Louisa County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1792, 1813

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:

Louisa County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1792, 1813, 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:

Louisa County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1792, 1813. Local government records collection, Louisa County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Summary

Extent:
2 items
Creator:
Louisa County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Abstract:
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Louisa County (Va.) Certificates of Importation, 1792, 1813. Local government records collection, Louisa County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

Louisa County (Va.) certificates of Importation, 1792,1813, consists of certificate, 1792, of Benjamin Litchworth (enslaved individuals not named); and certificate, 1813, of Thomas Turner moving from Tennessee to Virginia with Mary, Rachel D. Aggy, Venus

Biographical / historical:

Context of Record Type: In 1778, Governor Patrick Henry enacted legislation preventing importation of enslaved people into the commonwealth. Those that did bring their enslaved people were required to register them with the county court and sign a certificate of importation agreeing that they were not bringing enslaved people into the commonwealth with the intent to sell. The enslaved person is sometimes named, but not always, and occasionally information is given as to age, birthdate, and the state from which the individuals were moving. According to Section 3 of the act "every slave imported into this commonwealth contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, shall upon such importation become free." By this clause, those enslaved people who were brought into Virginia illegally could pursue their freedom in the local courts.

Locality History: Louisa County was formed in 1742 from Hanover County.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Louisa County under an undated accession
Processing information:

Louisa County (Va.) Certificates of Importation were previously described with the Louisa County (Va.) Free and Enslaved records, but were removed to this record in January 2026 to increase discoverability.

These records have been scanned and indexed by Library of Virginia staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by M. Mason: January 2026

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I:Certificates of Importation, 1792,1813

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.