Gingaskin reservation terminated by law (Northampton County, VA, 1813)

SUMMARYGingaskin reservation terminated by law (Northampton County, VA, 1813) [Connections: Virginia & Eastern Shore, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDThe Library of Virginia says the General Assembly passed a law in 1813 "to eliminate the reservation." The land was divided among official members and deeded to individuals. The article calls this "the first instance of termination or legal allotment of reservation lands and detribalization of its owners in United States history." A commissioners' report (1814) listed the members who got land, and an 1815 settlement paid for the survey. State historical marker WY-9 (Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2000) says: "The Gingaskin Indian Reservation was located nearby from 1640 to 1813," and "The legal termination of the tribe began in 1813, essentially against the Gingaskins' will."

PATTERNTermination by allotment, more than 70 years before the Dawes Act. Once the land was split into private plots, the state no longer had any "Indian" category for these people to be counted under

LENS (WW9)Accomack people, Tito's home ground. The nation was ended on paper in 1813, so its children had to appear in the records under some other name

OPENThe names on the 1814 commissioners' list. This is the key document for tracing Gingaskin surnames into the later "free colored" registers. Pull the scan from LVA Northampton County Land Records, 1785–1815 (Barcode 1168316)

SOURCELibrary of Virginia, "The Gingaskins of Virginia"; HMdb, Gingaskin Indian Reservation marker WY-9. Primary: Acts of the General Assembly 1812–13; Northampton County Land Records 1785–1815, LVA.