Frederick County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864

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:

Frederick County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Frederick County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864. Local government records collection, Frederick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
.45 cu. ft. (1 box); 1 folder (oversize)
Creator:
Frederick County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Frederick County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864. Local government records collection, Frederick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Frederick County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, consist of 568 free registrations. Several free registrations originated in other Virginia localities, such as Rockingham County and Albemarle County. Upon their removal to Frederick County, individuals surrendered their free papers to the court to prove their free status. In such cases, they would have received a Frederick County free registration to replace the document(s) handed over to the court. The registrations, to varying extents, include information about the person(s) named, such as their age, physical attributes, and the circumstances surrounding their freedom or emancipation.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type:

"Free Negro" Registrations

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, color, status and by whom, and in what court emancipated." These entries often coincided with the creation of a loose certificate containing largely the same identifying information.

Documents in this record group differ from the bound volumes referred to as "registers." These registration records typically appear in the form of certificates or handwritten statements recording the free status of a Black or Multiracial person. They can include the free person's name, sometimes age, a brief physical description, and the circumstances of the person's freedom or emancipation, parents, former enslaver, place or date of emancipation. There are also affidavits that were given by individuals affirming a free person's status, as well as written descriptions of free people. In some cases, a person would not have a registration to submit to the court. Instead, they produced some other form of identification proving their free status, for example, a deed of emancipation, a will, an apprenticeship indenture, or an affidavit of someone testifying to their character and status.

Locality History: Frederick County was named in honor of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and eldest son of King George II. It was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 11 November 1743. Part of Augusta County was added in 1754. The county seat is the city of Winchester.

Acquisition information:
These records were transferred to the Library of Virginia from Frederick County (Va.) as part of an undated accession.
Processing information:

"Free Negro" registrations, 1803-1864, were originally described as part of the Frederick County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1761, 1795, 1820-1861, but were removed to the present Frederick County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, record to enhance the context between record types in August 2026.

These records have been processed, scanned, and indexed by S. Nerney, L. Neuroth, and LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by C. Collins: August 2026.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: "Free Negro" registrations, 1803-1864, arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia