PUBLIC "-//Library of Virginia//TEXT (US::Vi::vi02240::A Guide to the Goochland County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting, 1866)//EN" "vi02240.xml" A Guide to the Goochland County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting, 1866 Goochland County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting, 1866 Goochland County (Va.) Reel 73 Sarah Nerney Library of Virginia © 2007 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

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Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record, created by Sarah Nerney, 12 October 2007 Description is in English 2013-11-21 Converted to schema conforming EAD by dtd2schema.vh.xsl. A Guide to the Goochland County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting, 1866 A Collection in the Library of Virginia Goochland County (Va.) Reel 73 Sarah Nerney

Library of Virginia 2007 Sarah Nerney Library of Virginia Descriptive Summary The Library of Virginia Goochland County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting, 1866 Goochland County (Va.) Reel 73 Library of Virginia 1 microfilm reel (96 images) and digital images. English Goochland County (Va.) Circuit Court. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Patrons may also use digital images with searchable transcription available through the Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory website.

Preferred Citation

Goochland County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting, 1866, Goochland County (Va.) Reel 73. Local government records collection, Goochland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item was microfilmed by the Library of Virginia's Imaging Services Division.

Digital images were created by the Library of Virginia's Photographic and Digital Imaging Services. Photolab number 110190.

Historical Information

Goochland County was formed from Henrico County in 1728.

The Virginia legislature passed an act on 27 February 1866 to legalize the marriages of former slaves who had been cohabiting as of that date. 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 cohabiting couples. 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.

Scope and Content

Goochland County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons Cohabiting, 1866, records the name and age of the husband, the name and age of the wife, the occupation of the husband, and the county of residence. There is a remarks column which mostly contains information about children that the husband had by a former wife. There is no index. It is also commonly called the Goochland County (Va.) Cohabitation Register.

At the beginning of the volume is a certification by the U.S. Secretary of War George W. McCrary that this volume is certified to be a correct transcript of the original. This certification is dated 1878 June 26.

Adjunct Descriptive Data Related Material

Additional Goochland County Marriage Records and Vital Statistics can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia web site.

Additional cohabitation registers are available digitially with searchable transcriptions through the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold: the African American Narrative website.

Index Terms Corporate Names: Goochland County (Va.). Circuit Court. Subjects: African Americans -- Employment -- Virginia -- Goochland County. African Americans -- Virginia -- Goochland County. Freedmen -- Virginia -- Goochland County. Geographical Names: Goochland County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century. Genre and Form Terms: Birth registers -- Virginia -- Goochland County. Local government records -- Virginia -- Goochland County. Marriage records -- Virginia -- Goochland County. Marriage registers -- Virginia -- Goochland County. Added Entry - Corporate Name: United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.