Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Orange County (Va.) Copies of Court Records with African-American Names, 1796-1883. Local government records collection, Orange County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items were photocopied from original court records at the Library of Virginia.

Historical Information

Orange County, according to most accounts, was named for William of Orange, the Dutch prince who became William III of England in 1688. It is more probably, however, that the name honored William IV, prince of Orange-Nassau, who married Anne, eldest daughter of George II, in 1734--the year Orange County was formed from Spotsylvania County.

Scope and Content

Orange County (Va.) Copies of Court Records with African-American Names, 1796-1883. The collection contains photocopies of Orange County court records pertaining to or including references to African Americans. Most include a cross-reference to original court records found at the Library of Virginia. The records copied include judgments, chancery causes, deeds, bonds, fiduciary records, summonses, and arrest warrants.

Related Material

Orange County Judgments, Chancery, Free Negro and Slave, and other court records are available on microfilm and at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Orange County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--History.
• Free African Americans--Virginia--Orange County.
• Freedmen--Virginia--Orange County.
• Slaveholders--Virginia--Orange County.
• Slavery--Virginia--Orange County.

Geographical Names:

• Orange County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Bonds (legal instruments)--Virginia--Orange County.
• Deeds--Virginia--Orange County.
• Fiduciary records--Virginia--Orange County.
• Judicial records--Virginia--Orange County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Orange County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data