Norfolk, Virginia Registry of Free Negroes, 1835-1861, AbstractsIn 1793 the Virginia General Assembly, concerned that large numbers of people of color were hiring themselves out, claiming to be free when in fact they were slaves, passed a law "to restrain the practice of negroes going at large." This law required all free Negroes and Mulattoes to register with the clerk of the court where they lived. Registration was required once a year within the Commonwealth's independent cities, such as Richmond, Norfolk and