Virginia, Slave Birth Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is in This Collection?
This collection contains slave birth index and images of birth registers from Virginia compiled by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The index is arranged alphabetically by the name of the owner. Images of the index was acquired from the Library of Virginia in Richmond.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Name of owner, former owner, overseer, employer, informant
 * Name of enslaved person
 * Name of mother
 * Date of birth
 * Place of birth

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the child.
 * The approximate date of birth.
 * The place of birth.
 * The names of the child's parents.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s birth record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the birth date along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * The parents' birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile birth entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Virginia.
 * Researching African American Genealogy
 * Virginia Guided Research
 * Quick Guide to African American Records
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.