Frederick County (Va.) Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1859

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:

Frederick County (Va.) Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1859, 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:

Frederick County (Va.) Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1859. Local government records collection, Frederick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
1 item
Creator:
Frederick County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Frederick County (Va.) Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1859. Local government records collection, Frederick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Frederick County (Va.) Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1859, include the petition of Thomas Champe, who sought permission to enslave himself to General James H. Carson. In his petition, Champe stated he had been a resident of Frederick County since his birth.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: Petitions for Re-enslavement consist of petitions of free Black individuals choosing to be re-enslaved. An act passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1806 required formerly enslaved people to leave the commonwealth within twelve months of being granted their freedom. Individuals were forced to leave behind family, friends, and community who remained enslaved. In addition, many emancipated people did not have the financial means or social support to move to a free state. One option to preserve family and relationships was to return to slavery. In 1856, the Virginia legislature passed an act allowing free Black individuals who desired to remain in the commonwealth to petition for re-enslavement. Only a small number of free Black Virginians petitioned the courts to re-enslave themselves to an enslaver of choice, and an even smaller percentage succeeded. Many petitioners chose enslavers they knew well or who owned a spouse or family member. These petitions include the petitioner's name, previous enslaver, means of emancipation, and new desired enslaver.

Locality History: Frederick County was named in honor of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and eldest son of King George II. 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 11 November 1743. Part of Augusta County was added in 1754. The county seat is the city of Winchester.

Acquisition information:
These records were transferred to the Library of Virginia from Frederick County (Va.) as part of an undated accession.
Processing information:

Frederick County Petitions for Re-Enslavement were originally described as part of the Frederick County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1761, 1795, 1820-1861, but were removed to the present Frederick County (Va.) Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1859, record to enhance discoverability in July 2026.

These records have been processed, scanned, and indexed by S. Nerney, L. Neuroth, and LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by C. Collins: July 2026

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1859, arranged chronologically.

Arranged chronologically

Physical location:
Library of Virginia