Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Use microfilm copy, City of Lynchburg, Reel 37.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lynchburg (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1843-1865. City of Lynchburg Reel 37, Local Government Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from the city of Lynchburg.

Historical Information

The city of Lynchburg was established in 1786. It was incorporated as a town in 1805 and as a city in 1852. Parts of Campbell and Bedford counties were annexed in 1976.

An act passed by the Virginia legislature in 1803 required every free negro or mulatto to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk.

Scope and Content

The Registers of Free Negroes of Lynchburg, 1843-1865, list the name, age, color, stature, marks or scars, in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. Some clerks recorded additional information not required by law.

This collection contains a separate index that records in alphabetical order the names of the registered free negros and mulattoes and either the page or registration number where their information can be found in the corresponding register.

Arrangement

Chronological.

Access Terms

• African Americans--Employment--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• African Americans--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• African Americans--Virginia.
• Free African Americans--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Local government records--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Lynchburg (Va.). Circuit Court.
• Lynchburg--History--19th Century.
• Registers (lists)--Virginia--Lynchburg.