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.
