Virginia Untold: Land Deeds

Virginia Untold provides digital access to records that document some of the lived experiences of enslaved and free Black people in the Library of Virginia’s collections. Please help improve the discoverability of these sources by transcribing one of the project's many record types, deeds.

Deeds are written agreements which convey title of property, such as an enslaved person or land, from one individual to another. The type of deed predominantly found in Virginia Untold involves the voluntary transfer of enslaved people between family members with no financial transaction involved. There are also deeds that include the transfer of land and other property to and from free Black or Multiracial individuals, as well as records that include the name(s) of free Black individual(s) in the text of the deed who served as witnesses or third parties to the agreement. Deeds include the names of the grantors, grantees, and enslaved people. Clerks proved, acknowledged, and recorded deeds in the local court.