Tax records "List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes," 1801-1850 and selected records containing named enslaved and free Black and Multiacial people, are digitized and available through
There are no restrictions.
Fluvanna County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1801-1865, undated. Local government records collection, Fluvanna County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
Digital images of "Free Negro" tax records 1801-1850 , were scanned at the Fluvanna Historical Society by Library of Virginia Staff in 2023 and transfered to the Library of Virginia under accession 54545
These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Fluvanna County in an undated accession.
Petitions to Remain were removed from this record in April 2025 and are now described in Fluvanna County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth.
"Free Negro" Registrations were removed from this record in April 2025 and are now described in Fluvanna County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons.
Original Free and Enslaved EAD Encoded by S. Nerney, 2010; updated by M. Mason: April 2025
The Free and Enslaved Records collection is comprised of miscellaneous records related to the regulation and policing of both enslaved and free Black and Multiracial people in Staunton. The localities/local government authorities were largely responsible for enforcing laws that restricted the movement of enslaved and free Black and multiracial people and the resulting documentation was often filed in the circuit courts. The ways in which local authorities enacted legal measures against or on behalf of enslaved and free Black and multiracial people varied from locality to locality; therefore, records were not necessarily standardized or filed and retained in a consistent manner. This collection is topical and a means by which to compile miscellaneous documents related to free and enslaved people that are not established local government record types.
See: the
Fluvanna County (Va.) Free Negro and Enslaved Records, 1801-1865, undated, includes a criminal record, 1849; "Free Negro" tax records, 1801-1859; Records concerning requisitions for public use, 1864-1865; and a list, undated.
Criminal records, 1849, include the arrest of John Waston, a free person in want of papers. Waston's papers are granted but he is hired out to pay court fees. [Digitized]
"Free Negro" tax records, 1801-1859, includes digital images for tax records 1801-1850. These digital records include "List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes," 1801-1802,1804-1807,1809-1826, 1828-1842, 1847-1850, kept by the commissioner of revenue contains name, residence, and occupation [sometimes additional information like sex and names of children].Lists from 1801 and 1817 have two copies. Presumably one submitted by the commissioner of the revenue and one filed by the clerk as the 1801 Acts of Assembly required the Commissioner to file one with the clerk and for the clerk to post a copy of said list to the courthouse door.
Physical "Free Negro" tax records include, a "list of free negroes to be hired for payment of the Revenue tax," 1855 [photocopy]; a "list of delinquent free negroes," 1856; and a "list of delinquent free negroes and mulattoes," 1859 [originals digitized, not photocopy].
Records concerning requisitions for public use, 1864-1865, consists of a requisition for public use, 1864, for Henry, an enslaved man, and includes additional letters and documents; an Appraisement of enslaved individuals sent to labor on fortifications, 1864 March; and an Appraisement of enslaved individuals drafted in Janry 1865 to labor on fortifications.These appraisement lists include the name of the enslaved person, their enslaver's name, monetary value of the enslaved person, and whether they were accepted or rejected for requisition. Includes one additional appraisement, 1864 July, for enslaved individuals but does not include names of the enslaved. [not digitized]
Various other record types include:
Affidavit, 1863, of Hillman L. [Ashburn?] concerning the employment of William Cousins, a free Black man, as a lock keeper on the Rivanna Canal, part of the James River and Kanawha Company.[Digitized]
List, undated [ca. 1805], of the "ages and names of slaves" enslaved by the estates of John Shephard. Names include: Stephen, Charles, Rachel, Beck, Sam, Lucy, Winston, Hack, Henny, and Charles. [Digitized]
This collection is arranged
Original "List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes," 1801-1850, are located at the Fluvanna County Historical Society.
See also:
See also:
See also:
Records related to free and enslaved people of Fluvanna County (Va.) and other localities are available through the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.
Additional Fluvanna County (Va.) court records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."
arranged by record type then chronologically