VIRGINIA SLAVERY & BLACK GENEALOGY RESEARCH HUB 

Curated statewide, regional, and Franklin County resources for studying slavery and African American family history in Virginia.

STORIES OF OUR VIRGINIA PEOPLE
​The stories below are from acestors of the people in our Art of Fact Family History and Geneaology Field School Cohort

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Statewide Virginia slavery and African American portals

• Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative (Library of Virginia)
  https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/virginia-untold​
• Virginia Untold search interface (LVA catalog)
  https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com​
• Unknown No Longer & Virginia Untold (Virginia Museum of History & Culture overview)
  https://virginiahistory.org/research/collections/unknown-no-longer-virginia-untold​
• African American Research at the Library of Virginia to 1870 (research guide)
  https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/african-american​
• Slavery in Virginia (LVA research guide)
  https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/slavery​
• Library of Virginia Digital Collections (gateway to all digital sets)
  https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/digital-collections​
• Collections by Topic – Virginia Memory (African American / Virginia Untold, etc.)
  https://www.virginiamemory.com/collections/collections_by_topic​
• African American Genealogical Research (LVA PDF)
  https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/AA_Genealogical_Research.pdf​
  
  

Thematic and data-focused Virginia slavery resources

• Geography of Slavery in Virginia (runaway/captured ads)
  https://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/​
• “Runaway Slave” Records dataset (Virginia Open Data Portal)
  https://data.virginia.gov/dataset/runaway-slave-records​
• Virginia, Slave Birth Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)
  https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Virginia,_Slave_Birth_Index_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records​
• African American Resources for Virginia (FamilySearch wiki)
  https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/African_American_Resources_for_Virginia​
• Virginia: Local History & Genealogy Digital Collections (Library of Congress guide)
  https://guides.loc.gov/virginia-local-history-genealogy/digital-collections​
• Slavery in America: Digital Collections (Library of Congress, includes Virginia)
  https://guides.loc.gov/slavery-in-america/digital-collections​
• Civilian Records Relating to Slavery (National Archives)
  https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/slavery-records-civil.html​
  
  

University-based and project sites (Virginia relevance)

• DEC at UVA Research (Descendants of Enslaved Communities at UVA)
  https://www.descendantsuva.org/research​
• American Slavery LibGuide (University of Virginia)
  https://guides.lib.virginia.edu/amslavery​
• Digital History LibGuide (UVA, includes Geography of Slavery)
  https://guides.lib.virginia.edu/digitalhistory​
• Genealogy Research Tips for Finding Enslaved Ancestors (Central Rappahannock Regional Library)
  https://www.librarypoint.org/blogs/post/genealogy-enslaved-ancestors/​
  
  

Black / African American genealogical societies and local groups (Virginia)

• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS, national with VA chapters)
  https://www.aahgs.org​
• Greater Richmond, Virginia Chapter, AAHGS
  https://www.aahgs.org/richmond
  https://aahgsrichmondva.com​
• Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical & Historical Society
  https://mpaagenealogicalsociety.org​
• African American Genealogy Group of Charlottesville and Albemarle County
  https://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/jfbell/About_GenealogyGroup.shtml​
• Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County (AAHA)
  https://www.aahafauquier.org​
• Orange County African American Historical Society – Genealogy
  https://www.ocaahs.org/genealogy​
• Staunton-Augusta County African American Research Society
  https://visitstaunton.com/listing/staunton-augusta-county-african-american-research-society/​
• Greene County African-American Oral History Project
  https://greenehistoryva.org/african-american​
• Lancaster Virginia Historical Society – Black History Focus
  https://lancastervahistory.org/blackhistory/​
• Virginia Genealogical Society – resources (includes African American projects and links)
  https://www.vgs.org/resources/​
  
  

Franklin County, Virginia – slavery and Black genealogy resources

• Franklin County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1837–1864 (LVA finding aid)
  https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva%2Fvi04032.xml​
• Franklin County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1837–1864 (Enslaved.org entry)
  https://enslaved.org/record/source/Q970054​
• Franklin County chancery causes – announcement of addition to LVA Chancery Records Index (includes causes with enslaved people named)
  https://uncommonwealth.lva.virginia.gov/blog/2011/09/02/franklin-co-chancery-added-to-cri/​
• Studies in the Local History of Slavery: The Hales Ford Community, 1856–1880 (NPS PDF)
  https://npshistory.com/publications/bowa/local-hist-slavery.pdf​
• “Colonization movement doomed free Black families from Franklin County” (Cardinal News)
  https://cardinalnews.org/2022/01/31/colonization-movement-doomed-free-black-families-from-franklin-county/​
• “A long history . . . and a long memory” (Roanoke Times)
  https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1993/rt9304/930418/04180175.htm​
• Dr. Booker Taliaferro Washington – Franklin County tourism history page
  https://www.visitfranklincountyva.com/246/Dr-Booker-Taliaferro-Washington​
• African American Heritage Trail – Franklin County StoryMap
  https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d53fce097aea4b62831f3ca97c9d0833​
• History of Franklin County (official county history)
  https://www.franklincountyva.gov/575/History-of-Franklin-County​
• Franklin County, Virginia Genealogy (FamilySearch wiki)
  https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Franklin_County,_Virginia_Genealogy​
• Franklin County, Virginia – USGenWeb
  https://usgenwebsites.org/vagenweb/franklin/Franklin%20Face%20Page%202023.htm​
• Franklin County Historical Society – Family Research
  https://franklincountyvahistoricalsociety.org/family-research.html​
• Franklin County Genealogy Research Group (community Facebook group)
  https://www.facebook.com/fcgenealogyresearchgroup/​
• “Genealogy Fun Begins” – Franklin County government PDF guide
  https://www.franklincountyva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/444/Genealogy-Fun-Begins-PDF​​

• Sophia Wade Whitfield
  Franklin County, Virginia