2-949-867 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Manumission certificate for Nathan Johnson from "State of Maryland, Baltimore City, Sct"., 1859-05-05. 'I hereby certify, to all whom it doth or may concern, that it hath been proved to my satisfaction, that bearer hereof Nathan Johnson [an African-American man] aged about 20 years, of very light complexion, five feet five inches high, has no scars, Is the identical person Manumitted by Harriett Johnson by Deed dated fifth day of May, A.D. 1859 and recorded among the Chattel Records of Baltimore...and that the said Nathan Johnson was raised in Baltimore City and State aforesaid. In Testimony Whereof, I have hereto set my hand and affixed the Seal of the Superior Court of Baltimore City...[signed] Geo. E. Sangston Clerk'. Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers.