Our August Obscure Ordinance gives us a glimpse into the living conditions of free people of color in Savannah before the Civil War. City ordinances like this one regulated where people of color could walk, what they could sell, what trades they could engage in, and how they could behave, often criminalizing many aspects of life that were commonplace for white citizens.
In 1834, this ordinance was passed requiring all free persons of color living in the city limits to register annually with the Clerk of Council (a practice that dated back to at least 1817 in Savannah). Free persons were required to record their name, number of family, place of residence, occupation and property owned, as well as the name of a white “guardian” who was responsible for them. Even freemen were not truly free.
At the same time, enslaved people in Savannah who engaged in activities outside of their enslaver’s property were required to wear a badge that indicated that they had permission to be on their own.
Five volumes of the “Registers of Free Persons of Color” are preserved in the Municipal Archives and available to researchers. Though these volumes are clear evidence of the inhumane and unfair treatment of people of color, the stories that are subliminally woven through their entries are also evidence of how they overcame the odds. These volumes paint an invaluable picture of what life was like – what occupations were available and common for free persons, what they were allowed and able to own, where they lived in Savannah – all of which allows descendants and researchers to connect with all too often under-documented and silenced voices from the past.
To read more of the ordinances that governed life in 19th century Savannah, visit: https://www.savannahga.gov/3293/Savannah-City-Code-Books.
City of Savannah Municipal Archives, Archives@savannahga.gov, Discover the Archives: savannahga.gov/MunicipalArchives.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: This Savannah 1800s ordinance put requirements on both enslaved, free Black people
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