Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Scott County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1830. Local government records collection, Scott County (Va.) County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Scott County.

Historical Information

Scott County was named for Winfield Scott, a native of Virginia, in recognition of his victories during the War of 1812; he was later commanding general of the American army during the war with Mexico, 1846-1848. It was formed from Lee, Russell, and Washington Counties by a statute adopted on 24 November 1814. The county court first met on 14 February 1815. The county seat is Gate City.

Slaves could sue for emancipation if they were descendant(s) of a free female ancestor, typically a Native American (Hening Statutes, volume 2, p.170.)

Scope and Content

Scott County (Va.) County Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1830, consist of one freedom suit: Heirs of Stephen Osborne vs. Barbara, a slave, etc. Surnames of others involved in a suit, including secondary plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, deponents and affiants, and family members with surnames different from the plaintiff or defendant are indexed. Also identified are names of slaves and slaveowners found in suit as well as whether slave(s) won their freedom. Predominant documents found in freedom suits include petitions, records of suits, depositions, affidavits, wills, among other items. Information found in documents include slave's argument for freedom, acquisition of slaves by slaveowners, slave ancestry, and relationship between slaves and slaveowners.

Related Material

See also Scott County Chancery Cause 1831-009 Barbara etc. vs. Jonathan Osborn, etc. , Scott County Chancery Cause 1832-009 Jonathan Osborne vs. Barabara, etc. , and Scott County Chancery Cause 1837-001 Barbara, etc. vs. James Osborn, etc. All three cases are available on the Chancery Records Index .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Scott County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans -- History -- Virginia -- Scott County.
• Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Scott County.
• Slavery -- Virginia -- Scott County.

Geographical Names:

• Scott County (Va.) -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Civil actions -- Virginia -- Scott County.
• Freedom suits -- Virginia -- Scott County.
• Judicial records -- Virginia -- Scott County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Scott County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data