Montgomery County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1823-1863

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

Background

Scope and content:

Montgomery County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1823-1863, consists of two "Free Negro" Registers, 1823-1847 and 1848-1863.

Montgomery County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes and Mulattoes, 1823-1847, kept by the clerk of the court for Montgomery County, records the registration number, age, name, color, stature, marks or scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. There is no index. Some entries include notes recording the renewal of registration by an individual with notation to see the minute books for additional information.

Montgomery County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes and Mulattoes, 1848-1863, kept by the clerk of the court for Montgomery County, records the registration number, age, name, color, stature, marks or scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. There is no index. Some entries include notes recording the renewal of registration by an individual with notation to see the minute books for additional information. Last several pages of the volume contain entries created to 1865 local elections.

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: Montgomery County was named for Richard Montgomery, who was killed in the American assault on Quebec late in 1775. It was formed from Fincastle County in 1776, and the county court first met on 7 January 1777. Subsequent additions were made from Botetourt (1790) and Pulaski (1842) Counties.

Acquisition information:
Digital scans of the original registers were accessioned by the Library of Virginia in 2024 under accession number 54240.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1823-1863

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
digtial images