Researching Virginia’s Free People of Color
In 1860, 58,042 people of color lived free in Virginia, compared to the 490,865 who were enslaved statewide.
Where do we begin when researching Virginia’s antebellum free people of color? As with all genealogical research, it depends on multiple factors, two of which are legal and historical context. Equally important, what is the research objective?
Given the overwhelming number of enslaved people in Virginia in 1860 compared to those who were free, and the state’s rigorous laws applicable to free people of color living in Virginia, my first steps would be to search in the records created that document an individual’s road to freedom. Was your ancestor born free, or was your ancestor formerly enslaved? An abundance of information and evidence can be gleaned from records created to document either circumstance.
Below is a list of records I would first review to determine if a free person of color was ever enslaved in Virginia.
Beginning in 1793, Virginia’s free people of color were required to carry a “free negro registration” paper. In addition to detailing an individual’s physical description, extant papers can provide details of an individual’s freedom – whether or not they were born free, a former enslaver’s information, and if born free, the identity of the person’s parents. Clerks also kept a book of registrations, numbering each free individual.
Row seven of the 1850 and 1860 slave schedules provides the number of slaves that were freed from bondage in the past year per slave owner. While not always the case, freed individuals sometimes took the surname of their former owner. If you locate a slave owner who shares your research subject’s surname and manumitted a slave the previous year, search the county’s court books for more information to determine if the freed slave could be your ancestor.
Beginning in 1806, formerly enslaved individuals who wished to remain in Virginia had to file a petition within twelve months of being freed. If approved, such approval would be recorded in court records. John W. Williams’ Index to Enrolled Bills of the General Assembly of Virginia 1776-1910 provides a simple method to obtain information for individuals whose petitions to remain in Virginia were approved. Beginning in 1837, formerly enslaved individuals could petition at the county level to remain in Virginia, in which case a search of county court books would provide documentation of the legal process.
Freedom suits can also provide important genealogical documentation for a research subject, such as wills, affidavits, and depositions.
Deeds of emancipation and manumission can provide an individual’s date of freedom and their circumstances of freedom.
With information obtained from the above steps, a new research plan can be created to begin the next phase of research for your research subject.
The Library of Virginia’s “Virginia Untold” project is an online platform in which you can access some of the above-discussed record sets – https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/virginia-untold
I’ve had success with typing in a research subject’s name in the search engine for a particular record set. LVA’s “Virginia Untold” project is ongoing and is updated as new records are digitized.
You can be alerted to updates to this and the library’s other projects by subscribing to LVA’s blog, “The Uncommonwealth, Voices from the Library of Virginia” – https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com
I hope the above suggestions help with your ancestral research.
*cover image by Amy Chung