Welcome to A Common Grace, where you can find information about the people and families who were enslaved in Culpeper, Rappahannock and Madison counties, Virginia, prior to the end of the Civil War in 1865. The initial information posted here documents people who were enslaved by John Kilby of Culpeper County, Virginia (1715 – 1772), and by his lineal descendants who were enslavers, and people who are descendants of those enslaved people. Research is ongoing, so the information posted here may not be complete.
This genealogical documentation is made available and can be used to provide proof of lineal descent from an enslaved ancestor for use in applications to the POISE Foundation for a scholarship from the Kilby Family Endowed Scholarship Fund. If you can prove that you are related to one of the enslaved persons or their descendants named on a “recognized family tree” as documented on the Genealogy page of this website, you will have proved lineal descent as required for eligibility for a scholarship from this fund. If you are related to another family having an enslaved ancestor in Culpeper, Rappahannock or Madison counties that is not documented on the Genealogy page, you will need to provide proof of descendancy from that enslaved person in order to be eligible for a scholarship. Standards for genealogical proof of lineal descent from an enslaved person are found on this website’s Genealogy page.
The establishment of the Kilby Family Endowed Scholarship Fund was inspired by Coming to the Table, an organization of descendants of enslaved persons and their enslavers created to work on racial reconciliation.