Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Middlesex County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1764-1800,. Local government records collection, Middlesex County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Middlesex County in an undated accession.

Processing Information

Starting in 2023, Library of Virginia archival staff in partnership with the Virginia Untold Project Manager began efforts to describe records related to free and enslaved Black and multiracial people in a manner that improved the historical context of the records. In doing so, in some cases material once described within the "Free and Enslaved" record group for a locality may no longer be described within this record. When this has occurred, please see the Processing Information and Related Materials section for records that have been described separately.

"Free Negro" Registrations were removed from this record in April 2024 and are now described in Middlesex County (Va.) Records Related to the Registrations of Free Persons.

Deeds of Emancipation were removed from this record in April 2024 and are now described in Middlesex County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation, 1848.

Encoded by G. Crawford, 2014; Updated by M. Mason, March 2024.

Historical Information

Context for Records Type:

Free and Enslaved Records

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 Orange County. 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.

Bills of Sale and Deeds:

This collection includes transactions of enslaved people that may include the additional transfer of money or another commodity or may be a non-monetary transfer. Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, including enslaved people, from seller to buyer. Under the system of chattel slavery, laws permitted enslavers to treat enslaved people as personal possessions in the same manner as livestock, farm equipment, or household items. Enslaved people could be bought or sold without regard to their personal relationships or free will. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved people being sold and their price, and the name of the buyer. Given that they involved a property transaction, bills of sale were commonly recorded and filed with deeds in the local court. However, there was no official requirement that the transfer of an enslaved person be recorded unless necessary for legal purposes such as a court case or an estate settlement.

Locality History Note: Middlesex County was named probably for the English county. It was formed from Lancaster County by 30 October 1669.

Lost Locality Note: Created in 1669. Numerous loose records from the nineteenth century are missing, including chancery, judgments, and commonwealth causes. Most volumes (including deed books, will books, and order books) exist because court clerk Philemon T. Woodward removed them from the courthouse for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Scope and Content

Middlesex County (Va.) Free Negro and Enslaved Records, 1764-1800, includes Bills of Sale, 1764-1800.

Bills of Sale, 1764-1800, consist of about 3 items which document the name(s) of the seller enslaved persons, the name(s) of the purchaser, usually the name of the enslaved individuals being sold, the price, the date of the deed, and the date the bill of sale was registered or proved with the court and on what page it is recorded. Enslaved names include Ned, Briston, Odah, Essex, and Jone.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Middlesex County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1787-1862

See also: Middlesex County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation, 1799

Records related to free and enslaved people of Middlesex County (Va.) and other localities are available through the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.

Additional Middlesex County (Va.) court records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia.Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Middlesex County (Va.)is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Middlesex County Court Records may be found in the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.

Adjunct Descriptive Data