A Guide to the Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861.
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Microfilm reel number: Norfolk County (Va.) Reels 105 and 133
Library of Virginia
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Processed by: Library of Virginia staff
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861. Norfolk County (Va.) Reels 105 and 133, Local government records collection, Chesapeake (City)/Norfolk County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
Acquisition Information
These items were microfilmed 12 Jan. 1975 by the Library of Virginia's Imaging Services Division.
Historical Information
Norfolk County (extinct) probably was named by Adam Thoroughgood, a local resident, for his native county in England. It was formed from Lower Norfolk County in 1691. Norfolk County became extinct in 1963, when it was consolidated with the city of South Norfolk to form the city of Chesapeake. The county seat was Portsmouth.
Acts passed by the Virginia legislature in 1793 and 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
Norfolk County (Va.) Free Negro Registers, 1809-1861. The collection contains a Register of Free Negroes and Mulattoes, 1809-1852 (Reel 133) and a Register of Free Negroes, 1852-1861 (Reel 105). The registers dcoument the name, and age of free negroes who registered with the county court from 1809 to 1861. Each entry also includes a brief physicial description and a reference to whether the person was born free, and where, or the circumstances of the person's emancipation. Additional information, such as names of spouses or parents or county of birth, is sometimes included.
Index Terms
- Chesapeake (Va.) Circuit Court.
- African Americans--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Free African Americans--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Racially mixed people--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Slaveholders--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Slavery--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Slaves--Emancipation--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Chesapeake (Va.)--History.
- Norfolk County (Va.)--History--19th century.
- Free negro and slave records--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Local government records--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Registers (lists)--Virginia--Norfolk County.
- Norfolk County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Corporate Names:
Subjects:
Geographical Names:
Genre and Form Terms:
Added Entry - Corporate Name:
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Chesapeake (Va.)--History.
- Norfolk County (Va.)--History--19th century.