A Guide to the Isle of Wight County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1818
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Barcode Numbers 0007560225
Library of Virginia
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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
- Isle of Wight County (Va.) Circuit Court
- African Americans -- Virginia.
- Free African Americans -- Virginia -- Isle of Wight County.
- Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Isle of Wight County.
- Slavery -- Virginia -- Isle of Wight County.
- Isle of Wight County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Isle of Wight County (Va.) -- History.
- 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.
Corporate Names:
Subjects:
Geographical Names:
Genre and Form Terms:
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Isle of Wight County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Isle of Wight County (Va.) -- History.