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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2006 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Library of Virginia staff
Arlington County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1794-1861, are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.
There are no restrictions.
Arlington County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1794-1861. Local government records collection, Arlington County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
The three bound "Free Negro” registers, 1797-1861, were transferred to the Library of Virginia from Arlington County (Va.) in 2020 under accession number 53124. Additional records came to the library as part of an undated accession.
Arlington County (Va.) Reel Nos. 60, 62, and 225 were generated by the Library of Virginia’s Imaging Services Division at an unknown date. Arlington County (Va.) Reel No. 226 was filmed in July 1986.
The Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1797-1841, is available on microfilm, Arlington County (Va.) Reel No. 62.
The Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1842-1847, is available on microfilm, Arlington County (Va.) Reel No. 62.
The Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1847-1861, is available on microfilm, Arlington County (Va.) Reel No. 62.
The Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1858, is available on microfilm, Arlington County (Va.) Reel Nos. 60, 225, and 226.
The Arlington County (Va.) “Free Negro” registrations and certificates, 1794-1823, are available on microfilm, Arlington County (Va.) Reel No. 226.
"Free Negro" registrations and certificates, 1794-1853, and the unbound “Free Negro” register, 1858, were originally described as part of the Arlington County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1788, 1801-1802, 1850-1860, but were removed to the present Arlington County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1794-1861, record to enhance the context between record types in February 2025.
Arlington County (Va.) Reel Nos. 60, 62, and 225 were originally described as Alexandria County (Va.) Registers of “Free Negroes,” 1797-1861, but were removed to the present Arlington County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1794-1861, record to enhance the context between record types in February 2025.
During the redescription process, Local Records staff reviewed Arlington County (Va.) Reel No. 226, which was found to include duplicates of several “Free Negro” registrations and the 1858 “Free Negro” register.
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. Digital images of the registers were produced by the Library of Virginia Imaging Services circa 2020.
Encoded by S. Nerney: March 2006; updated by C. Collins: February 2025.
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: 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.
Arlington County (Va.) Records related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1794-1861, consist of three bound free registers, 1797-1861; one unbound free register, 1858; and “Free Negro” registrations and certificates, 1794-1853.
Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1797-1841, records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Arlington County (formerly Alexandria County until 1920) and covers the years 1797 to 1841. 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 an index. It includes page numbers. For several of the earlier entries, it appears that clerk copied the original deed of emancipation for individuals who had been emancipated as proof of their free status. 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.
Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1842-1847, records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Arlington County (formerly Alexandria County until 1920) and covers the years 1842 to 1847. 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 an index. It includes 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.
Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1847-1861, records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Arlington County (formerly Alexandria County until 1920) and covers the years 1847 to 1861. 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 an index. It includes 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.
Arlington County (Va.) Register of “Free Negroes,” 1858, records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Arlington County (formerly Alexandria County until 1920) and covers the year 1858. The clerk recorded the name, sex, occupation, and age of each person. There is no index, but the last page lists the number of individuals enumerated on each page of the register. It includes page numbers.
“Free Negro” registrations and certificates, 1794-1853, are comprised of registrations and certificates related to the following individuals: Sarah Valentine (1794); Anthony Bleu (1801); John Johnson (1801); Sarah Campbell (1801); Margaret Dixon (1802); Elizabeth Johnson (1802); David Lee (1803); Frankey McIntosh (1803); Spencer Thomas (1803); Kitty Jackson (1804); Nicholas Cammel (1805); Betty Handless (1809); Mary Waugh (1809); Hannah (1810); Henry Burns (1823); George Cooke (1823); Margaret Mitchell (1842); Sally Dixon (1850); Charles Dogan (1853); Alice Clark (1853); Richard Brooks (1853); and Lucy Ann Johnson (1853). The registrations and certificates include descriptions of the person’s physical appearance; whether the individual was born free or emancipated by a former enslaver (who is usually named); and, if a certificate, the name of the person swearing to their free status.
This collection is arranged
See also: Arlington County (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1788, 1801-1802, 1850-1860
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.”
Arranged loosely by record type then chronologically