Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Lynchburg County (Va.) Bills of Sale and Deeds,1807-1865, involving enslaved and free Black and Multiracial individuals are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lynchburg (Va.) Deeds, 1805-1936 (bulk 1817-1906). Local Government Records Collection, Lynchburg (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from the city of Lynchburg.

Processing Information

Bills of Sale and Deeds, 1807-1865, pertaining to enslaved and free Black individuals were removed from the larger Lynchburg County (Va.) deeds record set and then processed and indexed as a distinct unit by Ed Jordan and Lydia Neuroth for the purposes of digitizing them for the digital project Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative. All other Deeds,1807-1865, pertaining to white and non-Black individuals remain in Series II.

Encoded by Sam Walters, 2007; Updated by M. Mason, October 2024

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, including enslaved people, from seller to buyer. Under the system of chattel slavery, laws permitted enslavers to treat enslaved people as personal possessions in the same manner as livestock, farm equipment, or household items. Enslaved people could be bought or sold without regard to their personal relationships or free will. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved people being sold and their price, and the name of the buyer. Given that they involved a property transaction, bills of sale were commonly recorded and filed with deeds in the local court. However, there was no official requirement that the transfer of an enslaved person be recorded unless necessary for legal purposes such as a court case or an estate settlement. Enslaved people could also be transferred through a deed of gift, there was no money transaction involved in this case, which distinguishes this record from a bill of sale. Enslavers and their family members often transferred enslaved people between themselves in this manner.

Deeds are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person, from one individual to another. These include the voluntary transfer of enslaved people between family members with no financial transaction involved. Deeds include the names of the grantors, grantees, and enslaved people. Clerks proved, acknowledged, and recorded deeds in the local court.

Locality History: Lynchburg, in Campbell County, was named for John Lynch, the owner of the original town site. It was established in 1786, was incorporated as a town in 1805, and became a city in 1852. Parts of Campbell and Bedford counties were annexed to the city in 1976.

Scope and Content

Lynchburg (Va.) Deeds, 1805-1936 (bulk 1817-1906) consist of deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, bills of sale, and deeds of trust. Included are two boxes of processed and indexed material consisting of bills of sale and deeds,1807-1865, involving free and enslaved Black individuals.

Deeds of bargain and sale are the most recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.

Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal including enslaved people, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated. Information recorded included name(s) of the grantor(s), grantee(s), and enslaved people. Deeds of gift were proved and recorded in the local court.

Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.

Bills of sale are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person, from seller to buyer. Bills of sale record the name of the seller, the names of enslaved persons being sold and their price, and the name of the buyer. Given that they involved a property transaction, bills of sale were commonly recorded and filed with deeds in the local court.

Also includes bound volumes of general indexes to loose deeds, 1805-1936.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged

Related Material

See also: Lynchburg (Va.) Free and Enslaved Records, 1834-1837, undated

Records related to free and enslaved people of Lynchburg (Va.) and other localities are available through the Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website.

Deed Books and Indices to Deeds for Lynchburg can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Additional Lynchburg Land Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Adjunct Descriptive Data