Library of Virginia
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Processed by: Carl Childs
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Use microfilm (Roanoke County, Reel 312)
Roanoke County Free Negro Register, 1838-1864. Roanoke County Reel 312, Local Government Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
This item came to The Library of Virginia in shipments of court records from Roanoke County.
Roanoke County was formed in 1838 from Botetourt County. Part of Montgomery County was added in 1849.
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. The register listed 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 the law.
Roanoke County Free Negro Register, 1838-1864, records record 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 the law. It includes an index. Many of the early entries were copied into the volume subsequent to the actual petition date. Of these, most were entered on 28 October 1848.
Chronological