Afterschool programs that participate in CACFP give children and teenagers the nutrition they need, and draw them into constructive activities that are safe, fun, and filled with opportunities for learning. This dataset contains information on the Site addresses where at least half of the children in the school attendance area are eligible for free and reduced price school meals.

Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, including enslaved people, from seller to buyer. Under the system of chattel slavery, laws permitted enslavers to treat enslaved people as personal possessions in the same manner as livestock, farm equipment, or household items. Enslaved people could be bought or sold without regard to their personal relationships or free will. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved people 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. However, there was no official requirement that the transfer of an enslaved person be recorded unless necessary for legal purposes such as a court case or an estate settlement. Enslaved people could also be transferred through a deed of gift, there was no money transaction involved in this case, which distinguishes this record from a bill of sale. Enslavers and their family members often transferred enslaved people between themselves in this manner.

Deeds, likewise are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person, from one individual to another. Deeds can involve the voluntary transfer of enslaved people between family members with no financial transaction involved. Deeds record name(s) of the grantor(s), grantee(s), and enslaved people. Deeds were proved and recorded 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The data in this collection is drawn directly from the historical documents and may contain language that is now deemed offensive.

Certificates of Importation (sometimes entitled a certificate of non-importation) are primarily oaths by enslavers agreeing that they have not imported enslaved people from Africa and that they have not brought the enslaved person into Virginia for the purpose of selling them. Virginia was one of the first newly formed states to outlaw the importation of enslaved people for sale. In 1778, Governor Patrick Henry enacted legislation preventing importation of enslaved people into the commonwealth. Those that did bring their enslaved people were required to register them with the county court and sign a certificate of importation agreeing that they were not bringing enslaved people into the commonwealth with the intent to sell. The enslaved person is sometimes named, but not always, and occasionally information is given as to age, birthdate, and the state from which the individuals were moving. According to Section 3 of the act “every slave imported into this commonwealth contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, shall upon such importation become free.” By this clause, those enslaved people who were brought into Virginia illegally could pursue their freedom in the local courts. See Freedom Suits in which many people took action to sue for their freedom on the basis of this clause.


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

Colonization records include documents from two government agencies that raised money and support for the removal of formerly enslaved people to Liberia. As early as 1691, the Virginia General Assembly began passing laws that forced free Black Virginians to leave the Commonwealth. Fears around insurrection and the desire to control the Black population gave rise to institutions dedicated to removing free people of color from Virginia.

The General Assembly passed an act in 1833 "making appropriations for the removal of free persons of color" to the western coast of Africa and established a board of commissioners charged with carrying out the provisions of the act. “The Board of Commissioners for the Removal of Free Persons of Color records, 1833-1856,” contain correspondence, lists, minutes, oaths, and resolutions. Included are lists of free Black individuals who emigrated to Liberia (including the name of the ship), lists of free Black individuals willing to emigrate, and resolutions to send money to the American Colonization Society and to those who transported the free Black people to Liberia. Also included is a report of the Board of Commissioners, 1835, containing a list of free Black people transported to Liberia and including their names, ages, and where they had lived in Virginia.

The General Assembly passed an act on April 6, 1853 to create the Colonization Board of Virginia, (chap. 55, p. 58). This act also created appropriations to fund the voluntary transportation and removal of free Black individuals to Liberia or elsewhere in West Africa through the efforts of the Virginia branch of the American Colonization Society. Statutory members of the board included the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Auditor of Public Accounts, the Second Auditor of Public Accounts, and four other competent members appointed by the Governor. An annual tax was levied on free Black men between the ages of 21 to 55 to help finance the operations of the board. The Colonization Board was authorized to reimburse the agents of the Virginia Colonization Society for transportation costs only after receiving satisfactory proof that the formerly enslaved individuals had been transported out of the state. The Virginia Colonization Society arranged for the actual passage of free Black individuals, and at each meeting the Board received affidavits for particular free people who had already been transported, along with evidence that the individuals were free or born of free parents, that they were residents of Virginia and that they had already been transported to Africa or that they had embarked to another state for transportation. The Board was required to keep a journal of its proceedings, showing all actions taken and monies disbursed, and was also required to submit a biennial report to the General Assembly showing the name, age, sex, and locality of each person removed. The board held its last meeting on August 14, 1858, after the preceding session of the General Assembly failed to extend its existence. The Virginia Board of Colonization journal of proceedings includes lists of the names and ages of free Black individuals transported from the commonwealth to Africa, as well as the county, city, or borough from which they were transported, and in some instances also includes the name of the ship and names of former enslavers.

