Search

Henrico County (Va.) Apprenticeship Indentures, 1795-1871, are bonds and contracts of apprenticeship given by the Overseers of the Poor, showing the names of master and apprentice, the trade to be taught, details of the contract, the amount of the bond and the names of sureties. Many of the apprentices bound out prior to 1866 were free African Americans.

Henrico County (Va.) Brookland Township Minutes, 1870-1875, consists of minutes and accounts relating to township activities and duties. Information recorded includes duties of township officers, division of the township into road districts, establishment of levies and levy rates, discussion of acquiring property for a town hall, appointment of road overseers and surveyors, levies for school support, levies for the support of township officers and duties including road upkeep, reports of road overseers, account settlements of the collector, account settlements of the treasurer, a copy of the 1871 deed and plat for property purchased from Frances Bruns for a town hall along the Brook Turnpike (p. 16-20), discussion of allowing the school board to temporarily use the township hall for a free white school, setting of elections for road overseers, reviews of bids from road and bridge contractors, and accounts allowed against the township for such services as inquests, burial of strangers and paupers, other services provided the township's paupers, construction of the township hall, road accounts, and stationery.

Henrico County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1770-1965, consists of cases concerning issues of equity brought largely by residents of the county and filed in the circuit court. These cases often involve the following actions: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, disputes regarding contracts, debt, divorce, and business disputes. Other less prevalent issues include freedom suits, permissions to sell property, and disputes concerning trespass. Predominant documents found in these chancery causes include bills (documents the plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, plats, wills, records involving enslaved individuals, business records or vital statistics.

Henrico County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes related to Gabriel's Insurrection, 1800 September-November, consist principally of the informations filed in the criminal cases brought in the county in the court of oyer and terminer against sixty-two enslaved Black indivdual charged with participation in the planning of a rebellion to be held in Henrico County and the city of Richmond against white systems of power that imposed chattel slavery. The information contains the name of the enslaved individual, the name of the enslaver and their county of residence, the charges, and the names of witnesses on whose evidence the charges were brought. A few causes also contain a mittimus charging the sheriff to bring an enslaved person or persons to the jailer, and one suit contains a petition asking that a witness be allowed to give testimony at trial.

Henrico County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation, 1782-1863, include deeds of emancipation and manumission record the name of enslaver, the name of the enslaved person to be freed, the date the enslaved person shall achieve freedom, the date the manumission was proved or certified, and sometimes a reason why the enslaver decided to emancipate the enslaved person. The two methods of relinquishing ownership of an individual differ only in that enslavers directly freed their enslaved property by manumission. Deeds of emancipation could be generated after the enslaver’s death by those executing a last will and testament.

Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Henrico County (Va.) Estray Records, 1781-1916, undated, contain various loose and bound records giving public notice of valuable, tame animals, either lost or found wandering and presumed escaped from their owners, allowing the owners to reclaim the animals. Enteries generally indicate by whom the animal was taken up, before what justice the person went and when, and the description and appraisement (value) of the animal.

Henrico County (Va.) Fiduciary Records, 1737-1961, undated, include miscellaneous records filed in a local court by trustees, administrators, executors, guardians, and committees that related to the performance of their duties managing a person's estate. These records typically include the following; bonds, appraisements, audits, inventories, accounts, estate divisions, settlements, dowery records, etc. Information related to enslaved people are commonly found in these records.

Henrico County (Va.) Maps, Plats, Plans and Drawings, 1806-1954, consist of loose maps, plats, surveys, plans, drawings and blueprints located in the several series that compose the records of Henrico County at the Library of Virginia.

Henrico County (Va.) Marriage Bonds and Consents, Vols. 1-7 and A-Y, 1781-1830, record the original bonds of marriage between a bride and groom within the county. These volumes also contain original marriage consents. These volumes and indexes cover only the years 1781-1830. All original bonds and consents were arranged in numerical order (as they appear in the volume) by the alphabetical letter of the groom's surname and placed in the pages of nineteen volumes by means of an adhesive. Because of the adhesive technique used, it is possible to view the back of all these documents. When the volumes were restored, typewritten indexes were created for each volume and reflect the order of arrangement of the original documents in the volumes. Typewritten indexes for Volumes 1-7, however, were not microfilmed. Free African American marriages are found throughout the volumes from 1797-1830. Original bonds, now found in Volumes 1-7 but previously found in the Circuit Court Clerk's Office, were microfilmed by the Virginia State Library's Photographic Division and are found on Microfilm Reel 89a.