Augusta County (Va.) Circuit Court

This unidentified merchant operated in the Augusta County, Virginia, area during the nineteenth century and sold a variety of goods including books, clothing, and tools.

The Augusta Perpetual Building and Loan Company financed loans for land purchases and building constructions in Augusta County, Va. The company was formed on 7 February 1885 at a meeting conducted at the city clerks office in Staunton, Va., by a group of citizens wishing to organize a building and loan association. Early officers of the company included M. Erskine Miller, president; John W. Stout, vice president; and Newton Argenbright, secretary. Later presidents included A. C. Gordon and J. N. McFarland. The company suspended operations and began a long process of voluntary liquidation in December of 1898.

Augusta County was formed from Orange County in 1738.

In seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Virginia, the term "tithable" referred to a person who paid (or for whom someone else paid) one of the taxes imposed by the General Assembly for the support of civil government in the colony. In colonial Virginia, a poll tax or capitation tax was assessed on free white males, African American slaves, and Native American servants (both male and female), all age sixteen or older. Owners and masters paid the taxes levied on their slaves and servants. For a more detailed history of tithables, consult "Colonial tithables" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

The Staunton Academy, located in Staunton, Va. and one of the first private boy's schools in the Shenandoah Valley, was incorporated by an act of the Virginia Legislature on 4 December 1792; however, the school's building was not completed until after 1810. The school was founded from funds raised through the sale of general subscriptions in the county and by funds donated by the state from proceeds raised through the sale of glebe lands. Charles O'Neal was the elected as the first principle of the academy, and William Sterret, James Clarke, and John McCausland were among the first to teach at the academy.

Templeton and Company was a general store that operated in Summerdean, Virginia, from 1856 to 1858. John Wilson, Samuel M. Templeton, and John W. McCormack formed the partnership for the mercantile business in 1856, but by April 1858 the company had dissolved and disposed of its stock of goods at auction.

The volumes were exhibits in the chancery case, John Wilson versus Samuel M. Templeton, heard in the Circuit Court of Augusta County.

Chancery Causes are cases of equity. According to Black's Law Dictionary they are "administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law." A judge, not a jury, determines the outcome of the case.

Augusta County was named in honor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, wife of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III. It was formed from Orange County in 1738, but county government was not established there until 1745.

Chartered in 1889, the Mutual Annuity Company operated in Augusta County, Va., during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1892, the company consolidated with Inter-states Life Association to form a single joint stock company.

John Wayt, a son of William Wayt born about 1799, moved to Augusta County, Va., in 1811 where he became a prominent merchant and banker. Wayt was married first to Margaret A. Bell and then to Sarah A. Bell. Wayt died in 1877 leaving behind three children -- Dr. Newton Wayt, J. Howard Wayt, and Mattie Wayt Bledsoe.

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County. The county government was established in 1745.

Houff & Holler, conducted a general mercantile business in Roman, Augusta County, Virginia. The managing partners of the business were J. W. Houff and Michael Holler. The business operated for only a few years until their entire stock was consumed by fire on 6 November 1908.

Augusta County was formed in 1738 (government established 1745) from Orange County.

The Virginia Banking and Trust Company was originally incorporated as the Virginia Insurance Company by an act of the General Assembly of Virginia passed 13 December 1865. Operating out of its headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, the company insured buildings, furniture, and other property against loss or damage by fire. The company also provided life insurance.

Another act of the General Assembly of Virginia, passed 13 January 1871, changed the name of the company to the Virginia Banking and Trust Company. The company operated under this name until it was dissolved and sold its properties in October of 1875.

Mount Ery Furnace was founded by Solomon Matthews and was located in either Rockingham County or Loudoun County, Virginia. By 1793, the furnace was operated by Benjamin Fawcett and Joseph Fawcett. The furnace did business in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Augusta County was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 9 December 1745. The county was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, who married Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and was the mother of King George III.

