Fauquier County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1817-1865

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:
Fauquier County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Fauquier County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1817-1865, consist of the Fauquier County (Va.) Register of "Free Negroes," 1817-1865. The register records the registration of free Black and Multiracial people of Black descent in Fauquier County and covers the years 1817 to 1865. 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. An index is included at the end of the volume. It includes page numbers. In some instances, the clerk recorded information not required by law such as the names 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: Fauquier County was named for Francis Fauquier, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1758 to 1768. It was formed in 1759 from Prince William County. The county seat is Warrenton.

Acquisition information:

The Fauquier County (Va.) Register of "Free Negroes," 1817-1865, was transferred to the Library of Virginia from the Virginia Museum of History Culture (formerly the Virginia Historical Society) in 2022 under accession number 53553.

The microfilm of the register was generated circa 2007 and was accessioned under accession number 43136.

Digital images of the register were produced by Backstage Library Works circa 2022.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1817-1865, arranged loosely by record type then chronologically.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 volume; 1 microfilm reel (135 images)