Colonial Probate Records in the Fairfax Court Slavery Index, 1742-1767

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 whom said property belonged, which gives modern researchers little recourse to find and study the lives of enslaved people in Fairfax County during the era of American slavery. This dataset enumerates nearly 1,300 individuals existing under some form of involuntary servitude, and approximately 500 enslavers holding these individuals in bondage, between the years 1742 and 1767. It is based on Will Books A1-B1 in the Fairfax Court Slavery Index.