"Presiding over the county court was a bench of Justices of the Peace appointed by the governor of the colony. The sheriff, who was also a justice, was presiding officer and chief administrator. The clerk of the court kept minutes of the proceedings in court order books. The county court tried all civil cases above the precinct level, and all criminal cases except felonies and those carrying the death penalty for white persons." In effect, the county court directed all aspects of county affairs both from a judicial and adminstrative standpoint. The entire history of this court is noted in this historic volume.

Local taxes were assessed in pounds of tobacco on the head tax basis, called tithes or tithable. The term "tithable" referred to a person who paid (or for whom someone else paid) on of the taxes imposed by the General Assembly for the support of civil government in the colony. In colonial Virginia, a poll tax or capitation tax was assessed on free white males, African American slaves, and Native American servants (both male and female), all age sixteen or older.

Apprentice indentures are bonds and contracts showing the names of the master and apprentice, the trade to be taught, details of the contract, amount of the bond and names of the sureties.

The original records, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.

This unidentified grocer operated in the Augusta County, Virginia, area during the nineteenth century.

Henry Holloway was a plantation owner in Amherst County, Virginia. He died on 12 June 1810.

Augusta County was formed from Orange County in 1738.

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County. The government was established in 1745.

Augusta County was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 9 December 1745. The county was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, who married Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and was the mother of King George III.

Prior to 1853, when the Commonwealth began recording vital statistics, Virginia marriages were recorded at the county or city level. Beginning in 1661, in order to be married by license, the groom was required to go before the county clerk and give bond with security that there was no lawful reason to prevent the marriage. The license, issued by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years. Marriage by publication of banns was a public notice of an intended marriage that had to be published, verbally or by written notice, for three consective meetings at the churches of the bride and groom. This notice allowed the community to object to the union. Prior to 1848, banns were a legal substitute for a marriage license.

The original marriage records, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.

The Mercer Salt Works, one of the major suppliers of salt to West Virginia, was located at the junction of New River and Lick Creek in Mercer County, West Virginia, which is now in Summers County, West Virginia. The salt works employed white laborers and hired slaves to work the furnace. Several slaves were hired from Augusta County, Va. residents, including slaves hired of Thomas J. Michie and Alexander Turk. The salt works was destroyed on 10 August 1862 by the 23rd Ohio Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, who was stationed at Camp Green Meadows near the Bluestone River.

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County. The county government was established in 1745.

Alanson Harris, born in 1812, owned a blacksmith business in Augusta County (Va.). Harris often performed carpentry work with the assistance of carpenter E. B. Simpson. Simpson, born in 1832, lived in Augusta County (Va.) until he relocated to Colorado in the 1870s.

The Virginia Express Company, incorporated by an act of the General Assembly on 23 February 1867, was a freight and cargo transport company operating out of Staunton, Virginia. The company used both stage lines and railroads to ship its freight. During the establishment of the company, Michael G. Harman served as president and William Watts was a clerk for the company. In December 1868, the Virginia Express Company relinquished control of its shipping lines. The stage line business was taken over by Trotter & Company and Harman & Company, while the railroad interests were taken over by the Adams Express and Southern Express Companies.

Augusta County was named in honor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, wife of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III. It was formed from Orange County in 1738, but, because the region was sparsely inhabited, county government was not actually established there until 1745.

John Armstrong, Sr. was a farmer in Augusta County, Virginia. He had a son, John Armstrong, Jr., who owned a neighboring farm. He died in 1842.

Augusta County was formed from Orange County in 1738.

This lending library operated in Augusta County, Virginia, during the mid-nineteenth century. Using the list of borrowers as evidence, it is probable that the library was some type of subscription library. All listed users of the library were men, and many were considered prominent, influential citizens of Augusta County -- James Crawford, William Donaghe, William T. Eskridge, Nicholas C. Kinney, Archibald Stuart, and Hugh Sheffey.

Chancery Causes are cases of equity. According to Black's Law Dictionary they are "administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law." A judge, not a jury, determines the outcome of the case.

Augusta County was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, who married Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and was the mother of King George III. It was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 9 December 1745. The county courthouse is in Staunton, and the county administrative offices are in Verona.

