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Rockbridge County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1805-1831. Rockbridge County Reel 157, Local Government Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
The original volume is housed at the College of William and Mary Earl Gregg Swem Library (Collection Number Mss. MsV Lev13) and lent to the Library of Virginia for microfilming. The volume was microfilmed in 2005 by OCLC Preservation Service Centers for the Library of Virginia.
Rockbridge County was formed in 1778 from Augusta and Botetourt Counties. An additional part of Botetourt was added in 1785.
An act passed by the Virginia legislature in 1803 required every free negro or mulatto to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk.
Rockbridge County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1805-1831, lists the age, name, color, stature, marks or scars in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. Some clerks recorded additional information not required by law. If a free person was emancipated, the name of the emancipator is given and in what county and court this took place. If a person was born free, occasionally the mother's name is given. There is no index.
At the back of the volume is a Register of Boats, 1811-1828, kept as required by an act of the General Assembly of Virginia entitled "An act regulating the navigation of James River above the falls of said river." The register records the date registered, the proprietor of the boat, the residence of the proprietor, and the number (of boats?).
Chronological.
Additional Rockbridge County Free Negro and Slave Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult