Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Rockingham County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1807-1859. Rockingham County (Va.) Reel 676, Local government records collection, Rockingham County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This record was loaned for microfilming by the Rockingham County clerk of circuit court. The microfilm was generated by OCLC through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program under the accession number 43746.

Historical Information

Rockingham County was formed from Augusta County in 1778.

An act passed by the Virginia legislature in 1803 required every free negro or mulatto to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk.

Created in 1778. A courthouse fire in 1787 destroyed wills and estate records, primarily. In June 1864 during the Civil War, court records (mostly volumes) were removed from the courthouse and loaded on a wagon to be taken to place of safety on or beyond the Blue Ridge. The wagon was overtaken by Union troops near Port Republic and set on fire, which was put out by local citizens. Many order books, deed books, will books, and fiduciary books, however, were lost or severely damaged by the fire. The loose records that remained at the courthouse were undamaged. Pre-1865 records including deeds and wills were rerecorded following an act of assembly passed in November 1884.

Scope and Content

Rockingham County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1807-1859, lists the registration number, age, name, color, stature, marks or scars, in what court the person was emancipated or whether the person was born free. Some clerks recorded additional information not required by law. There is an index at the front of the volume.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by registration date.

Related Material

Rockingham County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Rockingham County Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Database found at the Library of Virginia web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Rockingham County (Va.). Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.
• Free African Americans. -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.

Geographical Names:

• Rockingham County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Free negro and slave records -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.
• Registers (lists) -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data