In the early 1800's in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, an ordinance was passed that required all "free persons of color" to register with the Mayor's Office. These free people were asked to follow this ordinance within 24 hours of their entrance into the city. The ordinance was published in the May 13, 1820 edition of the local Lancaster Intelligencer & Weekly Examiner newspapers. The ordinance contained three specific orders, and they are as follows:

1. As of the 1st day of June, all free persons of color that are living or staying within the city limits of Lancaster, are required to appear before the Mayor of the city within 24 hours of their arrival. For the registry, they must enter their name, place of residence, the names of their families, their trades and or occupations. Also, if they plan to stay or live with another resident of the city, they must register with that person as well, or they would be responsible for paying a fine of 12 1/2 cents. If any person of color refuses to comply with this ordinance, they would be responsible for paying 1 dollar for every 24 hours that they neglect to register.

2. For any person with whom a person of color resides or stays with for more than 24 hours, they are responsible to report this person to the Mayor or one of the City Constables. If they neglected to do this, they would be fined 1 dollar.

3. It is the responsibility of the Constables that if they should find any strange person of color lurking about the city, it is their job to bring this person before the Mayor. This is in respect to vagrants and or disorderly persons.

The Negro Entry Book is a significant piece of history for the city of Lancaster. It is probably the most important source document of local Afro-American history that has been found to date. The city directory pertains to the years between 1820 and 1849, which is unusual due to the fact that no other city directory exists for the years prior to 1843.

Then Negro Entry Book is a register of all of the free persons of color that complied with the above ordinance. In order to understand the reasons behind the issuance of this ordinance, the history and events leading up to this time can provide important insight. The Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 ended slavery in Pennsylvania, although a labor supply continued due to a stipulation that kept all offspring born after March 1, 1780 as indentured servants until their 28th birthday. The federal census of 1790 listed 545 free blacks and 348 slaves living in Lancaster County. Of these numbers, 39 free blacks and 57 slaves resided in Lancaster Borough. 20 years later, the black population had increased by 126% to 217 (210 free and 7 slaves). The rate of increase in the Black population in this area had a negative impact on race relations in Colonial Pennsylvania. Blacks were living under restrictive and discriminatory regulations. They were not only hated but vigorously suppressed and had their civil rights taken away.

The history of blacks in Lancaster County is extensive, and it would be impossible to cover it all here. But, the Negro Entry Book is an excellent source of information into the lives of those free blacks who did reside in Lancaster County. The book in total had 340 entries, 112 (33%) of which were made between May 29 and November, 1820. 116 respondents were identified by age, with the average for the heads of households being 30+ years. The book also listed the places of residences. They were rather equally distributed throughout the borough. This equal distribution did not allow for any type of racial ghetto to exist. There were 30 individuals that were listed as residing with other families or individuals, namely President James Buchanan. They were most likely domestic servants employed in these households. It was rare for a free black to own their own home, and most rented or boarded in homes owned by others.

The book also focuses on the employment of the free blacks. They ranged from skilled to semi-skilled professions throughout the Black community. They were not only employed at the bottom of they ladder, rather a thriving middle class was beginning to emerge. During the 18th and 19th century, many trades were learned from tradesman in on-the-job training or apprenticeships. The Negro Entry Book proves that this method of training was prominent in Lancaster County as well. A community network within the Black population was formed that focused on providing available labor to needed areas.

The book also provides a glimpse into the social aspects of the black community at this time period. It provided an insight into the leaders of the Antebellum period in Lancaster and named prominent figures in the black community.