Designates February 22 of each year as "Peter Still Day" in New Jersey.

AJR175

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION

No. 175

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� BALVIR SINGH

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Designates February 22 of each year as �Peter Still
Day� in New Jersey.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Joint
Resolution
designating February 22 of each
year as �Peter Still Day� in New Jersey.

Whereas,

Peter Still, whose life story was captured in
The Kidnapped and the Ransomed
,
was born on February 22, 1801, in Caroline County, Maryland, to enslaved
parents Levin and Sidney; and

Whereas,

Peter�s father left shortly after he was manumitted in 1798 and established
himself in New Jersey, and his mother Sidney escaped the Eastern Shore of
Maryland as a fugitive with her four children before being captured by slave
hunters and returned to her enslaver; and

Whereas,

Peter�s pregnant mother escaped a second time, in 1806, with her daughters,
toddlers Mahalah and Kitturah, but made the difficult decision of leaving her
two young sons, Levin Jr. and Peter, behind; and

Whereas,

In retaliation for Sidney�s escape, Levin Jr. and Peter were taken by a slave
trader to Kentucky and sold to a man in Lexington; and

Whereas,

Enslaved, Peter Still was later taken to Tuscumbia, Alabama, where he married,
had children, and was well-respected for his work ethic and character; and

Whereas,

With the help of Joseph and Isaac Friedman, two Jewish brothers, Peter was able
to purchase his freedom in Alabama, left his enslaved wife and children, and
returned to the East Coast in search of his birth family, ending up at the
office of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia where his
brother William Still was the clerk; and

Whereas,

After over 40 years of being separated and enslaved, Peter was reunited with
his mother and siblings living in Burlington County, New Jersey in 1850; and

Whereas,

Peter Still chose Burlington, New Jersey as his residence and was hired as a
servant for Judge E.E. Boudinot, a member of the prominent Revolutionary War
family, who supported Peter Still and described him as an �honest, sober,
industrious & capable man, perfectly trustworthy & ever willing to make
himself generally [useful]�; and

Whereas,

From 1850 to 1854, Peter, through his own efforts travelling across the
Northeast and Canada with support from family, friends, and abolitionists,
including Harriet Beecher Stowe, collected $5,000 to purchase the freedom of
his wife and three children; and

Whereas,

The biography of Peter Still was written by Kate E. R. Pickard and published in
1856 as
The Kidnapped and the Ransomed: being the personal recollections of
Peter Still and his wife "Vina," after forty years of slavery
, and
the book was used in the abolitionist movement in the United States, obtaining
national and international recognition and exposing the darker horrors of
American slavery; and

Whereas,

In 1863, Peter Still, considered a respected and deep thinker, along with 11
other members of the First Baptist Church in Burlington, New Jersey, founded
the Second Baptist Church (a Colored Church) because of racism and
discrimination experienced at the First Baptist Church, and Peter became a
trustee of the Second Baptist Church; and

Whereas,

Peter Still died on January 10, 1868 and was buried in the Old Broad Street
Methodist cemetery, which is now the Burlington Methodist and Baptist Cemetery,
a historic burial ground, in Burlington, New Jersey; and

Whereas,

In 2026, the New Jersey Historical Commission�s Black Heritage Trail Program,
in commemoration and honor of Peter Still, approved the installation of a
historical marker at his gravesite; and

Whereas,

Peter Still�s dedication to the abolitionist movement, his family, and his successful
life should be remembered and celebrated by all New Jersey citizens; now,
therefore,

����
Be It
Resolved
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� February 22 of each year
is designated as �Peter Still Day� in New Jersey to honor the life of Peter
Still and his contributions to the abolition of slavery in America.

���� 2.� The Governor is
respectfully requested to annually issue a proclamation calling upon public
officials, private organizations, and all citizens of the State to observe
�Peter Still Day� with appropriate events and activities.

���� 3.� This joint resolution
shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This joint resolution
designates February 22 of each year as �Peter Still Day� in New Jersey.

���� Peter
Still was born on February 22, 1801, in Caroline County, Maryland, to enslaved
parents Levin and Sidney.� Peter�s father was freed in 1798 and he left shortly
after to established himself in New Jersey, and his mother Sidney escaped
Maryland as a fugitive with her four children before being captured by slave
hunters and returned to her enslaver.� Peter�s pregnant mother escaped a second
time, in 1806, with her daughters, toddlers Mahalah and Kitturah, but made the
difficult decision of leaving her two young sons, Levin Jr. and Peter, behind.�
In retaliation for Sidney�s escape, Levin Jr. and Peter were taken by a slave
trader to Kentucky and sold to a man in Lexington.

���� Enslaved,
Peter Still was later taken to Tuscumbia, Alabama, where he married, had
children, and was well-respected for his work ethic and character.� With the
help of Joseph and Isaac Friedman, two Jewish brothers, Peter was able to
purchase his freedom in Alabama, left his enslaved wife and children, and
returned to the East Coast in search of his birth family, ending up at the
office of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia where his
brother William Still was the clerk.

����
After over 40 years of being
separated and enslaved, Peter was reunited with his mother and siblings living
in Burlington County, New Jersey in 1850.� Peter Still chose Burlington, New
Jersey as his residence and was hired as a servant for Judge E.E. Boudinot, a
member of the prominent Revolutionary War family, who supported Peter Still and
described him as an �honest, sober, industrious & capable man, perfectly
trustworthy & ever willing to make himself generally [useful].�

���� From
1850 to 1854, Peter traveled across the Northeast and Canada with support from
family, friends, and abolitionists, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, where he collected
$5,000 to purchase the freedom of his wife and three children.� The biography
of Peter Still was written by Kate E. R. Pickard and published in 1856 as
The
Kidnapped and the Ransomed: being the personal recollections of Peter Still and
his wife "Vina," after forty years of slavery
. �The book was used
in the abolitionist movement in the United States, obtaining national and
international recognition and exposing the darker horrors of American slavery.

���� In
1863, Peter Still, along with 11 other members of the First Baptist Church in
Burlington, New Jersey, founded the Second Baptist Church (a Colored Church)
because of racism and discrimination experienced at the First Baptist Church,
and Peter became a trustee of the Second Baptist Church.

���� Peter
Still died on January 10, 1868 and was buried in the Old Broad Street Methodist
cemetery, which is now the Burlington Methodist and Baptist Cemetery, a
historic burial ground, in Burlington, New Jersey.� In 2026, the New Jersey
Historical Commission�s Black Heritage Trail Program, in commemoration and
honor of Peter Still, approved the installation of a historical marker at his
gravesite.� Peter Still�s dedication to the abolitionist movement, his family,
and his successful life should be remembered and celebrated by all New Jersey
citizens.