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Prince Edward County (Va.) Register of Children of Colored Persons in Prince Edward County, State of Virginia, whose Parents had ceased to cohabit on 27th February, 1866, which the Father recognizes to be his. Local Government Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Prince Edward County.
Digital images were created by the Library of Virginia's Photographic and Digital Imaging Services. Photolab number 09_0944_01-08.
Prince Edward County was formed from Amelia County in 1753.
The Virginia legislature passed an act on 27 February 1866 to legalize the marriages of former slaves and provided for the legitimization of children of couples no longer cohabiting as long as the father recognized the children to be his. 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 children. 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.
Prince Edward County (Va.) Register of Children of Colored Persons in Prince Edward County, State of Virginia, whose Parents had ceased to cohabit on 27th February, 1866, which the Father recognizes to be his. This register lists the name of the child, age, place of birth, residence, last owner, residence of the last owner, residence of father, his age and last owner, residence of last owner of father, name of mother, her age, her residence if alive or noted if dead, last owner of mother, residence of last owner of mother, and the signature of the father.
The register contains entries for children whose residence is a place other than Prince Edward County. These include the Virginia localities of Buckingham, Pittsylvania, Amelia, Petersburg, Mecklenburg, Cumberland, and Washington; the states of Missouri, Texas, Kentucky, and Florida; and the nation of Liberia.
Additional Prince Edward County Marriage Records and Vital Statistics can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult
Additional cohabitation registers are available digitially with searchable transcriptions through the Library of Virginia's