Data in this collection is drawn directly from the original historical records and may contain terminology which is now deemed offensive.

Commonwealth causes are criminal court cases filed by the state government that consist primarily of warrants, summons, subpoenas, indictments, recognizances, and verdicts handed down by juries and other legal authorities in order to prosecute individuals who violated the penal code. Some commonwealth causes commonly found in Virginia Untold include cases against enslavers who permitted their enslaved people to travel as free people without permission or permitting a gathering of enslaved people on their property. White Virginians and legislators feared insurrection and passed laws restricting the number of Black and multiracial people allowed to gather in groups. Other cases found in this collection might include crimes committed by both enslaved and free Black people such as breaking and entering, stealing, assault, murder, arson, and aiding enslaved people to self-emancipate. Formerly enslaved men and women could also be tried for remaining in the commonwealth more than one year following emancipation. In 1806, the General Assembly passed a law stating that all formerly enslaved people freed after May 1, 1806, were required to leave the commonwealth. Those who remained in the commonwealth more than twelve months could be put on trial by the state, and if found guilty, would be re-enslaved and sold. The proceeds from the sale went to the state treasury, and often, records of those sales can be found in the Public Claims records from the Auditor of Public Accounts.

The commonwealth causes reveal an inconsistency in forms of conviction and punishment for white versus Black and multiracial individuals. Throughout the early nineteenth century, Virginia legislators revised the laws in ways that reduced the legal status of free Black and multiracial people to that of enslaved, thereby creating a legal system based on race. In 1831, Nat Turner led a revolt in Southampton County that prompted more legal restrictions on Virginia’s Black population including prohibiting Black people to learn to read and write, practice certain trades, and sell goods. After 1832, Virginia law required free Blacks to stand trial in the same courts as enslaved people, known as Oyer and Terminer. In various years, free Black men and women were sold into slavery as punishment for certain crimes. While public whipping originated as a form of punishment for all those convicted, in Virginia, it was retained for those who were Black, free or enslaved, and officially outlawed as a punishment for white criminals in 1848. Often, Black individuals served much longer penitentiary sentences while the cases of white men, who had committed the same or similar crimes, were dismissed.

In the eighteenth century, many enslaved people convicted of capital crimes were hanged. To curb the spectacle of so many public executions, an 1801 law allowed the governor to sell condemned enslaved people to those who agreed to transport them out of Virginia. The state hoped that by exiling these individuals, they would not commit a second offense in the commonwealth. In 1858, another change occurred when the state realized that they were losing money on convicted felons. Additionally, territories such as the West Indies and states in the Deep South such as Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were no longer interested in receiving enslaved felons. The new act allowed the governor to commute sentences of transportation to labor on the public works for life. Commuting sentences meant that the state assigned enslaved people a value, and their enslavers received payment from the state for their human property. Enslavers submitted public claims to the Auditor of Public Accounts, the chief auditor and accountant of the Virginia General Assembly and the records of those sales can be found in Public Claims.

Coroner’s Inquisitions are investigations into the deaths of individuals who died by a sudden, violent, unnatural, or suspicious manner, or who died without medical attendance. The coroner would summon a jury of twelve white men, usually prominent citizens of that locality, to assist him in determining cause of death. The jury viewed the body of the deceased and heard the testimony of witnesses which did include both white and Black perspectives. This witness testimony was recorded and after seeing and hearing the evidence, a white jury delivered in writing to the coroner their conclusion concerning cause of death referred to as the inquisition. These causes of death would be determined by a white perspective and Black individuals were only consulted; they were never in a position to make decisions. If a criminal act was determined to be the cause of death, the coroner delivered the guilty person to the sheriff and the inquests would be used as evidence in the criminal trial. In this case, coroner’s inquisitions were filed with the trial papers. See Commonwealth Causes for more. If there was not a trial, coroner’s inquisitions were filed separately and will likely appear in this collection as a stand alone set of documents.

