Craig County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, undated

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:

Craig County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, undated, are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Craig County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, undated. Local government records collection, Craig County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

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

Craig County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, undated. Local government records collection, Craig County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Craig County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, undated, consist of a partial bill of sale, undated. In it, Oliver Callaghan of Botetourt County, Virginia, agreed to sell Judy and Alfred, her son, to Andrew Walker of Monroe County, Virginia [now Monroe County, West Virginia], for $550.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Types:

Free and Enslaved Records:

The Free and Enslaved Records collection is comprised of miscellaneous records related to the regulation and policing of both enslaved and free Black and Multiracial people in Craig County. The localities/local government authorities were largely responsible for enforcing laws that restricted the movement of enslaved and free Black and Multiracial people and the resulting documentation was often filed in the circuit courts. The ways in which local authorities enacted legal measures against or on behalf of enslaved and free Black and Multiracial people varied from locality to locality; therefore, records were not necessarily standardized or filed and retained in a consistent manner. This collection is topical and a means by which to compile miscellaneous documents related to free and enslaved people that are not established local government record types.

See: the Virginia Untold Record Types on the Library of Virginia website for additional context concerning Bills of Sale.

Locality History: Craig County was named for Robert Craig, a nineteenth-century Virginia congressman. The county was formed from Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles, and Monroe (now in West Virginia) Counties in 1851, and several subsequent additions were made from Alleghany (1856), Giles (1858), Monroe (1853 and 1856), and Montgomery (1853) Counties. The county seat is New Castle.

Lost Locality Note: The courthouse was vandalized by Union troops in December 1863 and again in June 1864 during the Civil War. Deed Book A and most of the loose papers were destroyed. Pre–Civil War recorded deeds were rerecorded in Deed Books B and C. Volumes that record court orders and wills exist.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Craig County (Va.) in 2010 under accession number 44924.
Processing information:

Starting in 2023, Library of Virginia archival staff in partnership with the Virginia Untold Project Manager began efforts to describe records related to free and enslaved Black and Multiracial people in a manner that improved the historical context of the records. In doing so, in some cases material once described within the "Free and Enslaved" record group for a locality may no longer be described within this record. When this has occurred, please see the Processing Information and Related Materials section for records that have been described separately.

The bill of sale was originally described in the Craig County (Va.) Slave Bill of Sale, undated, descriptive record, but was removed to the present Craig County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, undated, record to enhance the context between record types in February 2026.

The bill of sale was removed from Craig County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1853-1942 (bulk 1880-1912) by S. Nerney around 2010. It was processed, scanned, and indexed by S. Nerney and L. Neuroth for the purposes of digitizing it for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by S. Nerney: December 2010; updated by C. Collins: February 2026.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Free and Enslaved Records, undated, arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 item