Billy Brown, a 'free man of colour,' had purchased his freedom 9 years earlier and since that time, had been employed by H-SC. Learning that the laws of Virginia required manumitted slaves to leave the state, he petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to be allowed to remain. A number of prominent white men signed the petition attesting to his character but the GA denied the petition. This event chronicles the filing of his second petition, also denied.
Billy Brown, a 'free man of colour,' had purchased his freedom 9 years earlier and since that time, had been employed by H-SC. Learning that the laws of Virginia required manumitted slaves to leave the state, he petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to be allowed to remain. A number of prominent white men signed the petition attesting to his character but the GA denied the petition.
Billy Brown, a 'free man of colour,' had purchased his freedom 9 years earlier and since that time, had been employed by H-SC. Learning that the laws of Virginia required manumitted slaves to leave the state, he petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to be allowed to remain. A number of prominent white men signed the petition attesting to his character but the GA denied the petition (he filed a second petition, also denied, several years later).
