"The Novice in the Archive": The Valley of the Shadow Project: Part II

1.   Point your browser to http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/choosepart.html to reach The Valley of the Shadow Web Site.

2.   In the larger image on the left entitled "The Eve of the War," click on the section that reads "Census and Tax Records" to access that portion of the Web site.

3.   Next click on "Search the Free Black Registry"

4.   Then scroll down and click on "Registration dates between 1803 and 1845".

5.   Using the "Find" or "Find in Page" function of your browser, try to determine how many of the free blacks registered between 1803 and 1845 are listed as having an occupation.   (Hint: search for the words "trade," "barber," "blacksmith," and "shoemaker."   Don't forget to search backwards as well as forward after your first try.)   Each time you find an entry containing one of these words, enter the name of the individual, the year he or she was registered, and the occupation given.   What significant change through time did you notice (i.e., did you find more frequent or less frequent mention of occupation as time went on)?   Briefly explain below why you think this change in the recording of occupation took place?

Name Year Occupation







Explanation of change through time:




6.   Next use the "Find" or "Find in page" function of your browser to find the number of the record your group has been assigned to start with.   For example, if your group has been asked to start with record 5, find "No 5."

7.   Beginning with the record you were assigned to start with, read FORTY CONSECUTIVE RECORDS paying careful attention to the following information about each registrant: name, sex, year registered, whether the registrant was born free or emancipated (manumitted), year emancipated (manumitted) if emancipated, whether or not the registrant is identified as a mulatto, complexion. Then answer the following questions:


a)   How many of the entries you examined indicated that the individual was:

born free? manumitted or emancipated? could not determine?


b)   Of those who were born free, how many were described as:

being mulatto or having a light or mulatto complexion?

being black or having a dark or black complexion?


c)   Of those who were manumitted or emancipated, how many were described as:

being mulatto or having a light or mulatto complexion?

being black or having a dark or black complexion?


d)   Of those who were manumitted or emancipated, how many were:

male?

female?


e)   Of those who were manumitted or emancipated, how many were:

males identified as being black or having a dark or black complexion?

males identified as being mulatto or having a light or mulatto complexion?

females identified as being black or having a dark or black complexion?

females identified as being mulatto or having a light or mulatto complexion?


f)   For those who were manumitted or emancipated, on the reverse side of this sheet list the registrant's name followed by the year in which he or she was emancipated. Then read back over the list you have made and answer the following question: What pattern, if any, do you notice in the timing or chronology of the emancipations? (Be prepared to share your response to this question with other groups.)




g)   For the sample you examined, what conclusions can you draw about the emancipation or manumission of slaves in Augusta County?   For example, during the period of the records you examined, were male slaves more likely to be emancipated than female slaves?   Were slaves identified as mulatto or having a light or mulatto complexion more likely to be manumitted than those identified as black or having a dark or black complexion?





h)   Now compare your answers to the two previous questions, with the answers given by at least one other group. Was there any significant change through time?   For example, were there significantly fewer individuals who were emancipated after 1832 than before?   Explain your findings in paragraph form.