Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Bedford County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, 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

Bedford County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864. Local government records collection, Bedford County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records were transferred to the Library of Virginia from Bedford County (Va.) in 1984 under accession number 32103 and as part of an undated accession.

The registers were microfilmed by LVA-ISB at an unknown date.

Digital images of the registers were produced by Backstage Library Works in 2021.

Alternative Form Available

Bedford County (Va.) Register of "Free Negroes," 1803-1820, is available on microfilm, Bedford County (Va.) Reel No. 120a.

Bedford County (Va.) Register of "Free Negroes," 1820-1860, is available on microfilm, Bedford County (Va.) Reel No. 120a.

Bedford County (Va.) County Court Minute Book and "Free Negro" Register, 1861-1873, is available on microfilm, Bedford County (Va.) Reel No. 243.

Processing Information

"Free Negro" registrations, affidavits, and certificates, 1814-1860, were originally described as part of the Bedford County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1764, 1789, 1813-1821, 1857, but were removed to the present Bedford County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, record to enhance the context between record types in May 2025.

The microfilm of the "Free Negro" registers, 1803-1860, was originally described as Bedford County (Va.) "Free Negro" Registers, 1803-1860, but was removed to the present Bedford County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, record to enhance the context between record types in May 2025.

The microfilm of the Bedford County (Va.) County Court Minute Book and “Free Negro” Register, 1861-1873, was originally described as Bedford County (Va.) County Court Minute Book and “Free Negro” Register, 1861-1873, but was removed to the present Bedford County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, record to enhance the context between record types in May 2025.

These records have been processed, scanned, and indexed by L. Neuroth and LVA staff for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative.

Encoded by C. Childs: February 2003; updated by C. Collins: May 2025.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type:

"Free Negro" Registers

In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly specified that "free Negroes or mulattoes" were required to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the town clerk, which shall specify "age, name, colour, and stature, by whom, and in what court the said negro or mulatto was emancipated; or that such negro or mulatto was born free." The process was extended to counties in 1803. Although some clerks were already recording such features, an 1834 Act of Assembly made it a uniform requirement to record identifying marks and scars and the instrument of emancipation, whether by deed or will. This bound register often coincided with a loose certificate containing largely the same identifying information. Both the registration system and the process of renewal was enforced differently in the various Virginia localities. Thus, the information found in these registers may differ from year to year and across localities.

The register books resulting from the administration of the 1793 and 1803 Act of Assembly are evidence of Virginia legislators' reaction to a quickly growing free Black and Multiracial population in Virginia in the post Revolutionary War period. Acts such as these allowed white officials to police the activities and movement of free Black community members throughout the state thereby restricting their autonomy.

"Free Negro" Registrations

In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly specified that "free Negroes or mulattoes" were required to "be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the town clerk, which shall specify age, name, color, status and by whom, and in what court emancipated." These entries often coincided with the creation of a loose certificate containing largely the same identifying information.

Documents in this record group differ from the bound volumes referred to as "registers." These registration records typically appear in the form of certificates or handwritten statements recording the free status of a Black or Multiracial person. They can include the free person's name, sometimes age, a brief physical description, and the circumstances of the person's freedom or emancipation, parents, former enslaver, place or date of emancipation. There are also affidavits that were given by individuals affirming a free person's status, as well as written descriptions of free people. In some cases, a person would not have a registration to submit to the court. Instead, they produced some other form of identification proving their free status, for example, a deed of emancipation, a will, an apprenticeship indenture, or an affidavit of someone testifying to their character and status.

Locality History: Bedford County was named probably for John Russell, fourth duke of Bedford, who served as secretary of state for the southern department from 1748 to 1751 and had general supervision of colonial affairs. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1753, and parts of Albemarle and Lunenburg Counties were added in 1755. The county court first met on 5 May 1754. The county seat is the town of Bedford.

Scope and Content Information

Bedford County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1803-1864, consist of three “Free Negro” Registers, 1803-1864, and “Free Negro” registrations, affidavits, and certificates, 1814-1860.

Bedford County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1803-1820, records the registration of free Black and Multiracial people of Black descent in Bedford County and covers the years 1803 to 1820. The clerk recorded name, age, height, complexion, marks and scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or if the person was born free.

Bedford County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1820-1860, records the registration of free Black and Multiracial people of Black descent in Bedford County and covers the years 1820 to 1860. The clerk recorded name, age, height, complexion, marks and scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or if the person was born free.

Bedford County (Va.) “Free Negro” Register, 1861-1864, records the registration of free Black and Multiracial people of Black descent in Bedford County and covers the years 1861 to 1864. The clerk recorded name, age, height, complexion, marks and scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or if the person was born free. There is no index. It does not include page numbers. In some instances, the clerk recorded information not required by law such as the name of the former enslaver, previous place of registration, or place of birth.

The volume also includes the Bedford County (Va.) County Court Minute Book, 1871-1873, which records all matters brought before the court when it was in session and may contain important information not found anywhere else. Generally minute books contain brief entries. A locality's loose papers are the raw materials from which this type of book was created. Like order books, a wide variety of information is found in its pages including: appointments of county officers, appointments of guardians and administrators, records of legal disputes heard before the court, and matters related to the fiscal management of the court.

“Free Negro” registrations, affidavits, and certificates, 1814-1860, are comprised of approximately 79 registrations, affidavits, and certificates that record the free status of more than 79 Black and Multiracial individuals. Some registrations originated in other Virginia localities, such as Botetourt County, the City of Petersburg, and Henrico County. Upon their removal to Bedford County, individuals surrendered their free papers to the court to prove their free status. In such cases, they would have received a Bedford County free registration to replace the document(s) handed over to the court. The registrations, affidavits, and certificates often documented each individual’s age, height, marks or scars, complexion, and whether they were born free or emancipated. Several documents include limited genealogical information, such as the names of family members. Some specify that the individual or individuals referenced therein were born to “ancestors” or “a female slave emancipated previous to 1 May 1806.”

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Bedford County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1764, 1789, 1813-1821, 1857

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

Additional Bedford 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