The records found in this collection include requisition lists filed in local courts and payroll records of the Virginia Engineer Department. Information found in these records include names of enslaved and free Black people, locality of origin, occupation, location of fortification, names of enslavers, and monetary value of enslaved people. Virginia enacted legislation as early as July 1, 1861 during the Civil War to requisition enslaved and free Black people to work on military fortifications and other defensive works around the commonwealth. From 1862 to 1863, at the request of the president of the Confederate States, the General Assembly passed three more laws that requisitioned enslaved laborers to work on fortifications and other works of the defense. Each county and city were given a certain number of enslaved laborers that had to be provided to the government under the requisition act. Enslaved people requisitioned for service did not have a choice. In many cases, the alternative was severe punishment or to be hanged.

Descriptions included in this dataset are drawn directly from the original documents and may contain language which is now deemed offensive.

The data and dashboards provided in the link display undergraduate fall headcount enrollment by Virginia locality and institution and also the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program. It helps 38 million people .Average benefit being $127 per month (groceries, not prepared food).Students must meet standard income criteria PLUS other qualifications if enrolled at least halftime:
1)Work at least 20 hours per week
2)Receive TANF benefits
3)Be a parent or caregiver
4)Enrolled in certain job training programs

Documents in this collection differ from the bound volumes referred to as “registers.” They are registration records typically appearing in the form of certificates or handwritten statements recording the free status of a Black or multiracial person. A free person would be required to keep this document with them at all times. If a free person was found without a certificate they could be jailed. Free black men and women carefully guarded these documents in secure places on their person; the registrations that do survive have endured much degradation. The 1793 law required one to obtain a new certificate every three years. Both the registration system and the process of renewal was enforced differently in various Virginia localities. Not all free people registered in their locality.

If a free person moved to a different county, they were required to obtain a registration for that locality. If they did not, they could be apprehended by the local magistrate and taken to court. Theoretically, a person would submit their registration from their previous place of residence to the court as evidence of their free status. 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.

Registrations typically include the free person’s name, sometimes age, a brief physical description, and the circumstances of the person’s freedom or emancipation. If an individual was born free, the record may reference their parents. If emancipated, the record may include former enslaver, place, and date of emancipation. In addition to more formal registrations and certificates in this collection, there are also affidavits that were given by individuals affirming a free person’s status, as well as written descriptions of free people.

Descriptions included in this dataset are drawn directly from the original documents and may contain language which is now deemed offensive.

Colonization records include documents from two government agencies that raised money and support for the removal of formerly enslaved people to Liberia. As early as 1691, the Virginia General Assembly began passing laws that forced free Black Virginians to leave the Commonwealth. Fears around insurrection and the desire to control the Black population gave rise to institutions dedicated to removing free people of color from Virginia.

The General Assembly passed an act in 1833 "making appropriations for the removal of free persons of color" to the western coast of Africa and established a board of commissioners charged with carrying out the provisions of the act. “The Board of Commissioners for the Removal of Free Persons of Color records, 1833-1856,” contain correspondence, lists, minutes, oaths, and resolutions. Included are lists of free Black individuals who emigrated to Liberia (including the name of the ship), lists of free Black individuals willing to emigrate, and resolutions to send money to the American Colonization Society and to those who transported the free Black people to Liberia. Also included is a report of the Board of Commissioners, 1835, containing a list of free Black people transported to Liberia and including their names, ages, and where they had lived in Virginia.

The General Assembly passed an act on April 6, 1853 to create the Colonization Board of Virginia, (chap. 55, p. 58). This act also created appropriations to fund the voluntary transportation and removal of free Black individuals to Liberia or elsewhere in West Africa through the efforts of the Virginia branch of the American Colonization Society. Statutory members of the board included the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Auditor of Public Accounts, the Second Auditor of Public Accounts, and four other competent members appointed by the Governor. An annual tax was levied on free Black men between the ages of 21 to 55 to help finance the operations of the board. The Colonization Board was authorized to reimburse the agents of the Virginia Colonization Society for transportation costs only after receiving satisfactory proof that the formerly enslaved individuals had been transported out of the state. The Virginia Colonization Society arranged for the actual passage of free Black individuals, and at each meeting the Board received affidavits for particular free people who had already been transported, along with evidence that the individuals were free or born of free parents, that they were residents of Virginia and that they had already been transported to Africa or that they had embarked to another state for transportation. The Board was required to keep a journal of its proceedings, showing all actions taken and monies disbursed, and was also required to submit a biennial report to the General Assembly showing the name, age, sex, and locality of each person removed. The board held its last meeting on August 14, 1858, after the preceding session of the General Assembly failed to extend its existence. The Virginia Board of Colonization journal of proceedings includes lists of the names and ages of free Black individuals transported from the commonwealth to Africa, as well as the county, city, or borough from which they were transported, and in some instances also includes the name of the ship and names of former enslavers.

Data in this collection is drawn directly from the original historical records and may contain terminology which is now deemed offensive.

This collection contains petitions of free Black individuals choosing to be re-enslaved. An act passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1806 required formerly enslaved people to leave the commonwealth within twelve months of being granted their freedom. Individuals were forced to leave behind family, friends, and community that remained enslaved. In addition, many emancipated people did not have the financial means or social support to move to a free state. One option to preserve family and relationships was to return to slavery. In 1856, the Virginia legislature passed an act allowing free Black individuals who desired to remain in the commonwealth to petition for re-­enslavement. Only a small number of free Black Virginians petitioned the courts to re-enslave themselves to an enslaver of choice, and an even smaller percentage succeeded. Many petitioners chose enslavers they knew well or who owned a spouse or family member. These petitions include the petitioner’s name, previous enslaver, means of emancipation, and new desired enslaver.

The data in this collection is drawn directly from the historical documents and may contain language that is now deemed offensive.

Fiduciary records consist primarily of estate administrator settlements, estate inventories, dower allotments, estate divisions, estate sales, and guardian accounts involving enslaved people. Under the laws of chattel slavery, enslaved people were documented in these records along with other personal property. These records include the names of estate owners, value of personal property owned (including enslaved people), and names of recipients of property. Some fiduciary records include additional information regarding enslaved people such as age, family relationships, physical and mental condition, if they were sold to someone else, and if they self-emancipated (had run away from their enslaver).

The data in this collection is drawn directly from the historical documents and may contain language that is now deemed offensive.

Virginia also issued benefits to all SNAP children under six. This is what is defined as "child care" P-EBT by USDA. It does not however reflect all of the children in child care but only the children that are under six and receiving SNAP benefits. The children were matched by their address and the corresponding school division's FIPS code

Indentures of apprenticeship are composed of indentures binding out "free negroes", often children, to learn a particular trade or craft. These indentures may be written agreements between the family of the apprentice and those responsible for the indentured. Or, these documents may be generated by local agencies such as
the Overseers of the Poor, binding out orphans or those who are considered a burden to the Commonwealth.
The indentures of apprenticeship contain the name of the person or institution binding out, the person to whom bound, the name of the person being indentured, the length of the apprenticeship, and the responsibilities of the person taking on the indentured.

The data in this collection is drawn directly from the historical documents and may contain language that is now deemed offensive.

For Datathon 2021