Register of free persons of color entitled to remain in the state, 1849-1864
Scope and Contents
The records are manuscript volumes, volume 1 in French and English, volumes 2 - 4 in English. Each volume lists the name of the person registering, sex and color, age, profession, place of birth, time of arrival in the state (or date of emancipation), and "observations" or "remarks." The observations or remarks consist, in general, of a statement substantiating the person's claim to be free. In volumes 2 - 4, the statements are uniform in format; typical examples are "Recorded upon Certificate of Baptism, on file in this office dated 30 Jan'y 1857" or "Recorded upon affidavit of John H. Pope, before Andrew Hero, Not. Pub. parish of Orleans, June 27th 1864--on file--." Others refer to acts of emancipation, court judgements, wills, etc. Occasionally, the remarks in these volumes also record the person's height. The observations in volume 1 contain statements similar to those in the later volumes, but they are often less uniform in language and more detailed in terms of physical description, sometimes including distinguishing marks--for example, "certificate under oath by Stephen and Edward Owens creoles of this state. 6 feet high--scar on the left temple" or "emancipated in 1830 by Widow Hawkins living on Lake Providence in this state, lost his certificate of freedom and obtained new papers from said Lady in 1838. Recommended by Honore Faure and Simeon Mond both creoles of this city." Occasionally the remarks consist only of a name, presumably that of someone attesting to the person's freedom. Also included in volume 1 are several inserted letters stating that the writer knows the person registering to be free.
The bulk of the records in each volume end in June of the last date listed; however, all of the volumes contain a few records from later that year or from the following year. Volume 1, for example, contains several records dated l857; volume 2 contains at least one from l860, and volume 3 contains a number of records from the second half of l861, even though volume 4 begins in June, 1861.
Available as items 2-5 on 35mm microfilm roll #1309932, filed under call number TK840 1804 -- additional copies are filed under film call number AA430 1840-1864.
Dates
- Creation: 1849-1864
Creator
- From the Collection: Office of the Mayor (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
All volumes were digitized as part of Louisiana State University's digital collection Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past hosetd by the Louisiana Digital Library. Microfilm is available to registered researchers in house.
Biographical / Historical
On March 16, 1830, the Louisiana Legislature passed an act "to prevent free persons of color from entering into this state." Section 12 of this act required "all free negroes, griffs and mulattoes of the first degree" who had entered the state after the adoption of the Constitution of 1812 and before January 1, 1825 to enroll themselves with the office of the Parish Judge of their resident parish or with the office of the Mayor of the City of New Orleans. The rolls kept by these offices were to include the person's "age, sex, colour, trade or calling, place of nativity and the time of their arrival in the State." A fee of fifty cents was charged at the time of enrollment.
Section 13 of the same act instructed the Parish Judges (or, later, recorders) to send a certified copy of their books to the Mayor of New Orleans "before the first of July next." From these books and from the book kept in his office, the Mayor was to compile a general list and to keep the list in his office. None of these general lists have survived in the City Archives collection. The volumes that remain in the collection appear to be those kept for the City of New Orleans alone. Section 14 and 15 of the 1830 act established the penalties for failing to comply with the law. Persons of color who failed to enroll themselves were liable to "a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, and to an imprisonment not exceeding one month." Judges or recorders who neglected to send their books to the Mayor of New Orleans were to be fined not less that fifty dollars.
Extent
4 Volumes
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Call Number
mf AA430
Repository Details
Part of the City Archives Repository
City Archives & Special Collections
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans LA 70112
504-596-2610
archivist@nolalibrary.org