Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Norfolk County (Va.) Court Correspondence with the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1866. Local government records collection, Norfolk 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 Norfolk County.

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.

Scope and Content

Norfolk County (Va.) Court Correspondence with the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1866. The collection contains a letter, 1865 Nov. 23, from the Norfolk Court to Colonel Thomas F. Jackson, Assistant Superintendent of the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Norfolk offices, requesting action to prevent freedmen from bearing arms and destroying property; a letter from Jackson, 1865, Dec. 11, announcing plans to seize arms in the hands of freedmen on the Sabbath to stop the habit among freedmen of hunting on the Sabbath. Also included is a series of questions to the county court, 1866 April 14, regarding the county's system of collecting taxes for the support of the poor, and the court's response, 1866, May 3. The officers of the court express concern about whether the county will be able to provide for the poor as a consequence of emancipation and immigration of freedmen from other counties and states during the war. The collection also contains a copy of printed Circular No. 25 from the Headquarters of the Department of Virginia and Circular No. 6 from the Headquarters, District of South Eastern Virginia, Norfolk, announcing plans to detail officers to every neighborhood to correct the impression that the U.S. government intended to divide among the freedmen large quantities of land on Christmas Day, 1865.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Chesapeake County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--History--1863-1877.
• African Americans--Social conditions--1863-1877.
• African Americans--Social life and customs-1863-1877.
• Freedmen--Virginia--Norfolk County.
• Migration, internal.
• Poor--Services for--Virginia--Norfolk County.
• Reconstruction--Virginia--Norfolk County.
• Slaves--Emancipation--Virginia--Norfolk County.

Geographical Names:

• Norfolk County (Va.)--History--1863-1877.
• Portsmouth (Va.)--History--1863-1877.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Circulars (fliers)--Virginia--Norfolk County.
• Correspondence--Virginia--Norfolk County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Norfolk County.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Norfolk County (Va.)--Circuit Court.
• United States--Army Headquarters--Department of Virginia.
• United States--Army Headquarters--District of South Eastern Virginia.
• United States--Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands