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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2006 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: E. Woodward
Rappahannock County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1834-1863, are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.
There are no restrictions.
Rappahannock County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1834-1863. Local government records collection, Rappahannock County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
These records were transferred to the Library of Virginia from Rappahannock County (Va.) in 2024 under accession number 54091 for digitization. Digital images of the register were produced by the Library of Virginia Imaging Services in 2024 and accessioned under accession number 54091.
The Rappahannock County (Va.) “Register of Free Negroes,” 1834-1863, is available on microfilm, Rappahannock County (Va.) Reel No. 32.
The Rappahannock County (Va.) “Register of Free Negroes,” 1834-1863, is available as an inkjet facsimile.
The Rappahannock County (Va.) “Register of Free Negroes,” 1834-1863, was transferred to the Library of Virginia from the Circuit Court of Northampton County in 2024 under accession number 54091 for digitization. The register was returned to the locality in 2024 by request of the clerk of the Circuit Court. Contact the clerk of the Circuit Court for access. Rappahannock County Circuit Court, 238 Gay Street, Washington, Virginia, 22747.
Rappahannock County (Va.) Reel No. 32 was generated by the Library of Virginia Imaging Services at an unknown date.
Digital scans of the original volume, which is retained in the locality, were produced by the Library of Virginia Imaging Services in 2024.
These records have been processed and indexed by L. Neuroth and other LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.
Encoded by E. Woodward, April 2006; updated by C. Collins, October 2024.
Context for Record Type:
"Free Negro" Registers
In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly specified that "free Negroes or mulattoes" were required to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the town clerk, which shall specify "age, name, colour, and stature, by whom, and in what court the said negro or mulatto was emancipated; or that such negro or mulatto was born free." The process was extended to counties in 1803. Although some clerks were already recording such features, an 1834 Act of Assembly made it a uniform requirement to record identifying marks and scars and the instrument of emancipation, whether by deed or will. This bound register often coincided with a loose certificate containing largely the same identifying information. Both the registration system and the process of renewal was enforced differently in the various Virginia localities. Thus, the information found in these registers may differ from year to year and across localities.
The register books resulting from the administration of the 1793 and 1803 Act of Assembly are evidence of Virginia legislators' reaction to a quickly growing free Black and multiracial population in Virginia in the post Revolutionary War period. Acts such as these allowed white officials to police the activities and movement of free Black community members throughout the state thereby restricting their autonomy.
Locality History: Rappahannock County, the second Virginia county of that name, was named for the Rappahannock River, which in turn received its name from an Indian tribe that lived along its banks. It was formed from Culpeper County in 1833. The county seat is Washington.
Rappahannock County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1834-1863, consist of the Rappahannock County (Va.) “Register of Free Negroes,” 1834-1863. The register records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Rappahannock County and covers the years 1834 to 1863. The clerk recorded name, age, height, complexion, marks and scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or if the person was born free.
This collection is arranged
Records related to free and enslaved people of Rappahannock County (Va.) and other localities are available through the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.
Additional Rappahannock 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.”