A Guide to the Caroline County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1859,

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Caroline County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1859, 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

Caroline County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth,1859 . Local government records collection, Caroline County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

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

Processing Information

The Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, were originally described as part of the Caroline County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, but were removed to the present Caroline County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth record in June 2024.

These records have been processed, scanned, 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 M. Mason, June 2024

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: Sometimes referred to as "Applications to Remain," these records are applications that formerly enslaved individuals submitted to state and local courts for permission to remain in Virginia with their free status. The Virginia General Assembly passed a law stating that all formerly enslaved people freed after 1 May 1806 who remained in Virginia more than twelve months could be put on trial by the state. Individuals who wished to remain in the commonwealth were to petition the state legislature. In 1816, a new Act of Assembly gave the local courts power to grant permission to remain. The documents in these cases will include: the name(s) of the petitioner(s), the circumstances of free status, and a request to remain in the county. Individuals needed to prove that they had in fact been emancipated. Therefore, application packets might also include supporting documents such as the formerly enslaved person's register, a copy of a will or deed of emancipation, or witness statements known as affidavits.

Locality History: Caroline County was named for Caroline of Anspach, wife of King George II. It was formed from Essex, King and Queen, and King William Counties on 1 May 1728, and additional parts of King and Queen County were added in 1742 and in 1763.

Lost Locality Note: Created in 1728. Most loose records and deed books prior to 1836 and will books prior to 1853 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse in May 1864. A near-complete run of order books exists.

Additional Caroline 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."

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