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Sussex County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1787-1850. Local government records collection, Sussex County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000.
The microfilm copy of these records was generated by The Library of Virginia's Imaging Services Branch.
Sussex County was named for the English county, and was formed from Surry County in 1753.
The legislature passed a law in 1782 authorizing slaveholders to free enslaved people without explicit legislative approval.
An act passed by the Virginia legislature in 1793 required every free negro or mulatto to register with the city or county clerk and obtain at a cost of twenty-three cents certificates confirming their status. These laws, and subsequent registration laws passed by the legislature, led to the creation of free negro registers.
Sussex County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1787-1850, are comprised of Free Negro lists, 1801-1812; deeds of emancipation, 1787-1788; Free Negro certificates, 1805 and 1813-1826; lists of dower slaves, 1804-1821, and a Free Negro register, 1800-1850.
Free Negro lists, 1801-1812 (reel 221), were compiled by commissioners in each tax district for tax purposes. They list names of males, names of females, occupation, and residence.
Deeds of emancipation, 1787-1788 (reel 319) document the emancipation of enslaved people by Henry Moss in 1787 and Henry Porch in 1788.
Free Negro certificates, 1805 and 1813-1828 and undated (reel 319), were issued by the county court to free African Americans. They contain the name of the individual (usually the person's given name and surname, but sometimes the given name only), a brief physical description of the individual, in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. These records also include a judgment, Ben and Joe, paupers, vs. Robert Hunt, 1814. The court record indicates the plaintiffs recovered their freedom in the Petersburg District Court in September 1802.
Lists of dower slaves, 1804-1821 (reel 319). These records are comprised of nine lists of enslaved people who were acquired through marriage to a widow who had inherited them as part of her dower. The lists document the names, gender, and age of the enslaved people, the individual who owned them previously, the individual who acquired them through marriage to a widow, and the date recorded in the Sussex County court.
Register of Free Negroes, 1800-1850 (reel 323), records the registration number, age, name, color, stature, marks or scars, date certified, and in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. The names of previous owners are sometimes listed. The register documents manumissions as early as 1782. No index.