African American Resources for Virginia: Difference between revisions

Edmund S. Morgan's ''American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia'' (1975) ({{FHL|488327|item|disp=FHL Book 975.5 H6m}}) is considered one of the best histories of enslaved blacks in Virginia.

Information about slaves can be found in '''slavemasters' deeds''' (see [[Virginia Land and Property]]),'''slave schedules''' (see [[Virginia Census#Online_indexes_and_images|Virginia Census]]), '''wills''' (see [[Virginia Probate Records]]), '''tax lists''' (see [[Virginia Taxation]]), '''family Bibles''' and '''diaries''' (see [[Virginia Bible Records|Virginia Bible Records]]), '''plantation records''', '''interviews with former slaves''', and in '''court order books''' (see [[Virginia Court Records]]). A few '''parish registers''' (see [[Virginia Church Records#Church_of_England_.28Anglican.2C_Protestant_Episcopal.29|Virginia Church Records]]) list slaves who attended church with their masters. In Virginia the births of slave children should be listed in '''county birth registers''' starting in 1853 (see [[Virginia Vital Records]]).  

Most black slaves were imported into Virginia in the 100 year period between '''1676 and 1776''', though they were present as early as 1619. Slaves began to outnumber the white indentured servant workforce in the late 1600s. The majority were brought into the colony from Africa and the Caribbean. In particular, the African regions of the '''Bight of Biafra''' (modern [[Nigeria Genealogy|Nigeria]]), '''Senegambia '''(modern [[Senegal Genealogy|Senegal]] and [[The Gambia Genealogy|The Gambia]]), '''West Central Africa''' (modern [[Angola Genealogy|Angola]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]]), and the '''Gold Coast''' (modern [[Ghana Genealogy|Ghana]]) were hotspots for Virginia slave traders. Smaller numbers came from the '''Windward Coast''' (modern [[Cote d'Ivoire Genealogy|Cote d'Ivoire]]), [[Sierra Leone|'''Sierra Leone''']], '''Bight of Benin''' (modern [[Togo Genealogy|Togo]] and [[Benin Genealogy|Benin]]), and '''Southeast Africa''' (modern [[Madagascar Genealogy|Madagascar]] and [[Mozambique Genealogy|Mozambique]]) according to surviving shipping registers.<ref name="ison">James Ison, AG, CG, [[Migration_Patterns_-_An_Alternative_for_Locating_African_Origins|"Migration Patterns: An Alternative for Locating African Origins."]] Lecture given at the National Genealogical Society Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah (2010) and the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, Knoxville, Tennessee (2010). Free version available online at FamilySearch Wiki.</ref>  

See also&nbsp;[[Virginia Emigration and Immigration|Virginia Immigration]] for further information about this source.

*'''1781-1865''' [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/783095 ''Public Claims, Slaves and Free Blacks, 1781-1865.'' 6 rolls Virginia State Library, FHL film 2027937 - 2027942]

*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Confederate_Slave_Payrolls_-_National_Archives_Catalog Confederate Salve Rolls RG 109 NAID 719477]

[[Image:Runaway slave ad.jpg|right|300px|Runaway slave ad.jpg]] Names of hundreds of runaway slaves, their descriptions, owners, and ages appeared in '''newspapers'''. They have been published and can be found in: <br><br>  

Many eighteenth-century runaway slave advertisements were published in the ''Virginia Gazette.'' Indexed images of the [http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/BrowseVG.cfm ''Virginia Gazette''] (1736-1780) are available online through the [http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/ Colonial Williamsburg] website. (Browse for terms such as "slaves.") Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have indexed all the runaway advertisements for slaves mentioned in this publication and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: [http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/ The Geography of Slavery in Virginia]. These newspapers are valuable resources for all Virginia regions.  

'''Virginia Plantation Records''' Occasionally, slaves are mentioned in plantation records. The [https://www.familysearch.org/family-history-library/welcome-to-the-family-history-library Family History Library] has several series of plantation records from the periods before and after the Civil War. These are listed in the Author/Title Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under the STAMPP, KENNETH M. or in the Subject Search under PLANTATION LIFE - VIRGINIA or PLANTATION LIFE - SOUTHERN STATES. Records are available at: {{Wikipedia|List of plantations in Virginia}}  

[https://sankofagenus.com/virginia/ Sankofagen: Virginia Plantations]  

[http://manybooks.net/titles/wpa2897328973.html ''Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States, From Interviews with Former Slaves''], recorded after the Civil War, recounts memories of life as a slave.  

[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/70541 Charles L. Perdue,  Thomas E. Barden and Robert K. Phillips, eds. ''Weevils in the Wheat: interviews with Virginia ex-slaves.''Charlottesville,Virginia: University Pres of Virginia, 1976. FHL 975.5 F2w]

African Americans from Virginia served on both sides of the '''Revolutionary War'''. Many Virginia slaves ran away from their masters and joined British forces after a proclamation issued by Lord Dunmore in 1775. He promised freedom for this act, and 500 slaves promptly joined him, whom he organized into the Ethiopian Regiment.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopian Regiment," in ''Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia,'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Regiment, accessed 14 June 2012.</ref> Free people of color commonly served their companies as drummers, fifers, and pioneers.<ref>''The Free Negro in Virginia,'' 109-110.</ref> Black "pioneers" would "Assist in Cleaning the Streets &amp; Removing all Nuisances being thrown into the Streets." {{Wikipedia|American_Revolutionary_War#Black_Americans|Black Americans in the Revolutionary War}}  

[http://www.blackloyalist.info/ '''Black Loyalist'''], created by The University of Sydney, includes biographical information about approximately 1,000 black loyalists from the Norfolk, Virginia area.

In the colonial period, slaves were taken by Virginia slave masters into areas where white settlements appeared, such as [[North Carolina Genealogy|North Carolina]], [[Georgia Genealogy (state)|Georgia]], [[Kentucky, United States Genealogy|Kentucky]], and [[Tennessee, United States Genealogy|Tennessee]].  

In the early 1800s, approximately 500,000 Virginia slaves were forcibly moved to the Deep South.<ref name="ison" /> The firm of Franklin &amp; Armfield in [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria, Va.]] was responsible for transporting many of Virginias slaves to the Deep South in what has been dubbed "Slavery's Trail of Tears."<ref>Edward Ball, "Slavery's Trail of Tears," ''Smithsonian'' (Nov 2015):58-82.</ref>Dorothy Williams Potter in ''Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823'' ({{FHL|265121|item|disp=FHL Book 975 W4p}}) identifies some white families that took slaves with them from Virginia to the territories that are now [[Alabama, United States Genealogy|Alabama]], [[Florida Genealogy|Florida]], [[Louisiana Genealogy|Louisiana]], [[Mississippi Genealogy|Mississippi]], and [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]].

'''Slavery Legislation.''' To learn about the laws that affected Virginia slaves, see: