My guess would be that the Margaret Douglass case of
1853 may have had some influence on the increase in
registrations.  Douglass was fined and jailed for
teaching free blacks in Norfolk.  Her case received a
large amount of press in state and national papers.
After her release from jail, she moved to Philadelphia
and published an account of her ordeal.

In the months following the trial and publication of
the book, there was an immediate surge in the number
of registrations and arrests of free blacks.  This was
reflected in the deed books where I found
registrations and in the loose papers (Ended Law
Causes) where I found expired free passes.  The
presence of expired free passes in the loose papers of
course is evidence that the free black re-registered
and received a new pass.  In the Ended Law Causes for
1853 alone, I found more than 100 expired passes.  I
haven't copied the passes from later years, but know
that in 1856 and 1859 similar surges appeared again.

I also found a jailor's report in the 1853 Ended Law
Causes.  The report included the names of free blacks
arrested for living in the state or migrating into the
state contrary to law.  It contains a gold mine of
names and places of origin of free blacks at the time.
 I suspect these people were discovered in the
aftermath of the trial when city authorities enforced
the law more strictly.  I don't know how many names
were in the report, but recall that there were more
than 10 pages on a folded down approx. 11" x 17"
paper.  I couldn't photocopy the report because of its
fragility.

In an attempt to trace back to the cause of origin,
I've searched through the Common Law Order Books,
Chancery Order Books, and Circuit Order Books, as well
as deed books and Ended Law Causes. I found this
method to be especially effective when searching
through records at an earlier date.

In August 1835 for example, Norfolk citizens panicked
after discovering abolitionist papers addressed to
free blacks.  They called a town meeting and formed a
vigilance committee.  The committee was instructed to
survey the free black community with the intent of
collecting evidence that could be used in prosecuting
free blacks for remaining in Norfolk contrary to law.


The committee identified more than 700 free blacks by
ward, freedom status and whether or not they were
registered & had free papers.  I found an account of
the proceedings in a local Norfolk newspaper.  I also
found the report in the Ended Law Causes.  I've gone
back and forth between the Ended Law Causes, the order
books and deed books to track the proceedings and the
individuals named within the report.

I'm in the process of analyzing the data, but have
found evidence to suggest a definite progression from
the point that the survey was completed and submitted
in court to the registration of free blacks.  There is
also some evidence to suggest that the report was used
to expel a handful of free blacks out of the state.


Having shared all of this, I would suggest that you
search through the order and deed books about three
years prior to the common date of the expired passes,
then perhaps a month or two prior to that, to
determine the reason for the surge in registrations.

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html