A Guide to the Greensville County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1796-1863 Greensville County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons

A Guide to the Greensville County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1796-1863

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession number


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Library of Virginia

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© 2006 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Processed by: L. Neuroth

Repository
Library of Virginia
Accession number
Title
Greensville County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1796-1863
Physical Characteristics
2 volumes; 1 microfilm reel .
Collector
Greensville County (Va.) Circuit Court
Location
Library of Virginia
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Land Processioned and Register of Free Persons of Color, 1796-1832, use microfilm copy, Greensville County (Va.) Reel 25.

Closed for digitization:Register of Free Persons of Color, 1832-1863

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Greensville County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons,1796-1863. Local government records collection, Greensville County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

The microfilm copy of Land Processioned and Register of Free Persons of Color, 1796-1832 was generated by Genealogical Society of Utah at the Greensville County courthouse in Emporia, Virginia.

Original register volumes came to the Library of Library as a loan for digitization from Greensville County Court in 2023.

Processing Information

Encoded by S. Nerney, 2006; Upated by M. Mason, December 2023

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. As shown in these volumes, it was not uncommon for clerks of the court, who were male and white, to record information relating to Black and multiracial communities alongside records concerning property, fiduciary matters, and various other record types. This context demonstrates how court house staff regularly dehumanized the individuals represented in these records by equating their status to any other form of property, be it land, animals, or money.

Processioners Records

Processioning consisted of a person or persons appointed by the vestries (later the county court) meeting with the land owners and walking their property boundaries with them and remarking their lines and corners. At least one other person, preferably an adjacent land owner, would accompany the owner and the processioner. Perhaps this "processioning" of people walking the boundaries is the basis for the term "processioning." The objective of this practice seems to have been to prevent boundary disputes between adjacent land owners by renewing and maintaining survey marks. However, most of the marks used were temporary items such as trees and bushes. Processioning was not done annually, nor was the entire county done at the same time. Usually processioning was done by militia districts, or some other governmental subdivision of the county.

Locality History: Greensville County was named either for Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene, commanding general of the Continental army in the South during part of the Revolutionary War, or for Sir Richard Grenville, leader of the Roanoke Island settlement of 1585. The county was formed from Brunswick County on 28 November 1780. The county court first met on 22 February 1781. Subsequent additions were made from Brunswick (1787) and Sussex (1802) Counties. The county courthouse is in the city of Emporia.

Scope and Content

Greensville County (Va.) Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons,1802-1863, consists of two "Registers of Free Persons of Color" kept by the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Greensville County, Va.

Land Processioned and Register of Free Persons of Color, 1796-1832, consists largely of entries of returns, 1796-1820, made by processioners, individuals appointed to procession land (or determine limits and boundaries). These entries include geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the county court. Towards the end of the volume in the entries for 1820, there begins the section of "Register of Free Persons of Color."

The "Register of Free Persons of Color," 1802-1832, also kept by the Clerk of the Circuit Court consists of about 205 entries which records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Greensvile County and covers the years 1802 to 1832. The clerk recorded the name, age, height, complexion, marks and scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. In some instances, the clerk recorded information not required by law such as occupation.

"Register of Free Persons of Color," 1832-1863, kept by the Clerk of the Circuit Court consists of about 203 entries which records the registration of free Black and multiracial people of Black descent in Greensvile County and covers the years 1832 to 1863. The clerk recorded the name, age, height, complexion, marks and scars, and in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. In some instances, the clerk recorded information not required by law such as occupation. Following the register, there is a single, 1843, entry presumably documenting fees and court costs.

Arrangement

Chronological by entry or registration date.

Contents List

Series I: Records Related to the Registration of Free Persons, 1796-1863
  • Barcode number 0007867478: Land Processioned and Register of Free Persons of Color, 1796-1832
  • Barcode number 0007867477: Register of Free Persons of Color, 1832-1863