There are laws in Virginia regarding free blacks.  I believe the laws 
are in force after 1830.  There was a episode of one of the genealogy 
programs where the featured person's family had a situation where one of 
them had bought his family, but did not free them. This enabled them to 
stay together in Virginia.   If you look on the Library of Virginia 
under county records -some counties have the "registers of freed 
negroes" .  Some of these have been transcribed and others digitized.  
Not all survived.

On 5/27/2022 12:19 AM, Karen Sutton wrote:
> Greetings all,
>
> Please take a moment to read this paragraph, and let me know what you
> think. It is a quotation from a Northumberland County, VA Order Book.
> Question: Please tell me what this entry says to you? Do you think the free
> blacks wanted to leave or were forced to leave?
>
> “October 14, 1850”
> It appearing to this court by satisfactory evidence that there are a number
> of free negroes about to removed from this county out of the commonwealth
> of Va. at their own coast and whence by our making appropriations for the
> removal of free persons of color and for other purposes passed the 11th.
> March 1850 which -------- directs that it shall be the duty of the county
> and cooperating courts to charge the legal tax for the seal of the court
> and ---- of every copy of registration by them to every free negro and to
> acco. (accommodate) with the auditor of such tax being to raise a fund for
> the remova1 of free negroes out of this Commonwealth. Therefore the court
> dot direct its clerk: not to charge the tax aforesaid to any free negro who
> obtains his papers for the purpose of removing out of the Commonwealth at
> his or her own costs."
>
> Thanks.
>

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

This list is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).