Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Goochland County (Va.) Certificates of importation, 1813, 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

Goochland County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813. Local government records collection, Goochland 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 Goochland County in an undated accession.

Processing Information

Certificates of Importation were removed from the larger Goochland County (Va.) Free and Enslaved records and moved to this Goochland County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813 record in June 2024

These records were processed and indexed by LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by M. Mason, June 2024

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: Goochland County was named for Sir William Gooch, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. It was formed from Henrico County in 1728.

Scope and Content

Goochland County (Va.) certificates of Importation, 1813, consists of two certificates containing information whereby an enslaver swears that they have not imported the recorded enslaved individual(s) from Africa and that the enslaver has not brought the enslaved individual(s) into Virginia for the purpose of selling them.

Enslaved individuals referenced include: Reubin (brought to Virginia by John Ware of Caswell County, NC. In 1813); and Aaron, Lewis, and Jacob (brought by Benjamin Anderson of Kentucky in 1813)

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Goochland County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1726-1867

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

Additional Goochland 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