Common Law Orders - C - August 1843 - June 1848 - pgs. 227-478
Document Name
Common Law Orders - C - August 1843 - June 1848 - pgs. 227-478
Provenience
Roanoke County Archives
Abstract
The Common Law Orders vary significantly in the records they hold, but they largely include records of court cases including trials of enslaved people and indictments, records of payments for those involved in these court proceedings, the petitions of free people of color proving to the court their free status, as well as other eclectic information such as correspondences between Roanoke County officials and officials of other jurisdictions. Wills and settlements of estates were occasionally also included in the Common Law books. Free people of color had to petition to the Roanoke County court to be able to live in the jurisdiction, have proof of their free status, and had to be examined before the court and their physical appearance recorded into record, including height, skin color, age, and any noticeable scars or disabilities. Court cases ranged from criminal indictments to tax exemptions. In some cases, an enslaver would not be taxed for an enslaved person who was ill, elderly, or disabled, and the record for this exemption would be included. Some court indictments include the charging of white people for selling enslaved people liquor or gathering in groups with enslaved people, which was illegal. In other rare but notable cases, enslaved people were charged with crimes including theft, arson, and assault. Witnesses may have been called, including other enslaved people. In such court cases, the bulk of the court, including both prosecutors and those assigned as defense counsel for the enslaved people, were enslavers themselves. In some cases, the convicted enslaved people would be punished with whippings or death by lynching, while in a few others cases, in place of punishment the enslaved person would be “transported outside the limits of the United States,” presumably to Liberia.
In the Common Law book was a petition by William Langhorn to have the following people he enslaved exempted from the County Levy: Frank, Patience, Robin, Suky, Dick, and Peggy. They were deemed "superannuated and unfit for service."
Charles was listed in the register as "bright mulatto" and 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a scar under his chin. In Common Law Book C, his appearance was described in the same manner.
As stated in the Common Law book, it was ordered that the Overseers of the Poor bind out Henry Saunders. His father, Hercules Cuff, asked that Stephen Henry appear in court to prove why Henry's indenture should not be cancelled. The indenture was later cancelled and quashed.
While most of the above enslaved people were listed in two separate appraisements, Betty (alongside Nannie) is one of two who only appears in the appraisement in IAS Book 1, page 210. In this appraisement, Betty and her husband Barnett are grouped together and "taken for nothing," by B. Craig. This lack of valuation likely means both Betty and Barnett were disabled, ill, or elderly.
Aaron was listed in the register as being a "dark colored" man and 6 feet 2.75 inches tall, with scars on his left and right arms just above his wrists. In Common Law Book C, he was described in the same manner.