Campbell County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1852, 1861

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:

Campbell County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1852, 1861. Local government records collection, Campbell County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Summary

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

Campbell County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1852, 1861. Local government records collection, Campbell County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Campbell County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1852, 1861, consist of two suits for freedom initiated by slaves.

Milly and her son Harvey and Anna and her children Malinda, Eliza, Randal, and Franklin who sought to gain their freedom from Alley Draper on the law side of the court. The slaves' argument for freedom was based on the fact that they were descendants of a Native American named India.

Caledonia, Toby, and Helen Salmons who sought to gain their freedom from William M. Jenks on the law side of the court. The slaves' argument for freedom was based on the fact that they were emancipated by the will of Judith Salmon.

Judgments (Freedom Suits) are useful when researching local history and genealogical information, particularly for African Americans. They are a valuable source of local, state, social, and legal history and serve as a primary source for understanding a locality's history.

Biographical / historical:

Slaves sued for emancipation in freedom suits based on the following: they were descendant(s) of a free female ancestor, typically a Native American (Hening Statutes, volume 2, p.170); failure of slaveowner(s) to abide by the 1778 slave nonimportation act (Henings Statutes, volume 9, pp. 471-472); or claimed to have been freed by slaveowner(s) by deed of emancipation or last will and testament (Henings Statutes volume 11, pp. 39-40)

Campbell County was named for William Campbell, a general in the militia during the Revolutionary War and one of the heroes of the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. The county was formed from Bedford County by an act passed on 15 December 1781. The county court first met on 7 February 1782. The county seat is Rustburg.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Campbell County.
Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.10 cu. ft.