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.”
- Manumitted Fitzhugh Slaves Registered as Free Blacks – 36 who registered are correlated with names in the Ravensworth list below.
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
Enslaved People at Arkendale
- Fairfax County Will Books: will Q1:57, estate inventory Q1:68 and Q1:71.