Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Chesterfield County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813-1816, 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

Chesterfield County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813-1816. Local government records collection, Chesterfield County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Chesterfield County (Va.) as part of an undated accession.

Processing Information

Chesterfield County Certificates of Importation were originally described as part of the Chesterfield County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1760-1862, but were removed to the present Chesterfield County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813-1816, record to enhance discoverability in December 2025.

Chesterfield County Certificates of Importation were found among Chesterfield County (Va.) Dead Papers. They were processed, scanned, and indexed by S. Nerney, L. Neuroth, and LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by C. Collins: December 2025.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: In 1778, Governor Patrick Henry enacted legislation preventing importation of enslaved people into the commonwealth. Those that did bring their enslaved people were required to register them with the county court and sign a certificate of importation agreeing that they were not bringing enslaved people into the commonwealth with the intent to sell. The enslaved person is sometimes named, but not always, and occasionally information is given as to age, birthdate, and the state from which the individuals were moving. According to Section 3 of the act "every slave imported into this commonwealth contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, shall upon such importation become free." By this clause, those enslaved people who were brought into Virginia illegally could pursue their freedom in the local courts.

Locality History: Chesterfield County was named for Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth earl of Chesterfield, British statesman and diplomat, and was formed from Henrico County in 1749. The county seat is Chesterfield Court House. Part of Henrico County was added to Chesterfield in 1922.

Scope and Content

Chesterfield County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813-1816, sometimes entitled certificates of nonimportation, contain information whereby an enslaver swears that they have not imported the enslaved person from Africa and that the enslaver has not brought the enslaved person into Virginia with the purpose of selling the enslaved person. The enslaved person is sometimes named, but not always, and occasionally information is given as to age, birthdate, and the state the individuals are moving from.

The certificates name the following individuals: Spencer, who was transported from Georgia to Virginia by Jonah Flournoy; Amey, Farthing, Vinah, Joe, Jery, Jane, John, and Tom, who were brought to Virginia from Georgia by Daniel Flournoy; and Betty, Patty, and Crisse, who were brought to Virginia from North Carolina by Roger Atkinson.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Chesterfield County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1760-1862

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

Additional Chesterfield 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."

Adjunct Descriptive Data