Location: Nansemond County, VA   •   Year: 1831
Abstract: Free people of color are neither freemen nor slaves. "The mark set on them by nature precludes their enjoyment, in this country, of the privileges of the former; and the laws of the land do not allow them to be reduced to the condition of the latter," a group of whites argues. "Hence they are of necessity, degraded, profligate, vicious, turbulent and discontented." The petitioners state that they do not want to be cruel or unchristian, but they seek to rid themselves of the "ill-fated class" within their midst.

Location: Gates County, NC   •   Year: 1790
Abstract: The petitioners request the legislature to pass a law validating acquisition of land by a group of descendants of American Indians and blacks. In 1724, the Chowan Indians received 11,360 acres of land in Chowan County, later Gates County. The Indians "sold" most of the land. The Native American men all died, and the women "mixed with Negroes." The free blacks and their mixed-blood children served as soldiers for the colonials in the Revolution. Supported by William Lewis, Samuel Harrell, and other white men, they seek title to "Small Remnants of the aforesaid Tract of Land."
Named Petitioner:LEWIS, William ()
FNAME:William
LNAME:Lewis
COLOR:White
GENDER:Male
 
No relatives associated with this petitioner.
Named Petitioner:HARRELL, Samuel ()
FNAME:Samuel
LNAME:Harrell
COLOR:White
GENDER:Male
 
No relatives associated with this petitioner.

Location: Northampton County, VA   •   Year: 1784
Abstract: A six-hundred acre Native American reservation has become "an Asylum for free Negro & other disorderly persons, who build Hutts thereon & pilage & destroy the Timber without controul." There were only five or six of the Gingaskin tribe left on the land. The petitioners request that trustees be appoint to lay off "a convenient part of the said Land" for the Indians while leasing out and taxing the remainder. The rents would be divided among the Gingaskin.

Location: King William County, VA   •   Year: 1843
Abstract: Freeholders and other white inhabitants of King William County ask the legislature to sell fifteen hundred acres on the Pamunky River and other lands that were set apart during the colonial era for the Pamunky Indians. The lands were only "set apart," not "granted away." Now the Pamunkys form only a "small remnant" of the population, having "so largely mingled with the negro race as to have obliterated all striking features of Indian extraction." The lands, the petitioners state, are now inhabited by two "unincorporated bands of free mulattoes in the midst of a large slave holding community." These free people of color might easily be converted "into an instrument of deadly annoyance to the white inhabitants by northern fanaticism." The areas have become resorts for free people of color, "worthless and abandoned whites," and runaway slaves. In short, the tracts are a "harbor for every one who wishes concealment."
Petition Details

PAR #:11684302
Salutation:A PETITION FROM CITIZENS OF KING WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Location:King William City/County, Virginia
Filing Date:circa 20 January 1843
PetitionersNo petitioner records associated with this petition.

Number of Petitioners: 1
Is/Are petitioner(s) slave owner(s)? No

Free People of ColorNo FPOC records associated with this petition.

DefendantsNo defendant records associated with this petition.

SlavesNo slave records associated with this petition.

Subjects:American Indians; class attitudes; confiscation; fpoc; fpoc and slaves; fpoc attitudes; fugitive; insurrection; land ownership; mulattoes; poor whites; runaways
Abstract:Freeholders and other white inhabitants of King William County ask the legislature to sell fifteen hundred acres on the Pamunky River and other lands that were set apart during the colonial era for the Pamunky Indians. The lands were only "set apart," not "granted away." Now the Pamunkys form only a "small remnant" of the population, having "so largely mingled with the negro race as to have obliterated all striking features of Indian extraction." The lands, the petitioners state, are now inhabited by two "unincorporated bands of free mulattoes in the midst of a large slave holding community." These free people of color might easily be converted "into an instrument of deadly annoyance to the white inhabitants by northern fanaticism." The areas have become resorts for free people of color, "worthless and abandoned whites," and runaway slaves. In short, the tracts are a "harbor for every one who wishes concealment."
Petition Result:rejected circa 27 February 1843
Location Description:Legislative Petitions
Pages:4
Repository:184:LVA
Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Monroe City or County, VA
Gen Notes:1

Number of Petitioners: 8
Is/Are petitioner(s) slave owner(s)? No

Number of Petitioners: 21
Is/Are petitioner(s) slave owner(s)? No

Number of Petitioners: 1
Is/Are petitioner(s) slave owner(s)? No