William Henry Fitzhugh died in 1830. The inventory of his estate recorded 208 enslaved people by name, age and value. They were listed in two groups by location: Ravensworth and Arkendale. As used here, Ravensworth refers to Parcel 1.2. Arkendale was Fitzhugh’s 2000-acre farm in Prince William County.

The vast majority of the enslaved were identified only by a first name, which was the general practice in Fairfax County in 1830. However, 11 of 83 (13.25 percent) at Ravensworth were listed with both first and last names; at Arkendale 19 of 125 (15.2 percent) were so listed.1

William Henry’s will provided: “After the year 1850, I leave all my negroes unconditionally free…” In 1850 and 1851, sixty-one individuals registered with the Fairfax County court as Free Blacks, “Emancipated by the last Will and Testament of William H. Fitzhugh, decd.”

The following is a transcription of the names and ages in the order recorded in the inventory lists. Babies’ ages are shown as 0, as none were stated. In a few cases the spelling of names was not completely clear. These names are marked with an asterisk [*].

Enslaved People at Ravensworth

#First nameLast nameAge
1Sally70
2David38
3Caroline33
4David Jr14
5William40
6Phoebe37
7Isabella14
8Agnes12
9Lilly5
10Ann1
11BillyBurke43
12Lindy37
13Lewis18
14Burke16
15Hilliard13
16Westley11
17Albert9
18Laura6
19Lana6
20Lorenzo4
21Sarah Ann2
22HenryRoss31
23Cynthia33
24Washington18
25Lucinda12
26Betsey8
27JimBurke33
28Violett34
29Peyton31
30Kitty34
31Betsey14
32Henrietta12
33John8
34Sally5
35George3
36Sukey75
37Louisa20
38Lylla42
39Grace24
40Mariah15
41Mary10
42CharlesBrown26
43Bettey18
44Eleanor1
45Esther67
46Rose95
47JohnJeffrey29
48BetteyHopes60
49Lucy57
50Franky63
51Abram45
52JohnBurke30
53JohnBell53
54BillyBossey39
55HarryParker40
56Bob22
57Alfred15
58JimButcher27
59Henry15
60Milisson*19
61Old Bob75
62Elliot62
63Libby58
64Harry14
65Virgil44
66Martha43
67Leah67
68Charles12
69Leah Jr10
70Cato7
71Lewis5
72Virgil4
73Child0
74Simpson40
75Caroline18
76Carter15
77Adam59
78Gower*40
79Pattey49
80Sarah65
81Judith47
82Elizabeth14
83Presley18

Enslaved People at Arkendale

#First nameLast nameAge
1JimCurry57
2Betty57
3Moses39
4Beckey35
5Betsey18
6Fenton19
7Jacob11
8Harriet9
9JesseDouglas45
10Melly45
11Mariah24
12Leana5
13Adaline1
14Bryant22
15Manuel20
16Jesse16
17Aney*13
18Sally11
19Shirly8
20John5
21Lucy4
22Lindy2
23Child Stewart0
24JohnCyrus33
25Lucy25
26Alfred9
27Nancy5
28AlceyTurner43
29William25
30Edmund55
31Henry16
32John11
33Joan27
34Armistead8
35Citazen*5
36Child Auguston0
37Aggy30
38Henson4
39Linny2
40Child Mary0
41Alecy*Clark45
42Jimmy18
43JimCurry14
44Lizzy12
45Nelson10
46Lylla7
47Phillis2
48BobRoss24
49Amy19
50Child Letty0
51HarryHalley30
52Kissey22
53NedCyrus29
54Sinah50
55Eleana15
56Sam11
57Oliver44
58Lucy44
59Gerrard20
60Charles18
61Nanny13
62David10
63JimmyTriplett27
64Anner*27
65Herbert11
66Fairfax2
67Enoch22
68Rachael20
69Manuel1
70Elijah32
71Lucy29
72Dinah8
73Virgin3
74NancyCyrus61
75Jim23
76Cye*Cyrus21
77Bossy38
78Nelly32
79Henry3
80Jim, SrTripplet45
81Sally40
82Gwen59
83Nancy67
84Penny81
85Missy75
86Silas11
87BillyWilliams40
88JohnPatrick33
89BillyRobinson48
90HenryClarke15
91JimBrown23
92Lucy22
93Child Sophy0
94Archy39
95Delphy37
96George15
97Andrew8
98Child Cato0
99Price37
100Stacy23
101Calvert2
102TomGeeson39
103Jenny34
104Elija15
105Cornelius9
106Kitty7
107Beverley5
108Daniel32
109Judith29
110Sanford12
111Becky7
112Libby5
113Child Alzira0
114Burke30
115Celia20
116Susan1
117Noble*26
118Patsy16
119Polly child of Rachael0
120Marthy Ann0
121Patrick0
122Michael0
123Lana0
124Fanny0
125Noah0

 

  1. Fairfax County Will Books: will Q1:57, estate inventory Q1:68 and Q1:71.