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Administrative History

Chapter 62 of the Laws of 1799, entitled "An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery" stated that any child born to an enslaved person in New York State after July 4, 1799, would be free but would remain the servant of their mother's enslaver until, if male, he reached his 28th birthday; if female, her 25th birthday. Within a year of the child's birth, the enslaver had the right to abandon all claims to his service by filing a certificate of abandonment with the town clerk. Abandoned children of enslaved parents were to be supported at the state's expense by the local overseers of the poor.

Two overseers of the poor were elected for each town in the State. They could bind out their wards to service as an apprentice or servant. Funding from the State would go to their care while in service. Children of enslaved people were often bound out by overseers of the poor to the enslaver that abandoned them.

The relief and funding for the care of children of enslaved children outlined in Chapter 62 of 1799 was amended multiple times through legislation, with the last change being made as part of Chapter 137 of the Laws of 1817, entitled "An Act Relative to Slaves and Servants."