Culpeper County (Va.) Register of Marriages (Colored) Under Act of Assembly of Virginia, 1866

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
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

Patrons are to use inkjet copies (barcode number 00074329470) or digital images with searchable transcription available through the Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory website.

Preferred citation:

Culpeper County (Va.) Register of Marriages (Colored) Under Act of Assembly of Virginia, February 27th, 1866. Local government records collection, Culpeper County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Culpeper County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Culpeper County (Va.) Register of Marriages (Colored) Under Act of Assembly of Virginia, February 27th, 1866. Local government records collection, Culpeper County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Culpeper County (Va.) Register of Marriages (Colored) Under Act of Assembly of Virginia, February 27th, 1866, is also known as the Culpeper County (Va.) Cohabitation Register. It consists of 5 pages of marriages of former slaves recorded on forms usually used to record regular marriages. Information recorded includes date and place of marriage (all given as February 27, 1866), town or county, full name of husband and wife, age and condition before marriage (single or widowed), places of birth of husband and wife, places of residence, names of parents, occupation of husband, and name of person performing marriage ceremony (all given as "Law of VA"). Unlike other cohabitation registers, no information is recorded about previous owners. There is no index.

Biographical / historical:

Culpeper County was formed in 1749 from Orange County.

The Virginia legislature passed an act on 27 February 1866 to legalize the marriages of former slaves who had been cohabiting as of that date. See Virginia Acts of Assembly, 1866-1867, Chapter 18, An act to amend and re-enact the 14th section of chapter 108 of the Code of Virginia for 1860, in regard to registers of marriage; and to legalize the marriages of colored persons now cohabiting as husband and wife.

The federal Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands directed the Assistant Superintendents of the states to order the county clerks to make a registry of such cohabiting couples. See Circular No. 11, dated 19 March 1866, in Orders, Circulars, Circular Letters, and Letters of Instruction, vol. 2 (1866). Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, 1865-1869. Miscellaneous reel 3880, Library of Virginia. National Archives microfilm M1048 (reel 41), Record Group 105.

Acquisition information:

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Culpeper County under the accession number 43031.

Digital images were created by the Library of Virginia's Photographic and Digital Imaging Services. Photolab number 08_0612_01-10.tif.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
5 p. and digital images.