Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Use microfilm copy, Amherst County (Va.) Reel 89.

Preferred Citation

Amherst County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1822-1864. Local government records collection, Amherst County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This material came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Amherst County.

Conserved by Etherington Conservation Services, 2013.

Historical Information

Amherst County was named for Major Jeffery Amherst, British commander in North America during the French and Indian War and governor of Virginia from 1759 to 1768. It was formed from Albemarle County in 1761.

An act passed by the Virginia legislature in 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

Amherst County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1822-1864, lists the age, name, color, stature, marks or scars, in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. Some clerks recorded additional information not required by law such as a parent's name. There is no index. Following the register pages are seven loose papers that are either copies of individual registers or rough drafts of registrations recorded in the book.

Beginning at the end of the volume is a List of Deeds recorded in the clerk's office of Amherst County subject to taxation, January 1845-May 1850. Information recorded includes names of grantor and grantee, date, and any applicable tax. There is one loose deed inserted in the pages following the list of deeds.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Amherst County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans -- Employment -- Virginia -- Amherst County.
• African Americans -- Virginia -- Amherst County.
• African Americans -- Virginia.
• Free African Americans. -- Virginia -- Amherst County.

Geographical Names:

• Amherst County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Deeds -- Virginia -- Amherst County.
• Free negro and slave records -- Virginia -- Amherst County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Amherst County.
• Registers (lists) -- Virginia -- Amherst County.