Common Law Orders - F - December 1864 - September 1868
Document Name
Common Law Orders - F - December 1864 - September 1868
Provenience
The 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 Common Law Book F, it is stated that W. Alexander would be an apprentice to Richard H. Phillips until he was 21 to learn farming. He would also learn reading, writing, and arithmetic in the process. He would be provided with clothing as well as given a suit at the end of his apprenticeship. The record did not specify if he was enslaved or free.
In Common Law Book F, Tom is listed as having been an apprentice to William B. Preston. He was set to learn farming, reading, writing, and common arithmetic in the process. He was to be provided with clothing as well as given a suit at the end of his apprenticeship.