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Southampton County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1813-1904, consists 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.

Southampton County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1749-1912, consists of cases concerning issues of equity brought largely by residents of the county and filed in the circuit court. These cases often involve the following actions: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, disputes regarding contracts, debt, divorce, and business disputes. Other less prevalent issues include freedom suits, permissions to sell property, and disputes concerning trespass. Predominant documents found in these chancery causes include bills (documents the plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, plats, wills, records involving enslaved individuals, business records or vital statistics.

Southampton County (Va.) Deed, 1768. Consists of a deed conveying 100 acres on the north side of the Nottoway River from John Hatfield to Edmund Spencer for twenty pounds.

Southampton County (Va.) Deed of Sale, 1795. Consists of a deed conveying seven slaves, Jacob, Agge, Dilcey, Will, Darkey, Amey, and Milley, from Henry Smith to his sister Mary Jordan of Northampton County, North Carolina, for one hundred seventy pounds.

Southampton County (Va.) Fiduciary Records, 1752-1902, undated, include miscellaneous records filed in a local court by trustees, administrators, executors, guardians, and committees that related to the performance of their duties managing a person's estate. These records typically include the following; bonds, appraisements, audits, inventories, accounts, estate divisions, settlements, dowery records, etc. Information related to enslaved people are commonly found in these records.

Southampton County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1754-1861, consist of Deeds, 1822 and 1845; Fiduciary records, 1848,; "Free Negro" Tax records, 1791-1861; Patrol Records, 1754-1861; "Runaway" records, 1798 and 1852; and additional records of various record types, 1798-1852.

Southampton County (Va.) Judgments - Commonwealth Causes Ended, Nat Turner Insurrection, 1831-1832 document the trials in Southampton County Court of Nat Turner and 54 others accused of taking part in a slave insurrection in Southampton County in August 1831. The records include subpoenas, warrants, and death sentences. The warrants contain the names of the defendants (first name only), the names of the slaveholders who owned the defendants, the full names of three defendants who were free, and the charges brought. There are no records for one of the defendants.

Southampton County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1750-1853, is two separate volumes--labeled Part I and II. Part I covering pages 1-359, 1750-1826, records the date of the marriage bond, the names of both parties, the names of the parents or guardians present and the names of the security or witnesses in attendance. Between 1800-1825, pages 137-354, there are numerous entries for marriages between "free persons of color"--sometimes also designated with FN for free negro. At the beginning of this volume, there is a contents list and notes for both volumes--such as variant spellings of first and last names are found in parentheses.

Southampton County (Va.) Ministers' Returns, 1817-1846, records the returns made by individual ministers of marriages performed within the county. The majority of returns are in the form of lists which record when the marriage license was obtained, the date of marriage and the names of both parties. In the process of preparing and sending the returns, the name of the minister and sometimes the minister's denomination are also recorded. Marriages between "people of color or free negroes" are noted between 1818-1846. A two page index (B-W) is found at the front of the volume. The entries indicate the surname of the minister, the year or years of his returns and the corresponding page numbers. The pages of this volume are extremely fragile and must be handled with great care.

Southampton County (Va.) Ministers' Returns, 1850-1853, records the returns made by individual ministers of marriages performed within the county. Returns are in the form of lists which record the date of marriage and names of both parties and individual certificates which record the date of marriage and date when certificate was issued. In the process of preparing and sending the returns, the name of the minister and the minister's denomination are also recorded. By 1853, more information was included the certificates from individual ministers such as the ages of the parties, where the parties resided, the occupation of the husband, the status of parties before marriage and where parties were married. In addition, the parents' names of both parties and the birthplaces of both parties were also noted. Marriages between "free negroes" are found from 1851-1853 on pages 3-4, 11 and 14. As noted in the historical section, these returns were not always completed and sent in a timely fashion. As a result, there were marriages performed in 1848 and 1849. In one instance, a marriage was performed in October 1845 ( p. 5) but was not returned until July 1851. The volume also includes an internal index arranged by the surname of the groom (A-W.)