African Americans -- History

Samuel Williams Ledger

Collection

Identifier: Ms-2023-055

Abstract

The Samuel Williams Ledger contains a "Memorandum of the amount Paid to Each of my Children Toward Their Legacies" with accompanying pages identifying ten children by name along with associated inheritance. The names of 18 men, women, and children enslaved by Williams are listed as well as property such as horses, cows, beds, and land.

Dates: c. 1839-1840

Found in: Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Barbary Wilson Deed of Emancipation for Harry

Collection

Identifier: Ms-2022-077

Abstract

This collection contains a deed of emancipation signed by enslaver Barbary Wilson of Bath County, Virginia, freeing Harry, identified as a Black man, on January 5, 1822. Harry was one of 14 people that Wilson had enslaved and manumitted in 1822.

Dates: 1822

Found in: Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Jeffrey T. Wilson Diaries

Collection

Identifier: Ms-2011-015

Abstract The collection consists of two diaries (1913, 1928) written by Jeffrey T. Wilson (1843-1929). Wilson was a former enslaved person who spent most of his life in and around Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia. He worked as a bailiff in the Norfolk courts after leaving the U. S. Navy and wrote a column, "Colored Notes," for The Portsmouth Star from 1924 until his death in 1929. He outlived four wives and had at least twelve children. Wilson's diaries...

Dates: 1913, 1928

Found in: Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech