Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Essex County (Va.) Deeds, 1674-1855, involving enslaved Black and multiracial are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Essex County (Va.) Deeds, 1674-1855. Local Government Records Collection, Essex County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Essex County in an undated accession.

Historical Information

Context for record type:

Bills of Sale and Deeds: This collection includes transactions of enslaved people that may include the additional transfer of money or another commodity or may be a non-monetary transfer. Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, including enslaved people, from seller to buyer. Under the system of chattel slavery, laws permitted enslavers to treat enslaved people as personal possessions in the same manner as livestock, farm equipment, or household items. Enslaved people could be bought or sold without regard to their personal relationships or free will. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved people being sold and their price, and the name of the buyer. Given that they involved a property transaction, bills of sale were commonly recorded and filed with deeds in the local court. However, there was no official requirement that the transfer of an enslaved person be recorded unless necessary for legal purposes such as a court case or an estate settlement.

Deeds: are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person, from one individual to another. These include the voluntary transfer of enslaved people between family members with no financial transaction involved. Deeds include the names of the grantors, grantees, and enslaved people. Clerks proved, acknowledged, and recorded deeds in the local court.

Locality History: Essex County was named for the English county. It was formed from old Rappahannock County in 1692.

Scope and Content

Essex County (Va.) Deeds, 1674-1855, consist primarily of deeds which include deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, bills of sale, and deeds of trust which are grouped by year. Included are a small section of processed material consisting of bills of sale and deeds,1714-1771, involving enslaved Black individuals.

Bills of Sale, 1714-1771, involving enslaved Black individuals consist of about 22 items which document the name(s) of the individual selling enslaved persons, the name(s) of the purchaser, usually the name of the enslaved individuals being sold, the price, the date of the deed, and the date the bill of sale was registered or proved with the court and on what page it is recorded. Enslaved named include Beck, Frank, Mingo, Jamey. Bess. Judy, Bacchus, Hannah, Harry, James, George, Betty, Moll, Lilly, Rose, Tom, Judy, Winea, Kate, Essex, Lucy, Pendar, Dinah, Frank, Jenny, Tom, Hannah, Goerge, Liddy, Winney, Lillou, Rachel, Dick, Frank, Suckey, and Hannah.

Remaining material includes various types of deeds including, Deeds of bargain and sale, these are the most recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.

Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal including enslaved people, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated. Information recorded included name(s) of the grantor(s), grantee(s), and enslaved people. Deeds of gift were proved and recorded in the local court.

Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.

Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person, from seller to buyer. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved persons being sold and their price, and the name of the buyer. Given that they involved a property transaction, bills of sale were commonly recorded and filed with deeds in the local court.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into two series

Related Material

See also: Essex County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation, 1748

See also: Essex County (Va.) Free and Enslaved records, 1787-1857.

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

Deed Books and Indices to Deeds for Essex County can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm

Adjunct Descriptive Data