Search

Chesterfield County Judgment College of William and Mary versus John W. Tomlin, 1813, was an ejectment suit involving property owned by the plaintiff in King William County and Tomlin was a tenant. College of William and Mary accused Tomlin of violating the rental agreement between the two by cutting trees for personal gain and failure to pay rent on schedule. The suit includes three indentures used as exhibits.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1768-1898, consist of contracts or agreements binding out white, Black, or Multiracial children, sometimes those who were orphaned, to learn a particular trade or craft. These indentures may be written agreements between the family of the apprentice and those responsible for the indentured. In many cases this includes the direct involvement of the Overseers of the Poor. They typically contain the name of the person or institution binding out, the person to whom bound, the name of the person being indentured, the length of the apprenticeship, and the responsibilities of the person taking on the indenture.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813-1816, sometimes entitled certificates of nonimportation, contain information whereby an enslaver swears that they have not imported the enslaved person from Africa and that the enslaver has not brought the enslaved person into Virginia with the purpose of selling the enslaved person. The enslaved person is sometimes named, but not always, and occasionally information is given as to age, birthdate, and the state the individuals are moving from.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation, 1788-1857, include 35 deeds. The deeds typically record the name of the enslaver, the name of the enslaved person or persons to be freed, the date the enslaved person or persons achieved freedom, and the date the manumission was proved or certified. Sometimes, the deeds describe the reason for emancipation or manumission. Deeds of emancipation could be generated after the enslaver’s death by those executing a last will and testament.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Estray Records, 1771-1905, contain various loose and bounds records giving public notice of valuable, tame animals, either lost or found wandering and presumed escaped from their owners, allowing the owners to reclaim the animals. Enteries generally indicate by whom the animal was taken up, before what justice the person went and when, and the description and appraisement (value) of the animal.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1760-1862, consist of "Free Negro" Tax Records, 1847-1855; Lists of "Free Negroes," 1853; Patrol Records, 1760-1862; Records related to lost free papers, 1831-1850; Runaway Records, 1804-1844; and additional single items, 1804-1858.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Petitions for Re-Enslavement, 1862, include a petition, in which John Green, a "free man of color," sought permission to "sell himself into slavery" to Henry Covington. There is no indication as to whether or not his petition was granted.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1832-1856, consist of records related to the petitions of six individuals. These petitions are applications that formerly enslaved individuals submitted to state and local courts for permission to remain in Virginia with their free status. The petitions often include the formerly enslaved individual's name, their method of emancipation, name of their former enslaver, and whether the application/petition was successful or not. Petitions may also include affidavits signed mainly by white residents or witness statements again provided by white residents. Additional names of enslaved or free Black and Multiracial individuals can be found in these records.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Records, circa 1747-1940, undated, consist of the following series: Court Records (subfield series include Judgments, Criminal Records and Clerk's Records), Tax and Fiscal Records, Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, Miscelleneous Records, Organization Records, Road and Bridge Records, Election Records, School Records, Township Records, County Administrative Records (subfield series include Board of Supervisors Records, Treasurer's Records, Commissioner of Revenue Records, Sheriff's Records and Board of Supervisors Records: Road and Bridge Records), Marriage Records, Justice of the Peace Records, Military and Pension Records, Land Records and Fiduciary Records.

Chesterfield County (Va.) Township Records, 1870-1876, consist of six volumes of minutes and accounts and one box of papers relating to township activities and duties.