Northumberland County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1799,1803

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:

Northumberland County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1799,1803,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:

Northumberland County Certificates of Importation, 1799,1803. Local government records collection, Northumberland Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Summary

Extent:
2 items; digital images
Creator:
Northumberland County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Abstract:
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Northumberland County Certificates of Importation, 1799,1803. Local government records collection, Northumberland Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

Northumberland County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1799 and 1803.

Certificates of importation, 1799 and 1803, contains the oath of James Cox stating that the enslaved people he is bringing into Virginia from Maryland were not imported from Africa and that he does not intend to sell them in Virginia. The statement contains the names of the slaves he is bringing into Virginia. The other document is a certificate issued by the county clerk to William Harding in 1803 stating that Harding has complied with the law concerning the importation of slaves from Maryland into Virginia.

Biographical / historical:

Context of Record Type: In 1778, Governor Patrick Henry enacted legislation preventing importation of enslaved people into the commonwealth. Those that did bring their enslaved people were required to register them with the county court and sign a certificate of importation agreeing that they were not bringing enslaved people into the commonwealth with the intent to sell. The enslaved person is sometimes named, but not always, and occasionally information is given as to age, birthdate, and the state from which the individuals were moving. According to Section 3 of the act "every slave imported into this commonwealth contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, shall upon such importation become free." By this clause, those enslaved people who were brought into Virginia illegally could pursue their freedom in the local courts.

Locality History: Northumberland County was probably named for the English county. It was formed about 1645 from the district of Chickacoan, the early seventeenth century name for the region between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Northumberland County in 2007 under accession number 43283.
Processing information:

Northumberland County (Va.) Certificates of Importation were previously described with the Northumberland County (Va.) Free and Enslaved records, but were removed to this record in November 2025 to increase discoverability.

These records have been scanned and indexed by Library of Virginia staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by M. Mason: November 2025

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Certificates of Importation, 1799,1803, then organized loosely chronological

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.