Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative: Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth

Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative is a project that provides digital access to historical records that document some of the lived experiences of enslaved and free Black and multiracial people in the Library of Virginia’s collections. The subset entitled Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth include applications that formerly enslaved individuals submitted to state and local courts requesting permission to remain in Virginia. Information from these documents can include: the name(s) of the petitioner(s), their locality, approval status, the circumstances of free status including method of emancipation, previous enslaver, names of affiants, and additional names of free Black people and enslaved people.