Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions

Use Restrictions

Patrons are to use digital images found at Virginia Untold: the African American Narrative .

Preferred Citation

Isle   of Wight   County   (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1818. Local government records collection, Isle   of Wight   County   Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Isle   of Wight   County   (Va.) Circuit Court. Original documents returned at request of Circuit Court Clerk of Isle   of Wight   County  .

Historical Information

Isle   of Wight   County   was named probably for the Isle   of Wight   off the south coast of England. It was first known as Warrosquyoake for an Indian tribe living in the area whose name means "swamp in a depression of land," and was one of the original shires, or counties  , first enumerated in 1634. The present name was given in 1637. Parts of Nansemond County   were added in 1769 and 1772. The county   seat is Isle   of Wight  .

Slaves sued for emancipation in freedom suits based on the following: they were descendant(s) of a free female ancestor, typically a Native American (Hening Statutes, volume 2, p.170); failure of slaveowner(s) to abide by the 1778 slave nonimportation act (Henings Statutes, volume 9, pp. 471-472); or claimed to have been freed by slaveowner(s) by deed of emancipation or last will and testament (Henings Statutes volume 11, pp. 39-40)

Scope and Content

Isle   of Wight   County   (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1818, consist of suits initiated by slaves seeking to gain their freedom on the law side of the court. Cases are identified by style of suit consisting of plaintiff and defendant names. Surnames of others involved in a suit, including secondary plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, deponents and affiants, and family members with surnames different from the plaintiff or defendant are indexed. Also identified are names of slaves and slaveowners identified in suit as well as whether slave(s) won their freedom. Predominant documents found in freedom suits include petitions, records of suits, depositions, affidavits, wills, among other items. Information found in documents include slave's argument for freedom, acquisition of slaves by slaveowners, slave ancestry, and relationship between slaves and slaveowners.

Judgments (Freedom Suits) are useful when researching local history and genealogical information, particularly for African Americans. They are a valuable source of local, state, social, and legal history and serve as a primary source for understanding a locality's history.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically

Related Material

Additional Isle   of Wight   County   Court Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Isle   of Wight   County   (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• African Americans -- Virginia.
• Free African Americans -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .
• Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .
• Slavery -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .

Geographical Names:

• Isle   of Wight   County   (Va.) -- Genealogy
• Isle   of Wight   County   (Va.) -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Civil actions -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .
• Freedom suits -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .
• Judicial records -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .
• Petitions -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .
• Wills -- Virginia -- Isle   of Wight   County  .

Adjunct Descriptive Data