Sally was an enslaved worker during the Wight period of Tuckahoe. She is thought to have been born around 1799.
Hezekiah Wight stipulated in his will that Sally would be granted her freedom but not immediately upon Wight’s death. When he died in 1837, Sally would have continued to be enslaved until December 31, 1839. Wight’s will also instructed that Sally’s children would be granted their freedom once they reached 30 years of age.
On December 28, 1843 Sally was registered on the list of “free negroes”. She was described as “Sally, alias Sally Johnson, a woman of color of brown complexion about five feet three inches high, about forty four years old” with “two moles on the left side of her face.” While the register clearly notes that she had been emancipated through Wight’s will starting after December 31, 1839, we are not sure why there was such a large gap between the date she was freed and the date she registered with the county, especially as none of the others freed by Wight had such a delay.
As Wight’s will did not specify the names of Sally’s children who were to be freed, it is difficult to know how many she may have had. We do know of at least two (Anderson and Jacob) who were freed in 1863 and 1861 respectively.
