Alleghany County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1855-1856

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

Creator:
Alleghany County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Alleghany County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1855-1856, consist of the Alleghany County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes and Mulattoes,” 1855-1856.

The Alleghany County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes and Mulattoes,” 1855-1856, records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Alleghany County and covers the years 1855 to 1856. The clerk recorded name, age, height, complexion, marks and scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or if the person was born free. There is no index. It does not include page numbers. In some instances, the clerk recorded information not required by law such as the name of the former enslaver, previous place of registration, or place of birth.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type:

"Free Negro" Registers

In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly specified that "free Negroes or mulattoes" were required to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the town clerk, which shall specify "age, name, colour, and stature, by whom, and in what court the said negro or mulatto was emancipated; or that such negro or mulatto was born free." The process was extended to counties in 1803. Although some clerks were already recording such features, an 1834 Act of Assembly made it a uniform requirement to record identifying marks and scars and the instrument of emancipation, whether by deed or will. This bound register often coincided with a loose certificate containing largely the same identifying information. Both the registration system and the process of renewal was enforced differently in the various Virginia localities. Thus, the information found in these registers may differ from year to year and across localities.

The register books resulting from the administration of the 1793 and 1803 Act of Assembly are evidence of Virginia legislators' reaction to a quickly growing free Black and multiracial population in Virginia in the post Revolutionary War period. Acts such as these allowed white officials to police the activities and movement of free Black community members throughout the state thereby restricting their autonomy.

Locality History: Alleghany County bears a variant spelling derived from the name of the Allegheny Mountains that pass along the county's western boundary. It was formed in 1822 from Bath, Botetourt, and Monroe (now in West Virginia) Counties. Subsequent additions were made from Monroe County in 1843 and Bath County in 1847. On 20 March 1991, the General Assembly authorized the consolidation of Alleghany County and the independent city of Clifton Forge into a new independent city of Alleghany. The citizens of both locales voted against the proposal on 5 May 1992, however, and the change did not take effect. In March 2001 Clifton Forge's citizens voted to relinquish city status, and Alleghany County regained the city (now town) of Clifton Forge on 1 July 2001.

Acquisition information:

The Alleghany County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes and Mulattoes,” 1855-1856, was microfilmed by the Library of Virginia’s Imaging Services Division in January 1980 as Alleghany County (Va.) Reel No. 17.

Digital images of the Alleghany County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes and Mulattoes,” 1855-1856, were generated for Virginia Untold in the locality and transferred to the Library of Virginia in 2022.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1855-1856, arranged chronologically by registration date.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
Digital images; 1 microfilm reel