Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Nelson County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes and Civil War Claims, 1853-1867. Nelson County (Va.) Reel 50, Local government records collection, Nelson County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item was microfilmed 10 Jan. 1985 by the Library of Virginia's Imaging Services Division.

Historical Information

Nelson County was named for Thomas Nelson Jr., governor of Virginia from June to November 1781. It was formed in 1807 from Amherst County.

Acts passed by the Virginia legislature in 1793 and 1803 required every free negro or mulatto to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk.

Scope and Content

Nelson County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes and Civil War Claims, 1853-1867. The collection contains a Free Negro Register, 1853-1865, and three Civil War Claims with lists and valuations of slaves, 1866-1867. The Free Negro Register documents the name and age of free negroes who registered with the county court from 1853 to 1867. Each entry also includes a brief physical description and a reference to whether the person was born free, and where, or the circumstances of the person's emancipation. Additional information, such as names of spouses or parents or county of birth, is sometimes included.

Also included in the register are affidavits of James L. Hubbard, Seaton H. Loving, and William Gordon listing property lost during the Civil War. Hubbard's affidavit contains a list of 94 slaves owned in the vicinity of Nelson County, on the Upper Quarter of his Tye River Estate, valued at an estimated totatl of $57,000.00 in 1861. Hubbard also testified that several houses he owned were burned by the Northern army. The list of Hubbard's slave property includes name, age, and the estimated value of each slave. Seaton Loving's affidavit contains a list of 8 slaves, with name, age, date of birth, and estimated value of each slave in 1861. William Gordon's affidavit constains a list of 43 slaves, with name, age, and estimated value of each slave in 1861.

Related Material

See also the Register of Negro Marriages, 1865-1877, also on Nelson County (Va.) Reel 50.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Nelson County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Free African Americans--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Plantation owners--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Slaveholders--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Slavery--Virginia--Nelson County.

Geographical Names:

• Nelson County (Va.)--History--19th century.
• Nelson County (Va.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Affidavits--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Claims--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Free negro and slave records--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Nelson County.
• Registers (lists)--Virginia--Nelson County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data