Revolutionary Probate Records in the Fairfax Court Slavery Index, 1767-1791

Fairfax Circuit Court, Virginia historic court records contain the names of thousands of enslaved and free people of color, and indentured white servants, who, due to their legal status as personal property during the 18th and 19th centuries, cannot be easily identified within said records. Probate records, in particular, were indexed by the name of the deceased to which said property belonged, which gives researchers few paths to locate records that speak to the experiences of enslaved people in Fairfax County during the era of American slavery. This dataset details nearly 2,100 individuals existing under some form of involuntary servitude, and approximately 600 enslavers holding these individuals in bondage, between the years 1767 and 1791. It is based on Will Books C1, D1, and E1 in the Fairfax Court Slavery Index.