A Guide to the Northampton County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1728-1860
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Barcode number: 0007532553
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
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Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
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© 2006 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: LVA staff
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Northampton County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1728-1860. Local government records collection, Northampton County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
Acquisition Information
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Northampton County.
Historical Information
Northampton County probably was named for the English county, of which Obedience Robins, a prominent early resident of the Eastern Shore, was a native. The county, which originally included all of the peninsula south of Maryland and which was one of the eight shires established in 1634, was first called Accomac. The name was changed by legislative action in 1643.
In 1806, the General Assembly moved to remove the free Negro population from Virginia with a law that stated that all emancipated slaves, freed after May 1, 1806, who remained in the Commonwealth more than a year, would forfeit their right to freedom and be sold by the Overseers of the Poor for the benefit of the parish. Families wishing to stay were to petition the legislature through the local county court. Beginning in 1837, freed slaves could petition the local courts for permission to remain.
Scope and Content
Northampton County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1728-1860. These records are comprised of petitions of free negroes to remain in the commonwealth; binding out of mulattoes and free negroes;certificate of importation of slaves, 1816; miscellaneous court orders related to free negroes and slaves; and slave patrol accounts, 1804-1808. The slave patrol accounts include the names of people appointed to slave patrols, when they served, and how much they were paid.
Also included are two letters documenting the importation of Quodindo Odenda, a slave, by W. Charles in 1744; a petition to bind out a free negro orphan, and Free Negro Delinquent Tax list identifying 62 free negroes owing taxes in 1804. Also included in the list is the name, in most cases, of the person from whom the individual was emancipated.
Related Material
Additional Northampton County Free Negro and Slave Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."
Index Terms
- Northampton County (Va.) Circuit Court
- Free African Americans--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Indians of North America--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Racially mixed people--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Slave records--Virginia--Northampton County
- Slavery--Law and legislation--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Slaves--Emancipation--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Northampton County (Va.)-- History--18th century
- Northampton County (Va.)-- History--19th century
- Free negro and slave records--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Local government records--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Petitions--Virginia--Northampton County.
- Tax and fiscal records--Virginia--Northampton County.
Corporate Names:
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Geographical Names:
Genre and Form Terms:
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Northampton County (Va.)-- History--18th century
- Northampton County (Va.)-- History--19th century