HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Manumission in Virginia, one of the original 13 American colonies, is historically significant for several reasons. First and foremost, it underscored the inherent tension between the principles of liberty and the institution of slavery that were enshrined in the American experience. Virginia was not only one of the largest slaveholding states in the nation but also the birthplace of many of the Founding Fathers who championed the ideals of freedom, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The act of voluntarily freeing slaves in this context challenged the hypocrisy of advocating for liberty while owning human beings, highlighting the moral and ethical contradictions of the time.
Furthermore, manumission in Virginia was closely tied to evolving economic and social dynamics. Slave owners often chose to free enslaved individuals for various reasons, such as indebtedness, personal relationships, or religious convictions. These acts of manumission had far-reaching consequences, both for the newly freed individuals and for the institution of slavery itself. For some, freedom allowed them to build lives as entrepreneurs, landowners, and community leaders, contributing to the economic and social fabric of the state. This contributed to the emergence of a free Black community in Virginia, which played a crucial role in the larger fight for civil rights and emancipation.
The legal framework surrounding manumission in Virginia was also subject to change over time. Laws regulating manumission were influenced by shifting societal attitudes and political considerations. While manumission was made legal in 1782, the issue of slavery became increasingly contentious in the lead-up to the American Civil War, the Virginia legislature imposed stricter regulations on manumission, reflecting a growing fear among white elites about the potential for slave uprisings. The evolving legislation mirrored the broader struggle between slaveholders and abolitionists, culminating in the state’s eventual decision to secede from the Union in 1861.
The historical significance of manumission in Virginia cannot be overstated. It encapsulated the profound moral dilemmas of a slaveholding society, offered a pathway to freedom and self- determination for some enslaved individuals, and shed light on the ever-changing legal, social, and economic landscapes in the lead-up to the Civil War. Manumission in Virginia serves as a critical chapter in the complex narrative of slavery, freedom, and the quest for human rights in the United States, illustrating the enduring tensions that continue to shape the nation’s history and identity.
KEY FACTS
Manumission was illegal in Virginia during British colonial rule.
Manumission was legalized by the first Virginia Assembly following the British surrender at Yorktown.
All sections of society manumitted enslaved people, from humble Quakers to Founding Fathers, as well as by whites and free people of color, and by women as well as men.
Manumissions were typically carried out through a written deed or last will & testament recorded at the local courthouse, in a manner consistent with property transfers at the time.
Some manumission documents indicate the motives or reasoning for the manumission, or include provisions for care, financial support, or gift of property for the manumitted individual(s).
Thousands of Manumissions were carried out in Virginia cities & counties between 1782-1865 – An estimated total 5,000 manumission documents, representing 20,000 individuals freed.
Manumissions were carried out in Virginia all the way through the Civil War.
Charles Lynch, the original resident of the Avoca homesite, manumitted five individuals through deeds while he lived on this property.
The largest manumission in the immediate vicinity of Avoca was carried out by Charles Lynch’s stepbrother, John Ward who freed 134 people through his last will.
Most manumission documents show one individual gaining their freedom, while the largest known manumission in Virginia was of 450 individuals freed by the deed of Robert Carter III of Westmoreland County.
Manumitted individuals and their descendants formed the overwhelming majority of the “free Negro” population in Virginia.
Campbell County, VA (where Avoca is located) had the largest per-capita population of free blacks in Virginia
At Virginian independence, and the legalization of manumission in 1782, it is estimated that there were 2,800 “free Negroes” in Virginia.
Virginia census records show 12,866 individuals listed as “free colored” in the first census of 1790, and grows to 58,042 by 1860, the last census prior to Emancipation.
Virginia’s population of “free colored” individuals grew by 4.5x between 1790-1860 while the enslaved population grew by 1.6x in the same time frame.
There were more “colored” individuals residing in the South than in the North for every US census between 1790 and 1860.
Virginia had the largest “free colored” population in the South, 2nd only to Maryland for all states.
County Free Negro Registries (a legal requirement after 1800) show the names of local free residents of color residing in each county, scholars estimate that as few as 25% of free individuals ever registered.
Enforcement of Virginia laws or restrictions for free people of color shifted over time, and were enforced unevenly, depending on time and place. During certain periods, many manumitted people were forced to leave the state upon manumission, but thousands were permitted to remain in Virginia as well due to the support of petitioners (typically whites) from their local communities.
POST-MANUMISSION EXPERIENCE
Even though the decades following the actualization of American independence saw a massive shift towards voluntary manumission among slaveowners in Virginia, the relationship between freed slaves and whites within the community remained fraught with deepening layers of nuance and tension. While those freed slaves who made their way North found an increased ability to expound upon the injustices of slavery to an increasingly sympathetic audience, those who remained in slave-owning southern states like Virginia continued to find themselves indirectly restricted by the institution of slavery. Freed slaves in Virginia, after 1800, lived under progressively more limiting legal codes which, though signed in response to various slave uprisings, were only loosely enforced.
The outbreak of a major slave rebellion in 1800 in Virginia brought the issue of freedmen living in the state to a head; local plantations owners blamed the slave rebellions on the influence of the freedmen in society, while supporters of statewide emancipation saw the crises as the last nails in the coffin of institutionalized slavery. In 1806, the Virginia legislature enacted a law which included a provision forbidding newly emancipated slaves from remaining in Virginia for more than one year. If a freedman was found still living in the state beyond that timeframe, they were to be brought to court and could potentially be sold back into slavery. This legislation was viewed as a corrective to the alleged involvement of emancipated slaves in stirring up the Gabriel revolt in 1800 and was intended to deter freed slaves from encouraging further uprisings. However, in hindsight the provisions of the 1806 law forced freed slaves into a legal limbo which left them with little to no socio-economic prospects. Furthermore, the legal restrictions established by the passage of the Act offered no timetable for when the restrictions could be invoked, leaving freed slaves exposed to court summons at almost any time.
While the statutes of the 1806 legislation were incredibly restrictive on the free black population of Virginia, they were also only very loosely enforced. Newly freed slaves often simply moved to a new county, where they were more likely to avoid recognition while still living in Virginia beyond the allotted 12 months. Dodging court summons or forging paperwork were also very common among, as local authorities often lacked sufficient time, interest, or manpower to verify the entirety of the region’s free black population. Though the individual stories and experiences of emancipated slaves in Virginia remain scarce, recent scholarship has made significant headway into discovering and sharing stories of what life was like for emancipated slaves in the Antebellum South. Researchers in Accomack County in particular have done some incredible work, bringing to life the stories of people like Joe Watson and Lizzie Harris. At the Avoca Museum, ongoing research into the lives of Harry and Feander Roberts, who were manumitted by Charles Lynch in 1793, has produced several leads which allow historians to begin to reconstruct what emancipation meant to those at the Avoca estate.