Isle of Wight County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1811,1812

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:

Isle of Wight County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1811-1812, 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:

Isle of Wight County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1811-1812. Local government records collection, Isle of Wight County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia

Summary

Extent:
digital images
Creator:
Isle of Wight County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Isle of Wight County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1811-1812. Local government records collection, Isle of Wight County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia

Background

Scope and content:

Isle of Wight County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1811-1812, consists of two certificates concerning Moses and Penny.

Biographical / historical:

Context for 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:Isle of Wight County was named probably for the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. It was first known as Warrosquyoake for an Indian tribe living in the area whose name means "swamp in a depression of land," and was one of the original shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. The present name was given in 1637. Parts of Nansemond County were added in 1769 and 1772. The county seat is Isle of Wight.

Acquisition information:
Digital images of Isle of Wight Free and Enslaved records created by Library of Virginia Staff and are part of accession 54744.
Custodial history:

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Isle of Wight County (Va.) Circuit Court in 2013. Original documents returned at request of Circuit Court Clerk of Isle of Wight County in 2015.

Processing information:

After Local Records Staff completed the processing, indexing and digitization for Isle of Wight County records included in Virginia Untold, the records were returned to the locality by request of the clerk. At that time, the box barcodes and catalog records were deleted, while the digital images remained in Virginia Untold. In 2025, the Virginia Untold Project Manager and Local Records Staff decided to recreate these catalog records and assign digital barcodes to the images to help with internal tracking and to provide researchers with extended context for these records.

Encoded by M. Mason, May 2026

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Certificates of Importation, 1811-1812

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.