![[logo]](http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/logos/lva.jpg)
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2006 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Library of Virginia staff
There are no restrictions.
There are no restrictions.
Brunswick County Free and Enslaved Records, 1823-1864. Local government records collection, Brunswick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Brunswick County.
Brunswick County was formed in 1720 from Prince George County. Parts of Isle of Wight and Surry Counties were added in 1732.
Acts passed by the Virginia Legislature in 1793 and 1803 required every free Black person or free person of color to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk. This collection contains records involved in the registration process. The registration language and process varied across localities, thus the information and type of records may differ.
An act passed in 1801 by the Virginia Legislature required commissioners of the revenue annually to return a complete list of all free Black persons within their districts, with their names, sex, place of abode, and trades, and a copy of the list to be fixed at the courthouse door.
Virginia enacted legislation during the Civil War era to requisition free Black persons, free persons of color, and enslaved persons to work on fortifications and other works of the public defense around the Commonwealth. The records found in this collection include requisition lists filed in local courts and payroll records of the Virginia Engineer Department.
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.
The Library of Virginia will at times choose to retain original language in collection descriptions to preserve historical accuracy or to document context. Historical terms and phrases are indicated by the use of quotation marks to differentiate between language taken from a historical source and the language generated by Library of Virginia staff. Examples: Organizational names, titles, place names, and personally chosen identifiers.
Brunswick County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1823-1862, contains "Registrations of free negroes and mulattoes" (1823-1850), Requisitions for Public Use (1862), and "Free Negro Tax Records" (1851-1862).
"Registrations of free negroes and mulattoes,"1823-1850, recorded the free person’s name, sometimes age, a brief physical description, and the circumstances of the person’s freedom or emancipation. If born free, a reference is sometimes made to the parents. If emancipated, emancipating enslaver, place and date of emancipation, and prior registration are usually recorded. There may also be affidavits that were given by individuals affirming a free person’s status, as well as written descriptions of free persons. In addition, there are registrations that are loose papers matching information found in the bound volumes of registers kept in the court house.
Requisitions for Public Use, 1862, contains lists of free Black persons and free persons of color summoned to work on the fortifications. This includes two lists of free Black men and free men of color summoned by the sheriff to report for work on the fortifications at Richmond. The first and last names of the men are given and there are remarks listed for some men as to whom they are hired to and until what date.
"Free Negro Tax Records," 1851-1862, were compiled by the commissioner of the revenue for tax purposes, and records the names of free adult Black persons and free persons of color within a district, as well as children, place of abode, and trade or occupation for the adult males and females.
Chronological by record type.
See also: Brunswick County (Va.) Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Records, 1865-1868
Records related to free and enslaved people of Brunswick County and other localities are available on Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digitial Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digitial Collection Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digitial Collection available at Virginia Memory.