I think you will gain more than one answer, Stephen.  I early found that legal definitions seldom were incorporated in colonial common parlance, and that different parts of the colonies/states and at different times applied the term in varying ways.

The only common thread that seemed apparent to me was the right to vote.  Whether in New England or the South, the word was quite usually applied to persons either a citizen and member of a New England city, town, or borough, who also had the right to vote, or later, a citizen member of a municipal corporation or the predecessors of those government entities.

In many instances - though not all, as I remember - it was required that to vote, in addition to being an accepted member of a town, etc., that person was required to own land having some set value (10 to 50 Shillings will be found here and there).

In the South, it seems that the requirement was a right to vote and that there be no legal impediment to the enjoyment of that and the other civil rights that usually come with release or freedom from bondage.

Of course, the Blacks were held to a different standard, and their freedom from bondage and ownership of land did not necessarily give them the privilege to vote.  That was true, especially after the Civil War, by reason of the Jim Crow Laws.

Paul

Genealogy without documentation is nothing.
                     Paul Drake JD
                Genealogist & Author
            <www.DrakesBooks.com>


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Stephen J Buski
  To: [log in to unmask]
  Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 2:24 PM
  Subject: [VA-ROOTS] "Freeman" in Colonial Virginia


  Wish to discuss the meaning of a "freeman" in colonial Virginia as a
  legal/social/political concept.  What did it mean in comparison to a
  freeman in New England?  Anyone's "two cents" is welcome.  References to
  legal studies especially welcome.

  To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
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