By his Excellency the Right Honourable John Earl of Dunmore, his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governour-General of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, and Vice-admiral of the same. A proclamation.
In November 1775, from the safety of a British warship near Norfolk, Virginia's royal governor, the earl of Dunmore, decided to handle the explosive political situation by declaring martial law and offering freedom to enslaved people who fought for the king against their owners. The Declaration of Independence referred to that proclamation in charging that the king and his governor "excited domestic Insurrections amongst us." The Declaration's statement that all men were entitled to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" did not apply to enslaved Virginians.
Library of Virginia, Special Collections. (Broadside. 1775 .V852 FF.). 11-0757-005.
7 November 1775
Broadside
Trial summary, Prince William County Court, Billy alias Will alias William a mulatto Slave the property of John Tayloe Esq for Treason
The summary of Billy's trial included the accusation that he "did in Company of & Conjunction with diverse Enemies of the Commonwealth in armed Vessels feloniously & Traiterously Wage & Levy War against the Commonwealth." His lawyers argued that he was "forced on board agst. his will" and that as a slave he was not afforded the privileges of a citizen, so he owed the state "no Allegiance."
RG 3, Virginia Governor (1779-1781: Jefferson), Executive Papers of Governor Thomas Jefferson: Letters received, 1779-1781. Acc. 44393, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. 11-0757-005.
May 1781
Manuscript
Letter, Henry Lee and William Carr to Governor Thomas Jefferson
With his request for Jefferson to reprieve Billy, Mann Page included an opinion from Henry Lee and William Carr, justices who dissented from the verdict and supported Page's efforts to commute the death sentence.
RG 3, Virginia Governor (1779-1781: Jefferson), Executive Papers of Governor Thomas Jefferson: Letters received, 1779-1781. Acc. 44393, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. 12-1070-005.
11 May 1781
Manuscript
Reprieve of Billy
Thomas Jefferson granted a reprieve of Billy until the end of June 1781, and the General Assembly vacated the conviction.
RG 3, Virginia Governor (1779-1781: Jefferson), Executive papers of Governor Thomas Jefferson: Letters received, 1779-1781. Acc. 44393, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. 12-1070-001/002.
13 May 1781
Manuscript
Petition of Mann Page, executor of John Tayloe
With his request for Jefferson to reprieve Billy, Mann Page included a copy of the indictment, conviction, and sentence from the Prince William County Court.
Virginia General Assembly, Legislative petitions of the General Assembly, Petition of Mann Page, Prince William County. n.d. [Received June 7, 1781]. Acc. 36121 State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. 11-1306-001.
7 June 1781
Manuscript
Deposition of Chief Cook
The Virginia Board decided that because members of the Pamunkey Indian tribe had never been allowed to vote, they were not considered citizens of the United States and thus could not be subject to the draft.
King William County Chancery Court Case: <em>Holmes and Cook v. Draft Board</em>, located in RG 3, Virginia, Governor (1938-1942: Price), Executive Papers, 1938-1942, Acc. 23344c, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. 12-1078-007.
25 August 1917
Mimeographed sheet
Letter, John G. Warburton, Williamsburg, to Governor James H. Price, Richmond
Residents of the Mattaponi Indian Reservation argued that because they were wards of the state, they should not be counted in the census.
RG 3, Virginia, Governor (1938-1942: Price), Executive Papers, 1938-1942, Acc. 23344c, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. 12-1078-005.
6 June 1940
Carbon typescript
Letter, W.M. Kemper, Richmond, to Chief George F. Custalow
W.M. Kemper, executive assistant to the governor of Virginia, wrote to Chief Custalow of the Mattaponi Indian tribe that "all persons living within the Commonwealth" must be counted in the census.
RG 3, Virginia, Governor (1938-1942: Price), Executive Papers, 1938-1942, Acc. 23344c, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. 12-1078-006.
7 June 1940
Carbon typescript
"The First Vote"
Thomas Wood
The Library of Virginia, Prints and Photographs. 01-1138-18.
<em>Harper's Weekly</em>, November 16, 1867.
16 November 1867
Engraving after painting
VOTE
Equal Suffrage League of Virginia Papers, Acc. 22002, Organization Records Collection, The Library of Virginia. 08-0358-01.
Ca. 1920
Poster