Emancipation – The UncommonWealth

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

Searching for Nelly, Harriet, and Juno – Part 2

In my February blog post I promised to follow-up with a particular discovery in the case of three women who self-liberated from their enslavers in…

Lydia NeurothApril 30, 2025

Archives

“Descendants of a Woman of Indian Extraction”: The Story of Rachel Findley

Rachel Findley was a mother. She was a grandmother. She was a Virginian. She was also enslaved. The law defined Rachel as property. Because Rachel…

Library of VirginiaAugust 31, 2022

Archives Newspapers

“Gone in the First Boat”: Part 2

This month’s blog is a continuation of the story I posted last month of an enslaved man, Richard, who helped his nephew Tazewell seize his…

Lydia NeurothNovember 24, 2021

Archives

“Gone in the First Boat”: Part 1

On March 18, 1856, an enslaved man named Richard was charged in the City of Richmond for the crime of aiding and advising Tazewell, his…

Lydia NeurothOctober 27, 2021

Archives

What’s Owed Lucy Wilson: A King and Queen County Chancery Cause

Lucy began her life in enslavement. The daughter of her enslaver, Edmund Littlepage, and enslaved mother Sophia Littlepage, Lucy lived on her father’s plantation in…

Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemOctober 6, 2021

Archives

The Veney Family of the Northern Neck: Rachel’s Story

In 1791, Rachel Veney’s mother Sarah won a case in the district court of Northumberland County for her freedom and the freedom of her descendants.…

Greg CrawfordJune 9, 2021

Archives

Glimpses of History: Henrico County Court Order Books

As we have often seen in this blog, even the driest local records can lead to the most interesting stories. Such is the case with…

Tracy HarterJune 19, 2019

Archives Digital Projects The Stacks

Library of Virginia and Virginia Museum of History & Culture Merge Databases of Records of Enslaved Virginians

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) and the Library of Virginia are cooperating to provide greater access to African American history and genealogy…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 21, 2019

Archives

A Will without a Way: An Amherst County Freedom Suit

Sometimes a will is not worth the paper it’s written on. Too often, people go through the trouble of creating a formal last will and…

Sherri BagleyJune 20, 2018

Archives

"No home defendant": Liberian Emigrants from Prince Edward County

Often, researchers will utilize several collections or sources housed at the Library in order to get to the truth of a matter, or to gain…

Tracy HarterApril 11, 2018

Archives

Virginia Untold: Petitions to Remain

As told in an earlier blog, James Dunlop of Petersburg emancipated his slave, John Brown, in April 1822 through a deed of manumission. One would…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 15, 2017

Archives

A Last Resort: Madison County Reenslavement Petitions

In 1856, the General Assembly decided that free African Americans could petition their county or city court to be enslaved. These individuals had to be…

Cara GriggsJanuary 11, 2017

Archives Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection

In 1820, Rachel Findley won freedom for herself and more than 35 of her descendants in a Powhatan County court in a law suit dating…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 3, 2016

Archives

Virginia Untold: Deeds of Emancipation and Manumission

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The…

Ed JordanJanuary 27, 2016

Archives

A Disregard of Freedom: Burwell versus Pilson’s Administrators

What does it mean to be free? Some might define freedom as having no obligations to a particular thing or person. A free person cannot…

Sherri BagleyDecember 2, 2015