A Guide to the Halifax County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1818
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Barcode number: 0007693697
Library of Virginia
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Processed by: Greg Crawford
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Halifax County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1818. Local government records collection, Halifax County (Va.) County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
Acquisition Information
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Halifax County.
Historical Information
Halifax County was named for George Montagu Dunk, second earl of Halifax, who was president of the Board of Trade from 1748 to 1761. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1752. Halifax County regained the city of South Boston on 1 July 1995, when the latter relinquished its city status. The county seat is Halifax.
Enslaved people sued for emancipation in freedom suits based on the following: they were descendant(s) of a free female ancestor, typically a Native American (Hening Statutes, volume 2, p.170); failure of enslaver(s) to abide by the 1778 "slave nonimportation act" (Henings Statutes, volume 9, pp. 471-472); or claimed to have been freed by enslaver(s) by deed of emancipation or last will and testament (Henings Statutes volume 11, pp. 39-40)
Scope and Content
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.
Halifax County (Va.) County Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1818, consist of one suit: Petition of Lucy Tool and others. The petitioners claimed to be descendants of a white woman. Suits initiated by enslaved people seeking to gain their freedom on the law side of the court. Cases are identified by style of suit consisting of plaintiff and defendant names. Surnames of others involved in a suit, including secondary plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, deponents and affiants, and family members with surnames different from the plaintiff or defendant are indexed. Also identified are names of enslaved and enslavers found in suit as well as whether enslaved won their freedom. Predominant documents found in freedom suits include petitions, records of suits, depositions, affidavits, wills, among other items. Information found in documents include enslaved's argument for freedom, acquisition of enslaved people by enslavers, ancestry of enslaved people, and relationship between enslaved and enslavers.
Related Material
Halifax County (Va.) County Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1818, is available at Virginia Untold: the African American Narrative digital collection .