The Virginia Emigrants to Liberia Project is a digital collection at the Virginia Center for Digital History.

“Between 1820 and 1865 more than 3700 African Americans from Virginia emigrated to Liberia. Some went eagerly, others left reluctantly in exchange for their freedom. In 1847, they helped establish the first African republic. Their stories illustrate meanings of race, citizenship, and nationhood in the early American republic that still resonate today.”

The project has two searchable databases:

the Emigrants table, including (when available) “full names, ages, family relationships, place of origin and destination, literacy, occupation, and more”

the Emancipators table, including “year of emancipations, and other information on more than two hundred Virginians who manumitted immigrants to Liberia.”

and a Timeline and Links

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