One of the hardest tasks in African-American research is locating records before 1865. To help with that task, the following pages present records which can make some sort of connection between freedmen and their former enslavers. It is by the name of their enslaver that most records of enslaved people can be found: in birth and death reports, estate settlements, bills of sale, rental of labor, etc.
What follows are the relevant records available for Louisa County with a brief introduction to them and how they might be useful in research.
A special thanks goes to the tireless efforts of so many Louisa County Historical Society Volunteers for their transcription efforts. We also want to express our thanks to the Library of Virginia who has carefully housed and made available many of the records sets contained here.