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Document Name
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Register of Births and Deaths - 1853-1857; 1859-1861
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Provenience
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The Roanoke County Archives
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Abstract
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The county Birth Registers altogether range from 1853 to 1885, and record the birth of every individual in the greater Roanoke area during this time frame, whether white, enslaved African American, or free African American. Typically less information for enslaved people was recorded. Only first names were recorded and place of birth was recorded with much less specificity. Moreover, the birth registers had a category for “Father’s Name or Owner if Enslaved,” meaning in the case of most enslaved people, the enslaver’s information would be given instead of the child’s father. Nonetheless these records are an important source for connecting enslaved children to their mothers, and providing information about their births that is otherwise not found in other records.
The county Death Registers range from 1853 to 1881, and recorded the deaths of every individual in the greater Roanoke area during this time frame, whether white, enslaved African American, or free African American. This would include the individual’s age at the time of their death and the manner in which they died. For enslaved people, their place of birth often was not listed or more vague in its specificity, and parents' names and occupations are not commonly listed. Nonetheless these records can be helpful for establishing an enslaved person’s date of birth and date of death, as well as where they lived.