Augusta County was the site of a Superior Court of Chancery that held court in Staunton from 1802 to 1832. The Superior Courts of Chancery were created by an act of the General Assembly passed on 23 January 1802. In order to expedite the hearing of chancery suits, the High Court of Chancery was abolished and the state was divided into three chancery districts with a Superior Court of Chancery for each district. For this reason these courts were sometimes called "District Courts of Chancery." Suits heard in these courts were typically cases appealed from the local courts. A transcript of the suit from the local court was commonly filed with the appeal. Litigants could by-pass the local courts and file their suits in the chancery district court directly. Of the three original Superior Courts of Chancery - Staunton, Richmond (City), and Williamsburg - only the records of the Staunton district remain.

From 1802 to 1812, the Staunton district consisted of localities found in the western half of the Commonwealth including the ones in present day West Virginia: Augusta, Bath, Berkeley, Botetourt, Brooke, Frederick, Grayson, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lee, Monongalia, Monroe, Montgomery, Ohio, Pendleton, Randolph, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Russell, Shenandoah, Tazewell, Washington, Wood, and Wythe counties.

In 1812, the General Assembly created additional Superior Courts of Chancery which reduced the number of localities in the Staunton district to the following: Albemarle, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Botetourt, Cabell, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Mason, Monroe, Nelson, Pendleton, Rockbridge, and Rockingham counties.

Breeze Johnson, born in Virginia around 1811, was a lawyer in Staunton, Virginia.

A dealer in dry-goods, groceries, and hardware, this general store operated in the Augusta County, Virginia, area during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Timothy M. Patterson operated the general store for the years 1798 to 1801; however, it is uncertain if Patterson controlled the general store for the entirety of its existence.

A dealer in dry-goods, groceries, and hardware, this unidentified general store operated in Staunton, Virginia, during the mid-nineteenth century.

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County. The county government was established in 1745.

Mandelbaum Clothier, located in Staunton, Virginia, specialized in men's clothing. The clothier was also a dealer in trunks and valises. Seymore Mandelbaum, an Augusta County resident born in Virginia about 1848, was the owner and operator of the business.

Augusta County was named in honor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, wife of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III. It was formed from Orange County in 1738, but county government was not established there until 1745.

The City of Staunton, in Augusta County, was named, according to tradition, for Rebecca Staunton, wife of Sir William Gooch, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. Staunton was laid out in 1748 at the site of the Augusta County courthouse and was established as a town in 1761. It was incorporated as a town in 1801 and as a city in 1871.

In 1780, the Virginia General Assembly replaced the Anglican vestries and churchwardens of the colonial period with elected bodies called Overseers of the Poor. The overseers provided food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment for the persons who were too poor to support themselves or too ill to provide for their basic needs. The overseers took over the supervision of the poorhouses and workhouses built by the vestries and built new poorhouses and workhouses where they were needed. In 1844, the General Assembly enacted laws to create poor farms overseen by boards of directors for the maintenance and education of the poor. The boards bought farms and built buildings, appointed a superintendant for each poor farm, and chose a physician to attend the sick and teachers to educate the children. The adults and older children were required to work if they were able.

Henry I. Tapp was a lawyer in Staunton, Virginia, in the early nineteenth century until his death in 1830. Tapp was also involved in the building of the Staunton turnpike.

Tannehill & Wheat Nursery was located in Augusta County, Virginia, and was in operation during the late nineteenth century. The business was located on land that was once part of the nursery owned by the Franklin Davis Company. Joseph F. Tannehill, born in Virginia about 1830, was one of the partners of Tannehill and Wheat.

Augusta County was formed from Orange in 1738 and its first government established in 1745.

The Virginia legislature passed an act on 27 February 1866 to legalize the marriages of former slaves who had been cohabiting as of that date. See Virginia Acts of Assembly, 1866-1867, Chapter 18, An act to amend and re-enact the 14th section of chapter 108 of the Code of Virginia for 1860, in regard to registers of marriage; and to legalize the marriages of colored persons now cohabiting as husband and wife.

