A Guide to the Rockbridge County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1809-1854
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Barcode numbers: 0007347552
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Phone: (804) 692-3888 (Archives Reference)
Fax: (804) 692-3556 (Archives Reference)
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
© 2012 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Greg Crawford
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Rockbridge County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1809-1854. Local government records collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
Acquisition Information
These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Rockbridge County.
Historical Information
Slaves sued for emancipation in freedom suits based on the following: they were descendant(s) of a free female ancestor, typically a Native American (Hening Statutes, volume 2, p.170); failure of slaveowner(s) to abide by the 1778 slave nonimportation act (Henings Statutes, volume 9, pp. 471-472); or claimed to have been freed by slaveowner(s) by deed of emancipation or last will and testament (Henings Statutes volume 11, pp. 39-40)
Rockbridge County was named for Natural Bridge, an exceptional rock formation located in the county. The county was formed from Augusta and Botetourt Counties in 1778, and another part of Botetourt was added in 1888. The county seat is the city of Lexington.
Scope and Content
Rockbridge County (Va.) Judgments (Freedom Suits), 1809-1854, consist of suits initiated by slaves seeking to gain their freedom on the law side of the court. Cases are identified by style of suit consisting of plaintiff and defendant names. Surnames of others involved in a suit, including secondary plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, deponents and affiants, and family members with surnames different from the plaintiff or defendant are indexed. Also identified are names of slaves and slaveowners found in suit as well as whether slave(s) won their freedom. Predominant documents found in freedom suits include petitions, records of suits, depositions, affidavits, wills, among other items. Information found in documents include slave's argument for freedom, acquisition of slaves by slaveowners, slave ancestry, and relationship between slaves and slaveowners.
Judgments (Freedom Suits) are useful when researching local history and genealogical information, particularly for African Americans. They are a valuable source of local, state, social, and legal history and serve as a primary source for understanding a locality's history.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Related Material
Additional Rockbridge County Judgments are found at the Library of Virginia.
Additional Rockbridge County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."
Index Terms
- Rockbridge County (Va.) Circuit Court.
- African Americans -- Virginia.
- Free African Americans -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Slavery -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Rockbridge County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Rockbridge County (Va.) -- History.
- Civil actions -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Freedom suits -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Judicial records -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Local government records -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Petitions -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Wills -- Virginia -- Rockbridge County.
- Rockbridge County (Va.) Superior Court of Law.
Corporate Names:
Subjects:
Geographical Names:
Genre and Form Terms:
Added Entry - Corporate Name:
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Rockbridge County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Rockbridge County (Va.) -- History.