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Library of Virginia
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Processed by: J. Robinson
This collection is open for research.
There are no restrictions.
Campbell County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1854-1859. Local government records collection, Campbell County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Campbell County (Va.) in 2004 under accession number 41133.
Starting in 2023, Library of Virginia archival staff in partnership with the Virginia Untold Project Manager began efforts to describe records related to free and enslaved Black and Multiracial people in a manner that improved the historical context of the records. In doing so, in some cases material once described within the "Free and Enslaved" record group for a locality may no longer be described within this record. When this has occurred, please see the Processing Information and Related Materials section for records that have been described separately.
Several Deeds of Emancipation were removed from this record in August 2025 and are now described in Campbell County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation, 1782-1857.
"Free Negro" registrations and affidavits were removed from this record in August 2025 and are now described in Campbell County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1801-1864.
Petitions for Re-Enslavement were removed from this record in August 2025 and are now described in Campbell County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1867.
A number of photocopies of records were removed from this collection in August 2025.
These records have been processed and indexed by J. Robinson, L. Neuroth, and LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.
Encoded by S. Nerney: November 2005; updated by C. Collins: August 2025.
Context for Record Type:
Free and Enslaved Records:
The Free and Enslaved Records collection is comprised of miscellaneous records related to the regulation and policing of both enslaved and free Black and Multiracial people in Campbell County. The localities/local government authorities were largely responsible for enforcing laws that restricted the movement of enslaved and free Black and Multiracial people and the resulting documentation was often filed in the circuit courts. The ways in which local authorities enacted legal measures against or on behalf of enslaved and free Black and Multiracial people varied from locality to locality; therefore, records were not necessarily standardized or filed and retained in a consistent manner. This collection is topical and a means by which to compile miscellaneous documents related to free and enslaved people that are not established local government record types.
Locality History: Campbell County was named for William Campbell, a general in the militia during the Revolutionary War and one of the heroes of the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. The county was formed from Bedford County by an act passed on 15 December 1781. The county court first met on 7 February 1782. The county seat is Rustburg.
Campbell County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1854-1859, consist of Patrol Records, 1854, and two lists of arrests, 1859.
Patrol records, 1854, include two patrol authorizations that appoint a number of men to visit "at least once a week all Negro quarters and other places suspected of having therein unlawful assemblies" and to "take and carry before me or some other Justice of the Peace all slaves found without legal authority to pass from their managers premises." The records name the men appointed.
Lists of arrests, 1859, are comprised of two lists that record the names of around 38 “free negroes” arrested for not having copies of their free registration. The lists include the following surnames: Appy, Banister, Brogden, Davis, Green, Harriss, Humbles (or Umbles), Jackson, McCoy, Scott, Stewart, Stuart, and Valentine. The lists include notations about the action of the court.
This collection is arranged
See also: Campbell County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation, 1782-1857
See also: Campbell County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1867
See also: Campbell County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1801-1864
Records related to free and enslaved people of Campbell County (Va.) and other localities are available through the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.
Additional Campbell County (Va.) Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."