The federal Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands directed the Assistant Superintendents of the states to order the county clerks to make a registry of such cohabiting couples. See Circular No. 11, dated 19 March 1866, in Orders, Circulars, Circular Letters, and Letters of Instruction, vol. 2 (1866). Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, 1865-1869. Miscellaneous reel 3880, Library of Virginia. National Archives microfilm M1048 (reel 41), Record Group 105.

William Weaver (1780-1863), born in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, was a prominent and successful ironmaster in Virginia and one of the largest slaveholders in Rockbridge County. During his career, Weaver was involved in a variety of enterprises including merchandising, milling, marble quarrying, and small-scale textile manufacturing, but in July 1814, Weaver made a chance investment in the Virginia iron industry along with his new partner Thomas Mayburry, a Philadelphia merchant whose father and grandfather had been involved in the iron industry in Pennsylvania. Weaver and Mayburry purchased, from William Wilson, Union Forge, located in Rockbridge County, and two blast furnaces, Etna and Retreat, in neighboring Botetourt County along with 6,000 acres of iron ore and woodlands.

The Retreat and Etna furnace properties were in decline when Weaver and Mayburry made their purchase - Etna Furnace was in serious disrepair while Retreat Furnace possessed inadequate water power. Weaver attempted to put Retreat into blast in 1815, but due to the lack of water, Weaver realized that the furnace at Etna had to be rebuilt. Etna Furnace, originally built in 1792, was situated along Purgatory Creek near Buchanan, Virginia. Weaver succeeded in putting Etna into blast in 1815, thus, insuring that Union Forge would have a steady supply of pig iron.

Union Forge, renamed as Buffalo Forge, was located on Buffalo Creek in Rockbridge County and would become William Weaver's permanent residence when he relocated to Virginia in 1823. Buffalo Forge was a large complex that had in addition to the forge two water powered mills; a store to sell tobacco, sugar, cloth, and clothing to workers; a shoe and harness shop; carpenter shop; sawmill; and blacksmith. In addition, fields on the furnace properties were used to grow crops of wheat, corn, oats, rye, hay, and clover.

Initially, William Weaver staffed his furnaces with a mixture of white laborers and hired slaves, but in October 1815, Weaver purchased eleven slaves from John Wilson, son of William Wilson from whom he had purchased the furnace properties. Included among these slaves was a valuable ironworker named Tooler, and it would be this group of slaves that would form the basis of Weaver's large crew of skilled ironworkers. Weaver had the bill of sale for these slaves made out to himself instead of the partnership of Weaver and Mayburry. When the partnership began to dissolve in 1825, Weaver would insist that Mayburry relinquish any claim to the slaves.

Despite the dissolution of the partnership in 1825, Thomas Mayburry would stay on to operate Etna Furnace. The dissolution of the partnership would ultimately lead to a lengthy chancery suit, primarily pertaining to the ownership rights of the "Wilson negroes," that would not be settled until an out-of-court agreement was reached in 1836. A preliminary agreement was reached between the former partners in 1827 when Mayburry agreed to sell Weaver his half of the Union Forge property. After this purchase, Weaver would rename the property Buffalo Forge. Weaver would continue to add to his iron holdings in Virginia, when in 1825, Weaver purchased Lydia Furnace in Rockbridge County. Weaver would later rename this property the Bath Iron Works. Weaver would continue to operate his iron interests until his death on 25 March 1863. Upon his death, Weaver left the Bath Iron Works property to Daniel Brady. The remainder of his property, including Buffalo Forge and his slaves, went to his niece Emma Brady, Daniel Brady's wife.

Today, several buildings still stand at the site of Buffalo Forge, including Weaver's residence, slave quarters, and several support buildings. The property remains in the hands of the Brady heirs. Some ruins of Etna Furnace exist today on private land, but the remains of Retreat Furnace were destroyed in the 1970s by a treasure hunter searching for the Beale treasure.

