Our Mission
The Nomini Hall Slave Legacy Project exists to research, document, and connect the descendants of the 500+ enslaved Africans freed by Robert Carter III’s 1791 Deed of Gift. We believe every person named in that document deserves to be remembered, and every living descendant deserves to know their story.
The Founder
My name is LaTonya Lawson-Jones, and I am a documented descendant of the Nomini Hall enslaved community through the Taylor, Thompson, and Newman families. I have been actively researching this community since 2006. What began as a personal quest to trace my family’s roots has grown into a two-decade research project that has identified dozens of family lines, connected living descendants across the country, and brought scholarly and public attention to one of the most significant (and overlooked) events in American emancipation history.
I maintain a public family tree on Ancestry.com and have presented this research at genealogical conferences, community events, and educational programs. This work sits at the intersection of genealogy, history, faith, and justice.
What We’ve Accomplished
- Identified and documented 70+ surnames from the freed community
- Connected living descendants with their ancestral lines
- Built a member community for descendants and researchers
- Contributed research cited by Encyclopedia Virginia, the Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation, and CNN
- Maintained the most comprehensive public record of the Carter manumission’s human impact
Our Approach
This research is built on documented evidence: court records, county registries, the Deed of Gift itself, census records, church records, land deeds, and DNA analysis. We combine traditional genealogical methods with modern tools to trace family lines forward from 1791 to the present day.
We prioritize the stories of the enslaved and their descendants. This is not primarily a story about Robert Carter III. It is a story about the people he held in bondage, their survival, their family structures, their culture, and the generations that followed them.
What’s Ahead
This project continues to grow. Current priorities include:
- Building individual family profiles for every surname in the Deed of Gift
- Documenting foodways, traditions, and cultural practices of the Nomini Hall community
- Expanding DNA research connections
- Developing educational resources for descendants beginning their research