Augusta County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons cohabiting together as Husband and Wife, 27th February 1866

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

Augusta County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons cohabiting together as Husband and Wife, 27th February 1866, is digitzed and avaialble through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Augusta County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons cohabiting together as Husband and Wife, 27th February 1866. Local government records collection, Augusta County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Summary

Creator:
Augusta County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Augusta County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons cohabiting together as Husband and Wife, 27th February 1866. Local government records collection, Augusta County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

Augusta County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons of Lunenburg County, State of Virginia, cohabiting together as Husband and Wife on 27th February 1866. This register records on twenty one pages the name of the husband, his age, place of birth, residence, occupation, last owner, last owner's residence, name of the wife, her age, place of birth, residence, last owner, last owner's residence, name of children with the ages of each, and the date of commencement of cohabitation.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: A cohabitation register, or as it is officially titled, "Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting Together as Husband and Wife on 27th February 1866," was the legal vehicle by which formerly enslaved men and women legitimized both their marriages and their children. During enslavement, enslaved people were considered property by Virginia law. While many enslaved people entered into non-sanctioned marriages, these were neither recognized legally nor protected from enslavers who separated spouses at will. In 1864, Governor Francis Pierpont recommended that the General Assembly of the Restored government of Virginia pass a law "requiring the clerk of each county or corporation court to keep a book, in which, at the joint request of a negro man and woman, who have heretofore been living as man and wife, he shall register their names and the date of their marriage." On February 26, 1866, the General Assembly passed an act legitimizing marriages between enslaved people and the children that resulted from them. These records contain extensive information including the names of the husband and wife, as well as their ages, place of birth, residence, occupations, previous enslavers, previous enslaver's city or county residence, the name(s) of their children, the children's ages, and the date of commencement of cohabitation.

Locality History: Augusta County was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, who married Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and was the mother of King George III. It was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 9 December 1745. The county courthouse is in Staunton, and the county administrative offices are in Verona.

Acquisition information:

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Augusta County in 2007 under the accession numbers 43239 and 43324. These accessions are filed together as the complete cohabitiation register.

Photocopies of 7 leaves of the cohabitation records came to the Library of Virginia in 1998 under accession 36065.

Processing information:

Accession 36065 originally filed in Private Papers was combined with this collection. It consists of 7 leaves of photocopies and is a copy of accession 43239.

Part of the cohabitation register was microfilmed by the Library of Virginia's Imaging Services Division. The microfilm consists of a partial copy of the Augusta cohabitation register [accession 43324].

Digital images were created by the Library of Virginia's Photographic and Digital Imaging Services. Photolab numbers 07_1202_01-07.tif (accession 43239) and 08_0613_01-21.tif (accession 43324).

Encoded by S. Nerney, 2006; Updated by M. Mason, March 2025.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
15 p.