Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Staunton (Va.) Free   Negro and Slave   Records  , 1811-1863. Local government records   collection, Staunton (City) Court Records . The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia under accession number 33143 and in a transfer of court papers from Staunton Circuit Court.

Historical Information

Staunton, in Augusta County, was named, according to most authorities, for Rebecca Staunton, wife of Sir William Gooch, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. Staunton was laid out in 1748 at the site of the Augusta County courthouse and was established as a town in 1761. It was incorporated as a town in 1801 and as a city in 1871.

Scope and Content

Staunton (Va.) Free   Negro and Slave   Records  , 1811-1863. The collection contains an indenture and deed of emancipation, 1811; a deed of emancipation, 1817; a bill of sale for a slave  , 1823; lists of free   negroes, 1845, 1855, and 1861; the petition of George Dennis Harris to be registered as a free   negro, 1861; the registration of Abbey Epperson, 1850; an affidavit regarding the free   papers of Caroline Kinney and family, 1855; and a letter responding to a request for a copy of the registration of Edmund Triplett, 1853 Apr 15. The collection also contains photocopies of records  , mostly criminal, that document enforcement of laws regulating free   negroes and slaves  .

The folder of photocopies of records   from other series includes records   from criminal cases against free   negroes for not registering as free   negroes, 1823 and 1829; for remaining in Virginia after emancipation without obtaining leave for doing so, 1830, 1845, and 1863; and for going at large without a registration or attested proof of emancipation, 1842, 1847, 1856 and 1857. Also included are summonses of justices to hear petitions of emancipated slaves   to remain in the state, 1849 and 1854, and to register as a free   negro, 1857.

The free   negro lists were compiled by the Commissioner of the Revenue for tax purposes. They document the name and occupations of free   negroes living in Staunton in 1851, 1855, and 1861. The 1855 list also includes age and whether or not the individual has free   papers. The 1861 list includes gender and age.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Staunton (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Free   African Americans--Virginia--Staunton.
• Slaveholders  --Virginia--Staunton.
• Slavery  --Emancipation--Virginia--Staunton.

Geographical Names:

• Staunton (Va.)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Free   negro and slave   records  --Virginia--Staunton.
• Free   negro indentures--Virginia--Staunton.
• Free   papers--Virginia--Staunton.
• Lists--Virginia--Staunton.
• Local government records  --Virginia--Staunton.
• Petitions--Virginia--Staunton.
• Tax and fiscal records  --Virginia--Staunton.