King and Queen Historical Society Presents Speakers on African American History (July 2012)

The King and Queen Historical Society met at the newly renovated Marriott School on Sunday, July 22. The guest speakers were Dr. Lauranette Lee, curator, and Paige Newman, archivist, from the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, Virginia. They explained the new database about African American history at the Virginia Historical Society, “Unknown No Longer – A Glimpse of 19th Century History.”

The database has on file census records, wills and inventories of estates and plantation records showing the life of slaves starting in 1850. Slavery was legalized in Virginia in the 1660s. A census done in King and Queen in 1790 showed 9,377 citizens with a slave population of 5,743. Most white people did not own slaves. Most slaves were located on plantations and large farms. In some legal papers as wills and deed slaves were listed after livestock and furniture.