The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands was a federal agency created by the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, passed on March 3, 1865. Also known as the "Freedmen's Bureau," this agency was responsible for aiding refugees of the Civil War, especially the formerly enslaved, in the areas of education, employment, and health care. Meant to last for only one year after the war, the Bureau was operational from June 1865 to
December 1868. Contracts usually specify the dates of the expected employment, the occupation of the employee, expected wages and housing arrangements, and any rent that is to be paid to the employer.
Though the federal government generated these records, a few localities retained possession of these records in their courthouses after the dissolution of the Freedmen’s Bureau.

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

The "Runaway Slaves" Records, include accounts, correspondence, receipts, and reports
concerning expenses incurred by localities related to the capture of enslaved people attempting to escape to freedom. Localities were reimbursed for the expenses of confining, feeding, and selling of self-emancipated enslaved people. Once the enslaved person was sold, the money was used to pay off the expenses, and the net
proceeds were sent to the Auditor of Public Accounts and deposited into the commonwealth's Literary Fund for public education. The collection also includes records that contain information related to enslaved people from multiple localities who escaped to United States military forces during the Civil War.

The data in this collection is drawn directly from the historical documents and may contain language that is now deemed offensive.

Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, such as, in this case, an enslaved person, from seller/trafficker to buyer/enslaver. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved persons being sold and their price, and the name of the buyer. Given that they involved a property transaction, bills of sale were commonly recorded and filed with deeds in the local court.

The data in this collection is drawn directly from the historical documents and may contain language that is now deemed offensive.

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.

Free "Negro" Tax Records include "free negro" tax lists and "free negro" delinquent tax lists. An act passed in 1801 by the Virginia Legislature required commissioners of the revenue annually to return a complete list of all free African Americans within their districts, with their names, sex, place of abode, and trades, and a copy of the list to be fixed at the courthouse door. "Free negro" delinquent tax lists records names of free African Americans returned delinquent and sometimes why returned, such as "no property," "removed," or "not found.”

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

Acts passed by the Virginia Legislature in 1793 and 1803 required every “free negro” or “mulatto” to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk. This collection contains records involved in the registration process. The registration language and process varied across localities, thus the information and type of records may differ. Registration records found in this collection include numbered certificates that recorded the free person’s name, sometimes age, a brief physical description, and the circumstances of the person’s freedom or emancipation. If born free, a reference is sometimes made to the parents. If emancipated, the emancipating enslaver, place, and date may be mentioned. There are affidavits that were given by individuals affirming a free person’s status, as well as written descriptions of free persons. In addition, there are registrations that are loose papers matching information found in the bound volumes of registered “free negroes” kept in the court house.

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

Petitions to the General Assembly were the primary catalyst for legislation in the Commonwealth from 1776 until 1865. Public improvements, military claims, divorce, manumissions, petitions for free African Americans to remain in the Commonwealth, division of counties, incorporation of towns, religious freedom, and taxation were just some of the concerns expressed in these petitions. The petitions often contain hundreds of signatures and are a useful tool in genealogical research. Frequently, the petitions contain supplementary support documents useful in research, including maps, wills, naturalizations, deeds, resolutions, affidavits, judgments, and other items.

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

Freedom suits are law suits initiated by enslaved individuals seeking to gain their freedom. Predominant documents found in freedom suits include petitions, records of suits, depositions, affidavits, a n d wills. They record the enslaved individual's arguments for freedom, acquisition of the enslaved individuals by enslavers, ancestry, and relationships between the enslaved person and their enslaver. Enslaved people sued for emancipation in freedom suits based on the following: they were descendant(s) of a free female ancestor, occasionally a Native American; failure of enslaver(s) to abide by
the 1778 slave nonimportation act; or claimed to have been freed by enslaver(s) by deed of emancipation or last will and testament.

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

Beginning in 1778, enslavers who brought enslaved individuals into Virginia were required to register the enslaved individuals with the county court and sign an oath agreeing not to bring enslaved individuals into the Commonwealth with the intent of selling them. Certificates of importation, sometimes entitled certificates of nonimportation, contain information whereby an enslaver swears that (s)he has not trafficked the enslaved individual directly from Africa and that (s)he has not brought the enslaved individual into Virginia with the purpose of selling the enslaved individual. The enslaved individual is sometimes named, but not always, and occasionally information is given as to age, birthdate, and the state the individuals are moving from.

Date on this spreadsheet is drawn directly from historical documents and may contain language that is now considered offensive.

In 1806, the General Assembly passed a law to suppress the manumissions of enslaved people by tying emancipation with deportation. The law stated that all emancipated enslaved individuals, freed after May 1, 1806, who remained in the
Commonwealth more than a year could be put on trial by the state, and if found guilty, would forfeit their right to freedom and be sold with the proceeds from the sale going to the state treasury. Individuals wishing to stay were to petition the legislature through the local county court. Beginning in 1837, formerly enslaved individuals could petition the local courts for permission to remain in the Commonwealth. Often included in the petitions are he name of the petitioner, the circumstances of free status, and a request to remain in the county often with accompanying names of citizens who can testify to the free status or who support the request of the petitioner to remain.

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