The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digitization of the Henry County Cohabitation Register is complete. Compiled in 1866, cohabitation registers imparted legal legitimacy to African American marriages and children. It was also the first time many African Americans appeared in public record under their own names. In honor of the release of the Henry Co. register, today's Out of the Box post examines African American naming practices.

http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2014/02/26/henry-co-cohabitation-register-and-african-american-naming-practices/

Bari Helms
Local Records Archivist
Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-692-3639

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