About

Manumission refers to the legal process of freeing enslaved people. It became more common after the Virginia Manumission Act of 1782 allowed owners to emancipate slaves through a will or deed. Isle of Wight County resident Timothy Tynes manumitted 81 slaves and left them land, livestock and equipment in his 1802 will. Isle of Wight County’s deeds and will books provide insight into this process.