: Born around 1825 in Somerset County, NJ, Cuffee Voorhees spent his earliest years in enslavement, gaining his freedom as a young child, though he would still have to serve his enslaver, Peter Voorhees, until age 25 under New Jersey manumission law. Eventually he married, raised a family, worked as a laborer, and was known as a talented fiddler. During the Civil War, he served in the 127th Regiment Infantry United States Colored Troops in Company F.  Voorhees died in 1873 when he and the team of mules he was driving were hit by a train. After his tragic death, his wife, Jane Voorhees, sought justice before a grand jury.