Northumberland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth , 1818,1822

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.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1818,1822 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 (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1818,1822. Local government records collection, Northumberland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

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

Northumberland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1818,1822. Local government records collection, Northumberland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Northumberland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1818,1822, consist of Petitions to remain in the County filed by Tom, 1818, and by Charlotte, Vincent, Fanny, Patty, Royston, and Sally, 1822.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: Sometimes referred to as "Applications to Remain," these records are applications that formerly enslaved individuals submitted to state and local courts for permission to remain in Virginia with their free status. The Virginia General Assembly passed a law stating that all formerly enslaved people freed after 1 May 1806 who remained in Virginia more than twelve months could be put on trial by the state. Individuals who wished to remain in the commonwealth were to petition the state legislature. In 1816, a new Act of Assembly gave the local courts power to grant permission to remain. The documents in these cases will include: the name(s) of the petitioner(s), the circumstances of free status, and a request to remain in the county. Individuals needed to prove that they had in fact been emancipated. Therefore, application packets might also include supporting documents such as the formerly enslaved person's register, a copy of a will or deed of emancipation, or witness statements known as affidavits.

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 were transferred to the Library of Virginia from Northumberland County (Va.) 2007 in under accession number 43283.
Processing information:

Northumberland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth were originally described as part of the Northumberland County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records but were removed to the present Northumberland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, record to enhance discoverability in November 2025.

These records have been processed, 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: Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth,1818,1822, arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.