Norfolk (Va.) Circuit Court.

The City of Norfolk was established in 1680. It was incorporated as a borough in 1736 and a city in 1845. The town of Berkeley was annexed by the city in 1906.

From the guide to the Norfolk (Va.) Hustings Court Minutes, 1812, (The Library of Virginia)

Norfolk was located in Norfolk County, which is now extinct. The city took the name from the former home of an early settler, Adam Thoroughgood, who was a native of the county of Norfolk in England. Norfolk was established in 1680 by an act of assembly. It was incorporated as a town in 1736 and as a city in 1845.

Laws requiring the recording of births and deaths in Virginia were enacted as early as 1632, when a law directed ministers or churchwardens in each parish to present a "register of all burialls, christenings, and marriages" yearly at the June meeting of the court. A similar act passed in 1659 stated that "enquiries are often made for persons imported into the collonie, of whose death no positive certificate can be granted for want of registers." Few records survive from these early decades.

In 1713, the General Assembly noted that earlier acts had "for a long time been disused" and once again directed the recording of births and deaths by the minister or clerk of each parish. A return made the same year noted that the list of births and deaths was not complete since many parishes failed to make returns "for tis a thing so new to the people that neither they care to Register their Births and Burials, nor are the Parish Clerks yet brought into a regular method of transmitting them."

The recording of vital statistics continued to be an ecclesiastical function throughout the colonial period. With the disestablishment of the Anglican church after the American Revolution and the rise of other religious denominations, the record-keeping process for vital statistics fell more and more to the individual family. By the mid-nineteenth century, however, medical science began to recognize the advantages of accurate birth and mortality information in controlling and treating communicable diseases. Pressure from local and national health organizations and medical professionals resulted in the passage of vital statistics registration laws. Virginia was one of the earliest states to pass such a law.

A law requiring the systematic statewide recording of births and deaths was passed by the General Assembly on April 11 1853. Every commissioner of revenue registered births and deaths in his district annually, at the same time personal property subject to taxation was ascertained. The commissioner recorded births and deaths that had occurred prior to 31 December of the preceding year and returned the record to the clerk of court by 1 June. Information was obtained from heads of family, physicians, surgeons, or coroners. The law imposed penalties for failing to furnish or collect the information.

The clerk of court in each locality entered the information supplied by the commissioner into registers and prepared an accompanying alphabetical index. A copy of each register was forwarded to the Auditor of Public Accounts. The law went into effect on 1 July 1853, and continued until 1896, when an economy-conscious legislature repealed the recording provisions.

There was no statewide recording of births and deaths between 1896 and 1912. Several metropolitan areas including Norfolk continued to keep records of births and deaths for all or part of the period between 1896 and 1912.

From the guide to the Norfolk (Va.) Death Records, 1901-1969, (The Library of Virginia)

James A. Kerr was lawyer practicing in Norfolk, Va., during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

From the guide to the James A. Kerr Letter Books, 1889-1907, (The Library of Virginia)

Norfolk was located in Norfolk County, which is now extinct. The city took the name from the former home of an early settler, Adam Thoroughgood, who was a native of the county of Norfolk in England. Norfolk was established in 1680 by an act of assembly. It was incorporated as a town in 1736 and as a city in 1845. Norfolk was enlarged in 1906 by annexation of the town of Berkeley.

The 1902 voter registration books were created following the passage of the 1902 Virginia state constitution. The purpose of the 1902 state constitution was to maintain white suffrage while eliminating African-American voters by means of literacy tests as well as property and poll tax requirements.

From the guide to the Norfolk (Va.) Permanent Registration Roll, 1902-1903, (The Library of Virginia)

Norfolk was located in Norfolk County, which is now extinct. The city took its name from the former home of an early settler, Adam Thoroughgood, who was a native of the county of Norfolk in England. Norfolk was established in 1680 by an act of assembly. It was incorporated as a borough in 1736 and as a city in 1845. Norfolk was enlarged in 1906 by the annexation of the town of Berkeley.

This record was 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.

From the guide to the Norfolk (Va.) Court Record, 1824 Sept. 18, (The Library of Virginia)