Documents commonly found in coroner’s inquisitions include the inquisition, depositions, and summons. Information found in the inquisition include the name of the coroner, the names of the jurors, the name and age of the deceased if known, gender and race of the deceased, and when, how, and by what means the deceased came to his or her death. If the coroner knew the deceased person to be Black or multiracial, the inquest should identify the person as enslaved; a “free Negro”; a “person of color”; or a “mulatto.” If the coroner knew the deceased person to be enslaved, the inquest should include their name, their enslaver and the enslaver’s residence. Information found in the depositions include the name of the deponent and his or her account of the circumstances that led to the death of the deceased. Unlike many other legal proceedings in antebellum Virginia, enslaved people were permitted to provide depositions for coroners’ inquisitions.

This data is subset focusing on records where African Americans were named either as the deceased or persons of interest involved in the inquest and is a by-product of indexing done for the Virginia Untold: African American Narrative digital collection.

Some data in this collection is drawn directly from the original historical records (see column descriptions) and may contain terminology which is now deemed offensive.

Deeds of emancipation and manumission record an enslavers’ intent to emancipate enslaved people from bondage. In 1726, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law allowing enslavers to emancipate enslaved people “by last will and testament or other instrument in writing sealed and witnessed to emancipate and set free his slave or slaves.” A 1782 law added that enslavers were no longer required to seek a special act from the General Assembly. These documents sometimes include an enslavers’ intent for emancipation ranging from religious and moral motivations to binding legal agreements.

Deeds of emancipation and manumission essentially provide the same information and there is little difference between the two. Both include the name of the enslaver, the name of the enslaved person to be freed, the date of anticipated freedom, the date the manumission was proved or certified, and as mentioned, sometimes a reason why the enslaver decided to emancipate the enslaved person. In a deed of manumission, an enslaver directly freed an enslaved person by manumission. In a deed of emancipation, an enslaved person could be freed after the enslaver’s death by those executing a last will and testament. This collection also includes court orders that record the date or age when enslaved individuals were to be emancipated by deed as stipulated in an enslaver's will.

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

Fiduciary records consist primarily of estate administrator settlements, estate inventories, dower allotments, estate divisions, estate sales, and guardian accounts involving enslaved people. Under the laws of chattel slavery, enslaved people were documented in these records along with other personal property. These records include the names of estate owners, value of personal property owned (including enslaved people), and names of recipients of property. Some fiduciary records include additional information regarding enslaved people such as age, family relationships, physical and mental condition, if they were sold to someone else, and if they self-emancipated (had run away from their enslaver).

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

In 1801, the Virginia Legislature passed an act requiring commissioners of the revenue to annually return a complete list of all free Black Virginians within their districts, with their names, sex, place of abode, and trades. This collection includes those lists as well as “Free Negro Tax Lists”; and “Free Negro Delinquent Tax Lists.”

For many years in Virginia, each adult male was required to pay a flat tax ranging somewhere between 30 to 65 cents to fund county government operation. However, in the 1810s, Virginia imposed a “specific tax” exclusively on free Black individuals. The tax rate varied throughout the years leading up to the Civil War, but for the most part hovered around $1. Many Black individuals already struggled to pay the county levy, and Virginia legislators intended that an additional tax would further restrict autonomy. Several laws passed in 1782, 1814, and 1820 allowed sheriffs to hire out Black tax delinquents (those who did not pay their levy). Delinquent tax lists include names of free Black individuals returned delinquent and sometimes why they were returned, such as "no property," "removed," or "not found.” In addition to representing blatant taxation without representation, these hiring-out scenarios were largely exploitative.

Tax collection and hiring out tax delinquents was not strictly enforced and varied from each locality. For a time in the late 1830s and early 1840s, taxes were not even collected. By the 1850s, however, Virginia found a way to use the money collected from free Black residents to fund their removal from the state. In 1853, the General Assembly passed a law allowing the taxes raised on free Black men and women to be collected in a fund to be applied to the removal of these individuals as a part of the recolonization effort. See Colonization Records for more.

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

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.