Winchester (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1814-1857.

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:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Winchester (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1814-1857. Local government records collection, Winchester (City) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

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

Winchester (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1814-1857. Local government records collection, Winchester (City) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Winchester (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1814-1857. The collection contains free negro registrations, 1814-1857; a certificate of non-importation, 1814; and two deeds of emancipation, 1824 and 1856. Registrations include age, a brief physical description, and information documenting the person's free birth or circumstances of emancipation. The collection contains regisrations for Berkeley Allen, 1814; Thomas Cook, 1826; Rosanna Robinson, 1841; Kitty Brown, 1842; James and Sarah Elizabeth Weaver, 1846; Robert Webb, 1857; and Robert Mason, undated. Also included in the collection is a deed of emancipation for Lewis, from James Little, 1824; a deed of emancipation for Elizabeth, ("who is also my wife") from Griffin Taylor, 1856 Dec. 31; and a certificate of non-importation from Samuel Smith for Charles, an enslaved person he inherited from his father, and brought to Winchester from Prince George County, Maryland.

Biographical / historical:

Winchester, in Frederick County, was known first as Opequon, then as Frederick's Town (or Fredericktown), and, finally, upon establishment as a town in 1752, as Winchester. According to tradition, one of the town's founders, James Wood, named the town in honor of his birthplace in England. Winchester was incorporated as a town in 1779 and as a city in 1874.

Beginning in 1778, slaveholders who brought slaves into Virginia were required to register the slaves with the county court and sign an oath agreeing not to bring slaves into the commonwealth with the intent of selling them.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Winchester Circuit Court.
Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
7 leaves and 10 p.