Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Richmond (Va.) Certificates of importation, 1813-1818, 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

Richmond (Va.) Certificates of importation, 1813-1818. Local government records collection, Richmond Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in 1968 a transfer of court papers from the city of Richmond under accession number 26922 and in an undated accession.

Processing Information

Richmond (Va.) Certificates of Importation were removed from Richmond (Va.) Ended Causes and processed by L. Neuroth from 2021-2023.

These records have been scanned and indexed by L. Neuroth for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by M. Mason: February 2024

Historical Information

Context of 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 Note: The city of Richmond, located between Henrico and Chesterfield Counties, was named by William Byrd (1674-1744), who envisioned the development of a city at the falls of the James River and with the help of William Mayo laid out the town in 1737. The name probably came from the English borough of Richmond upon Thames, which Byrd visited on several occasions. Richmond was established in 1742 and in 1779 was designated the capital of Virginia effective 30 April 1780. It was incorporated as a town, although "stiled the city of Richmond," in 1782 and was incorporated as a city in 1842. It served as the capital of the Confederacy from mid-1861 to April 1865. Richmond was enlarged by the annexation of Manchester (or South Richmond) in 1910, and by the addition of Barton Heights, Fairmount, and Highland Park in 1914. Further annexations from Chesterfield County occurred in 1942 and 1970.

Lost Records Note: During the burning of Richmond on April 3, 1865, during the Civil War, Richmond circuit court judge John A. Meredith led efforts to save the circuit court records found at the State Court House. Rescuers successfully removed all the papers that were necessary to pending suits and many of the order books, but all of the wills and deed books were lost. Records of the superior court and circuit superior court of law and chancery were also destroyed. Most of the pre-Civil War Hustings Court records exist.

Scope and Content

Richmond (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1813-1818, consists of 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 in these certificates includes: Harriat Davis, Maria Davis, and Henry (brought by Joseph Biddle at two points in 1813); Wat, Isaac, Colin, Sandy, Hall, Abraham, Charles, Goulds, Dice (brought by William Cook in 1817 from North Carolina); Maria and William (brought by Hezekiah Staa in 1817 from Baltimore, Maryland); Fred, Mealy, Jinny, and Burtus (brought by Daniel H. Valentine in 1818 from North Carolina)

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Richmond (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1800-1864

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

Additional Richmond (Va.) court records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia.Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Richmond City is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Richmond City Court Records may be found in the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.

Adjunct Descriptive Data