PUBLIC "-//Library of Virginia//TEXT (US::Vi::vi02311::A Guide to the Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861)//EN" "vi02311.xml" A Guide to the Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861. Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861 Norfolk County (Va.) Reels 105 and 133 Catherine G. OBrion Library of Virginia © 2007 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

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Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record, created by Catherine G. OBrion, 21 August 2007 Description is in English 2013-11-21 Converted to schema conforming EAD by dtd2schema.vh.xsl. A Guide to the Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861 A Collection in the Library of Virginia Norfolk County (Va.) Reels 105 and 133 Catherine G. OBrion

Library of Virginia 2007 Library of Virginia staff Library of Virginia Descriptive Summary The Library of Virginia Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861 Norfolk County (Va.) Reels 105 and 133 Library of Virginia 2 microfilm reels (232 images) English Chesapeake (Va.) Circuit Court. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861. Norfolk County (Va.) Reels 105 and 133, Local government records collection, Chesapeake (City)/Norfolk County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items were microfilmed 12 Jan. 1975 by the Library of Virginia's Imaging Services Division.

Historical Information

Norfolk County (extinct) probably was named by Adam Thoroughgood, a local resident, for his native county in England. It was formed from Lower Norfolk County in 1691. Norfolk County became extinct in 1963, when it was consolidated with the city of South Norfolk to form the city of Chesapeake. The county seat was Portsmouth.

Acts passed by the Virginia legislature in 1793 and 1803 required every free negro or mulatto to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk.

Scope and Content

Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861. The collection contains a Register of Free Negroes and Mulattoes, 1809-1852 (Reel 133) and a Register of Free Negroes, 1852-1861 (Reel 105). The registers dcoument the name, and age of free negroes who registered with the county court from 1809 to 1861. Each entry also includes a brief physicial description and a reference to whether the person was born free, and where, or the circumstances of the person's emancipation. Additional information, such as names of spouses or parents or county of birth, is sometimes included.

Index Terms Corporate Names: Chesapeake (Va.) Circuit Court. Subjects: African Americans--Virginia--Norfolk County. Free African Americans--Virginia--Norfolk County. Racially mixed people--Virginia--Norfolk County. Slaveholders--Virginia--Norfolk County. Slavery--Virginia--Norfolk County. Slaves--Emancipation--Virginia--Norfolk County. Geographical Names: Chesapeake (Va.)--History. Norfolk County (Va.)--History--19th century. Genre and Form Terms: Free negro and slave records--Virginia--Norfolk County. Local government records--Virginia--Norfolk County. Registers (lists)--Virginia--Norfolk County. Added Entry - Corporate Name: Norfolk County (Va.) Circuit Court.