A Guide to the Goochland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1821,

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Goochland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1821,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

Goochland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1821. Local government records collection, Goochland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia

Acquisition Information

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

Processing Information

Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, were originally described as part of the Goochland County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records but were removed to the present Goochland County (Va.) Records Petitions to remain in the Commonwealth, to enhance discoverability 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: Goochland County was named for Sir William Gooch, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. It was formed from Henrico County in 1728.

Scope and Content

Goochland County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1821, consist of one appeal to remain by Moses, a Black man emancipated by the will of Joseph Cross, a white man. The petition itself is absent, but includes a statement on Moses' behalf made by Thomas Peers and summons to hear Moses' petition to remain in the commonwealth in court.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Series I: Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1821, arranged chronologically

Related Material

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

Additional Goochland 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."