Rockbridge County Free Negro Registry 1805-1860

Dublin Core

Title

Rockbridge County Free Negro Registry 1805-1860

Description

Many of the individuals named in freedom documents can be found listed in county/city Free Negro Registries. Though these registration requirements were antithetical to liberty and a restriction on the freedom of movement for free African Americans of the time, this documentation now enables historians, genealogists and researchers to follow the lives of freedmen through the years. Many manumitted individuals were freed with only a first name listed in the freedom document, but when registered a first and last name can be found, which is very beneficial for researchers today.

Most of these registries start on a page number other than "1" as the previous pages are either blank, missing or have some notes or writing that do not include any information regarding the freedmen of the locality. We have included all pertinent pages we were able to obtain. Some jurisdictions kept much more detailed records than others, while there were also differences in population totals of freedpeople from one locality to the next. It should be noted that historians have surmised that only some lesser percentage of all freedpeople in a jurisdiction ever registered.

Manumission Item Data Item Type Metadata

Notes

Click on thumbnail to download complete file
NOTE: See below for separate index of names found in FNR

Files

Rockbridge FNR 1805-1830
Rockbridge FNR 1831-1860
Index of names found in Rockbridge County FNR

Citation

“Rockbridge County Free Negro Registry 1805-1860,” Manumission Project, accessed January 23, 2025, https://manumissionproject.omeka.net/items/show/897.