The Death Registers contain contents 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 lacked 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.
J. C. Huff was an informant for James Barnett and T. Taliferro. Two unrecorded named mothers were doing work for him in June 1855 and March 1858, respectively. They gave birth to their children while they were hired by him.
Bequeathed an unknown number of enslaved individuals to be split between his daughters. His daughters' names are Julianna, Elizabeth, Matilda, Lucinda, Jane, and Sarah.
John Johnston's will stipulated that two enslaved people "of suitable ages" with his grandsons, John and John, "be delivered to their parents in trust" as soon as his wife could conveniently do so. John and John are said to be William's son and Elizabeth's son.
In the Death Register, John Humphreys reported the death of Peter and is listed as the grandson of John Smith. The Register makes it unclear as to which John Smith.
Anthony and Alexander both labored for 60 days at a pay rate of $16.00 per month. Their enslaver, John Dabney, received $64.00 for the work completed by them.