Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Arlington County (Va.) Bills of Sale and Deeds,1786-1860, are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Arlington County (Va.) Deeds and Related Records, 1699-1920, Local government records collection, Arlington County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

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

Processing Information

Bills of Sale and Deeds, 1786-1860, pertaining to enslaved and free Black individuals were removed from the larger Arlington County (Va.) deeds [five boxes of recorded deeds dated, 1785-1894] and then processed and indexed as a distinct unit by Ed Jordan for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative. All other Deeds,1786-1860, and pertaining to white and non-Black individuals are remain in Series II.

Encoded by, G. Crawford, 2020 ; Updated by M. Mason, March 2025

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: 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. Enslaved people could also be transferred through a deed of gift, there was no money transaction involved in this case, which distinguishes this record from a bill of sale. Enslavers and their family members often transferred enslaved people between themselves in this manner.

Deeds are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person, from one individual to another. These include the voluntary transfer of enslaved people between family members with no financial transaction involved. Deeds include the names of the grantors, grantees, and enslaved people. Clerks proved, acknowledged, and recorded deeds in the local court.

Locality History: Arlington County was originally named Alexandria County. It was formed from a portion of Fairfax County that Virginia in 1789 ceded to the federal government for use as the site of a new national capital. In 1801 the area officially became part of the District of Columbia, although Congress named it Alexandria County. By an act of 9 July 1846, Congress returned the county to Virginia, and the General Assembly extended the commonwealth's jurisdiction over the region effective 20 March 1847. By an act of assembly passed 16 March 1920, the county's name was changed to Arlington, the name of the Custis family mansion (the home of Robert E. Lee), which is located in the county. An urban county, Arlington contains no incorporated towns or cities. The county courthouse is in the county.

Scope and Content

Arlington County (Va.) Deeds and Bills of Sale, 1699-1920 consists of a full box and a partial box. recorded deeds, unrecorded deeds, and bills of sale, 1786-1860, related to transactions of enslaved people. The remaining material includes five boxes of recorded deeds, indexes to deeds, and other records related to deeds.

Deeds of bargain and sale are the most recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.

Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal including enslaved people, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated. Information recorded included name(s) of the grantor(s), grantee(s), and enslaved people. Deeds of gift were proved and recorded in the local court.

Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.

Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person, from seller to buyer. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved persons 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.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Arlington County (Va.) Deeds of Emancipation

See also: Arlington County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records

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

Additional Arlington 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."

Adjunct Descriptive Data