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County. The county government was established in 1745.

Augusta County was formed from Orange County in 1738.

Based out of Hartford, Connecticut, the Aetna Insurance Company sold its first life insurance policy in 1850. In 1853, the company was incorporated as the Aetna Life Insurance Company with former Connecticut judge Eliphalet A. Bulkeley as its first president. In 1861, the company began offering participating life insurance policies, and at the end of the Civil War, Aetna was one of the nation's biggest life insurance providers. Today, Aetna is a diversified health care benefits company providing a range of health care insurance products and related services including dental, pharmacy, group life, and disability insurance.

Aetna Insurance Company established an insurance agency in Staunton, Virginia, in the mid-nineteenth century. Alexander F. Kinney served as an agent for the company. Kinney, a Virginia resident born about 1836, was also a bank teller and a circuit court clerk for Augusta County.

The Elizabeth Iron Company was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly on 27 May 1874. The company's principle office was located on property that was once part of the Elizabeth Furnace in Augusta County. Elizabeth Furnace was built in 1836 at the entrance to Fort Valley and was originally called Fort Furnace. In 1862, the furnace was leased by Tredegar Iron Works in order to supply pig iron for the Confederate war effort. After 1869 the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad ran along the furnace property. In 1874, the Elizabeth Iron Company took control over a portion of the property from Henry Forrer and the heirs of Daniel Forrer. Early officers of the company included Michael G. Harman, president; A. B. Quick, treasurer; J. Fred Effinger, secretary; and Hugh W. Sheffey, chairman of the board. The company was plagued with financial troubles throughout its short history and was forced to sell off its property in 1876.

Augusta County was formed from Orange in 1738 and its first government established in 1745.

The Virginia legislature passed an act on 27 February 1866 to legalize the marriages of former slaves who had been cohabiting as of that date and provide for the legitimization of their children. See Virginia Acts of Assembly, 1866-1867, Chapter 18, An act to amend and re-enact the 14th section of chapter 108 of the Code of Virginia for 1860, in regard to registers of marriage; and to legalize the marriages of colored persons now cohabiting as husband and wife.

The federal Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands directed the Assistant Superintendents of the states to order the county clerks to make a registry of such cohabiting couples and their children. See Circular No. 11, dated 19 March 1866, in Orders, Circulars, Circular Letters, and Letters of Instruction, vol. 2 (1866). Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, 1865-1869. Miscellaneous reel 3880, Library of Virginia. National Archives microfilm M1048 (reel 41), Record Group 105.

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County. The county government was established in 1745.

Augusta County was named in honor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, wife of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III. It was formed from Orange County in 1738, but, because the region was sparsely inhabited, county government was not actually established there until 1745.

The records were replevined by the Library of Virginia following the trial entitled Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Larry I. Vass heard in Henrico County Circuit Court in November 1972.

Augusta County was formed from Orange County in 1738.

An act passed by the Virginia legislature in 1803 required every free negro or mulatto to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk.

John W. Frazier, born about 1810, was a farm and hotelkeeper in Bath County and Rockbridge County, Virginia. Frazier owned and operated two mineral springs resorts -- Bath Alum Spring and Rockbridge Alum Spring. Frazier purchased the Rockbridge Alum Spring property, a noted antebellum spa complex, in 1852. Frazier began building on the property in 1852 but died in 1853 before the building project was completed. Frazier's brother William Frazier oversaw the completion of the project, and the final results consisted of a large central hotel building flanked with cottages and supporting service buildings. The resort included a barroom and a building used as a store and post office. The hotel property was converted into a hospital in 1861. After the Civil War, an attempt to revive the spa resort failed and the property was ultimately sold at auction in 1880. Today what remains of the old spa property is owned by the Young Life organization.

Nicholas C. Kinney (1785-1859), a veteran of the War of 1812, was a lawyer in Staunton, Virginia. In 1828, Kinney was appointed as clerk of court for Augusta County. Kinney was also the owner of an 850 acre farm located in Augusta County.