Cohabitation Lists of Former Slaves in Goochland, Hanover and Louisa Counties, Virginia

"Cohabitation Lists of Former Slaves in Goochland, Hanover and Louisa Counties, Virginia as recorded by the Freedmen's Bureau" transcribed by Janice Abercrombie.  It is $19.95 plus $3.s&h. available through New Papyrus Co., Inc., 548 Cedar Creek Dr., Athens, GA 30605-3408.

In February, 1866 the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act that called for the registration of marriages of former slaves who wished to have their unions recorded.  The purpose of this act was to legitimize the children of these marriages and ensure that the marriages were legally recognized, providing former slaves with the full legal rights of married couples.  As the act was passed during Reconstruction, it fell to the Freedmen's Bureau to enforce the provisions of the act, known as Circular No. 11 and record the marriages.  For this reason, many of the cohabitation registers that record slave marriages are found among the Freedmen's Bureau papers at the National Archives.