Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Halifax County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1862. Local government records collection, Halifax County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Halifax County in an undated accession

Processing Information

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.

Encoded by S. Nerney, 2006 ; updated by M. Mason, December 2025

Historical Information

Context for Record Types:

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 Goochland 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

See: The Virginia Untold Record types on the Library of Virginia website for additional context concerning Requistions for Public use.

Locality History: 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.

Scope and Content

Halifax County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1862, consists of a requisition for public use.

Requisition for public use, 1862, is an order of the county court of Halifax to specific citizens who had to provide enslaved men between the ages of 18 and 45 years of age to the Virginia government for work on the Confederate public defenses. The order gives the text of the court's order, a list of names of persons required to send enslaved persons, and the number of enslaved individuals that each enslaver was required to furnish. There are numerous pencil revisions to the number of slaves required to be sent.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See Also: Halifax County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons

Records related to free and enslaved people of HalifaxCounty (Va.) and other localities are available through the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.

Additional Halifax County (Va.) court records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia.Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Adjunct Descriptive Data