Register 60 Seats Remaining

What Happened to Lucy's Son?

An archival mystery tour

Join archivist Helene van Rossum and local historian Davie-Lyn Evans in an archival mystery tour through family, church, and national archives and genealogical resources.

In 1824, a young Black woman named Lucy, freed from slavery but "covenant servant" of Colonel Peter Dumont Vroom in Hillsborough, gave birth to a son, Abraham Tromp. When he was six, she bound him as an indentured servant and apprentice to Colonel Vroom's son, the governor of New Jersey. At 21, after finishing his service, Abraham was to receive only a suit and a Bible. 

Being a free woman, why did Lucy sign the indenture? What happened to her son? Is he the "Abraham Van Tromp" who joined Princeton's Witherspoon Street Church in 1846? Could he have changed his suit for a sailor's rig and become a "Black Jack"? Is he the man buried at the Princeton cemetery in 1883? Could Paul Robeson's father have led the funeral?

Archivist Helene van Rossum and local historian Davie-Lyn Evans explore answers to these and other questions with an archival mystery tour through family, church, and national archives and genealogical resources.

Presented by the library's Public Humanities Initiative in partnership with Ubuntu Cultural Pavilion with support from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Public Humanities programs are presented with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Community Room Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Assistive listening system compatible with personal T-coil-enabled devices (compatible headphones also available for use during programs)
• English-language subtitles for films (when available)
• If there is an accommodation that you need or would like so that you can fully enjoy library programs, please visit our Accommodations Request Form.

Upcoming events