A Guide to the Bath County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1827

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Bath County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1827. Local government records collection, Bath County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records were purchased by the Library of Virginia from Raynors Historical Collectible Auctions in 2003 and accessioned under accession number 40902.

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.

The bill of sale was originally described as part of the Bath County (Va.) Bill of Sale: Richards to Mayse, 1826, record, but was removed to the present Bath County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Record, 1827, to enhance discoverability in June 2025. The physical bill of sale was interfiled with the Bath County (Va.) Free and Enslaved records in July 2025 by C. Collins.

These records were processed and indexed by L. Neuroth and LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative at an unknown date.

Encoded by C. OBrion: June 2006; updated by C. Collins: June 2025.

Historical Information

Context for Record 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 Bath 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.

See: the Virginia Untold Record Types on the Library of Virginia website for additional context concerning Bills of Sale.

Locality History: Bath County was named either for the many mineral springs found in the county or for the town of Bath in England. It was formed from Augusta, Botetourt, and Greenbrier (now in West Virginia) Counties by a statute passed on 14 December 1790 to take effect 1 May 1791. The county court first met on 10 May 1791. The county seat is Warm Springs.

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

Additional Bath 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."