This volume contains abstracts from Culpeper County, Virginia Deed Book (1785-1786) beginning on page one and ending on page 478 for courts held 14 May 1785 through 18 December 1786. Records generally include the full names of all persons involved in the transaction (grantor, grantee, witnesses, and court officials), sum paid, description and location of property, date of transaction and date recorded. A full-name and place index adds to the value of this work. (), 2022, 81/2x11, paper, index, 122 pp.

It was the day before Independence Day, 1831. As his bride, Lucie, was about to be "sold down the river" to the slave markets of New Orleans, young Thornton Blackburn planned a daring—and successful—daylight escape from Louisville. But they were discovered by slave catchers in Michigan and slated to return to Kentucky in chains, until the black community rallied to their cause. The Blackburn Riot of 1833 was the first racial uprising in Detroit history. The couple was spirited across the river to Canada, but their safety proved illusory. In June 1833, Michigan's governor demanded their extradition. The Blackburn case was the first serious legal dispute between Canada and the United States regarding the Underground Railroad. The impassioned defense of the Blackburns by Canada's lieutenant governor set precedents for all future fugitive-slave cases. The Blackburns settled in Toronto and founded the city's first taxi business. But they never forgot the millions who still suffered in slavery. Working with prominent abolitionists, Thornton and Lucie made their home a haven for runaways. The Blackburns died in the 1890s, and their fascinating tale was lost to history. Lost, that is, until a chance archaeological discovery in a downtown Toronto school yard brought the story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn again to light.

Owing to the total destruction of the county courthouse in 1869, few records of Buckingham County, Virginia survive. From documents in the Virginia State Library and the University of Virginia's Alderman Library, and from materials still in private hands, the compiler of this book has amassed a genealogical record of the county--not continuous and complete, since that would be impossible, but a rich selection of the kind of materials that would have been in the old courthouse. Highlighting the work is a collection of family sketches.