HALF INDIAN JACK
HALF INDIAN JACK
ca. 1729- February 2, 1831
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Near the Jersey City Main Post Office at 72 Montgomery Street, at the former Holmes' Express stables, lived a man known as "Half Indian Jack." Born into enslavement under the Van Vorst family, Jack took advantage of the chaos during the Revolutionary War in 1779 to escape his masters. He sought the freedom promised by the Crown to any enslaved person who joined their cause and became a scout and spy for the British Army.
After the British withdrew in 1783, Jack stayed in Jersey City. In his later years, he was known as an "Indian Doctor" and was a well-known figure at the Montgomery Street stables. The title "Indian Doctor" served as a common survival strategy for individuals of mixed African and Indigenous heritage in the 18th century, enabling them to navigate society with a level of perceived "mystical" skill that provided some protection and income.
He reportedly lived to the age of 102 and is buried nearby at the rear of Wayne Street.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT NOW
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT NOW
As we commemorate the Semiquincentennial of the American Revolution, the story of Half Indian Jack highlights an important, often overlooked demographic within the narrative of Jersey City. Jack was a man of both Black and Indigenous descent, living in a Dutch-American community during the British occupation. His presence at 72 Montgomery Street reminds us that the Revolution was not a monolith, but a collision of cultures and legal statuses where the marginalized had to navigate a landscape of constant peril.
For Jack, the British "Dunmore’s Proclamation," which promised freedom to enslaved individuals who joined the Crown, represented a more immediate and attainable independence than the Declaration of Independence did.
Though he may be portrayed as a villain in history books, acknowledging the agency of someone who fought for his own freedom—whether that meant opposing the nation’s founders—provides a crucial counter-narrative. His story illustrates the complexities that marginalized individuals had to confront in their quest for safety and status in a world that offered them no legal recognition.
Special thanks
Special thanks
Research by Natalie Kalbach
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