved and missed her family in New Jersey and hoped to be reunited with them as a free woman.

By Katherine Quigley, August 2024