Elizabeth City County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1830-1859

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1830-1859. These records contain deeds of emancipation, 1830-1859; a record of the division of slaves owned by Gilbert Mears and William Mears, 1852; a bond for the hire of a slave, 1846; an undated list of slaves which may be a division, and an undated account of Thomas Wooten for damages received by the British.

Deeds of manumission include the name of the slaveowner, the name of the slave, the date or age at which the slave will be freed, the date the deed was written, and the date the deed was proved. The age of the slave at the time of the deed was written, a surname assigned to the freed slave by the slaveowner, and the slaveowner's reason for emancipation are sometimes given.

The undated list of slaves which may be a division contains the names of the slaves, their value, and the surnames Yeargin, Allen and Walker.

The undated account of Thomas Wooten for damages received by the British lists the names, ages and values of two slaves.

Biographical / historical:

Elizabeth City County was formed in 1634 (original shire), but is now extinct, incorporated into the City of Hampton in 1952.

Hampton takes its name from Hampton Creek, earlier called Southampton River in honor of the earl of Southampton, an important figure in the Virginia Company of London. An Indian village stood on the site in 1607, when John Smith visited the area. The English established a village there in 1610 and a trading post in 1630. Hampton was established by an act of assembly in 1680 and was designated as a port in 1708. It was first incorporated as a town in 1849, then incorporated again in 1852, but the act of incorporation was repealed in 1860. The General Assembly again incorporated the town of Hampton in 1887, and it became a city by court order in 1908. It was greatly enlarged in 1952 by a merger with Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus; the county and town thereby became extinct.

Records were burned or destroyed during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Additional records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. A few pre-Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, and order books exist in addition to some loose papers.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from the City of Hampton.
Physical description:
.125 cubic feet ca.