Alexandria Library -- Special Collections

Document of the Month

November 2004

Permission For Julia Barker, Free Woman of Color, to Reside in the City, July 17, 1822

Freedom papers for Julia Barker

This is a photocopy of a registration certificate allowing a "Free Negro" to reside within the city of Alexandria. State law required African-Americans (freeborn and emancipated) to register with the courthouse and update that registration on a regular basis.

In smaller rural communities, where people knew their neighbors, compliance tended to be lower. In a bustling, transient locality like Alexandria, registration was more likely to be enforced. A Free Negro who could not produce "freedom papers" upon demand could be sold in slavery. The proceeds resulting from the sale went to the local jurisdiction.

Few of these documents survive outside of courthouses, museums, and special collections.

Related Resources
  • Belinda Blomberg. Free Black Adaptive Response to the Antebellum Urban Environment: Neighborhood Formation and Stratification in Alexandria, Virginia, 1790-1850
  • Anna M. Lynch. A Compendium of Early African Americans in Alexandria, Virginia, Vol. 1: Index of Early Alexandria African Americans Compiled from the 1787, 1799, 1800 & 1810 Census, Free Negro Registery (1799-1810), Records of the First Baptist Church (1803-1811) and Records of Trinity Methodist Church (1802-1816)
  • Anna M. Lynch. A Compendium of Early African Americans in Alexandria, Virginia, Vol. 2: Historical Transcriptions Relating to Individuals
  • Anna M. Lynch. A Compendium of Early African Americans in Alexandria, Virginia, Vol. 3: Transcriptions of Deeds Relating to Early Alexandria African American Churches
  • T. B. McCord, Jr. Across the Fence But A World Apart: The Coleman Site, 1796-1907
  • Dorothy S. Provine. Alexandria County, Virginia, Free Negro Registers, 1797-1861
  • Dorothy S. Provine. District of Columbia Free Negro Registers, 1821-1861
  • John H. Russell. The Free Negro in Virginia, 1619-1865
  • Carter G. Woodson. Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830: Together With A Brief Treatment of the Free Negro
  • VF: African Americans -- Free Negroes


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