York County (Va.) Circuit Court.

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Election Records, 1852, 1859, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County. It was formed in 1634 and given its present name in 1643.

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 bond was pledged, with two or more sufficient securities (or witnesses), but no money was exchanged. The license, issued then by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service. The practice of bonding was discontinued in 1849, although in some communities bonds were pledged into the 1850s. This practice insured against legal action should the marriage not take place, if either party declined to go through with the union, or if one of the parties were found to be ineligible for marriage--if either the bride or groom were already married or was underage and lacked approval to wed. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years.

The marriage bonds and consents of York County (Va.) described in this collection were created by the County Court.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Marriage Bonds and Consents, 1772-1849, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) County Court Records, 1780-1877, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Individuals dying with a written will died testate. After the death of an individual, his or her will was brought into court, where two of the subscribing witnesses swore that the document was genuine. After the will was proved, the executor was bonded to carry out his or her duties to settle the estate. The court then ordered the will to be recorded.

Thomas Nelson Jr. is regarded as on of the U.S. Founding Fathers since he signed the Declaration of Independence as a member of the Virginia delegation. Nelson represented York County in the House of Burgesses from 1761 to 1775. He represented York County in the House of Delegates from 1777-1783 and from 1786 to 1788. He was a general in the Virginia militia and commanded the militia from 1777-1781. He led three thousand Virginia militiamen in General George Washington's Army during the siege at Yorktown. He represented Virginia in the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777 and was its Governor from 1781 June 12-November 22. He resigned as Governor due to ill health. Nelson died in York County (some accounts say Hanover County), on 4 January 1789. He is buried in Grace Church Cemetery in Yorktown. According to his will, he owned land in Hanover, James City, York, Warwick, Loudoun and Prince William counties as well as the City of Williamsburg. He was a slave owner and mentions the following slaves in this will: Aggy, Charles, Melinda, Nancy, Dick and James Rideout. Only one slave, Smith Harry, was given his freedom.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

The 18th century Wills were created by the County Court.

From the guide to the York County (Va.), 1719-1885, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I

The separate office of coroner appeared in Virginia about 1660. The judicial duty of the office is to hold inquisitions in cases when persons meet sudden, violent, unnatural or suspicious death, or death without medical attendance. The coroner would summon a jury to assist him in determining cause of death. Prior to November 1877, the jurors numbered twelve. Between November 1877 and March 1926, the jurors numbered six. The jury viewed the body of the deceased and heard the testimony of witnesses. The coroner was required to write down witness testimony. After seeing and hearing the evidence, the jury delivered in writing to the coroner their conclusion concerning cause of death referred to as the inquisition. After March 1926, only the coroner determined cause of death. He could require physicians to assist him with determing cause of death. If a criminal act was determined to be the cause of death, the coroner was to deliver the guilty person to the sheriff and the coroners' inquests would be used as evidence in the criminal trial.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1776-1868, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

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.

Early 18th century records were created by the County Court

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Tax and Fiscal Records, 1742-1877, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Fiduciary Records, 1745-1884, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

These records were also created by the County Court, the Superior Court of Law and the Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Records, 1722-1908, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Oyster Records, 1893, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

George Mason of Gunston Hall in Fairfax County, Virginia, was born 11 December 1725. He married first Ann Eilback (1734-1773) 4 April 1750, and second Sarah Brent (1728-1794) 11 April 1780. Mason represented Fairfax County in the House of Burgesses from 1758 to 1761; in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Virginia Conventions from 1775-1776; and in the House of Delegates from 1776 to 1781 and 1786 to 1788. In the 5th Virginia Convention, Mason was appointed to the committee which wrote Virginia's first state constitution. Mason authored the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which has appeared in every subsequent state constitution. Mason attended the federal Constitutional Convention in 1787, but did not sign the document because it did not have a bill of rights at the time. This lack of a bill of rights also led to his opposition to the Constitution during the Virginia ratification convention in 1788. When the Bill of Rights was finally added to the federal Consitution, it was based on his Declaration of Rights. George Mason died at Gunston Hall, in Fairfax County, 7 October 1792.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Letter of George Mason to Benjamin Waller, 1789 August 12, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

The Board of Supervisors is the basic governing body of the county. County laws--called ordinances--may also be passed by this board. This form of government came into existence with the state constitution of 1869 when the counties were divided into a minimum of three townships each, with a popularly elected supervisor from each township. When the township system was abolished in 1875, the counties were divided into magisterial districts. The Board of Supervisors are the current elected representatives of these districts and meet in regular monthly public sessions.

The Virginia Constitution of 1869 provided for the election of a superintendent of the poor, and he shared with the overseers responsibility for the almshouses, beggars, vagrants, and other welfare concerns.

The state literary fund was established in 1811, and was assigned the next year to the education of the poor. After 1818, the county court appointed school commissioners to direct the education of indigent children; these commissioners were the active ancestors of the county school board. The Virginia Constitution of 1869 created a uniform system of compulsory free schools, and the new system was administrated by a county superintendent and by school trustees whose general duties were adminstration of school matters and construction and maintenance of school buildings.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) County Administrative Records, 1880-1997 (bulk 1912-1997), (The Library of Virginia)

York County was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. The county originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Charles I, and later King James II.

During the 1869-1870 session, the General Assembly passed an "Act to Secure Identification of Persons Convicted of Criminal Offences." On 2 November 1870, the act was approved. The act specified that "every clerk of the court of each county and corporation shall keep a register of full and accurate descriptive lists of person convicted in his own or any other court of record of his county or corporation, of felony or other infamous offence, and a duly certified and attested copy of any such descriptive list may be used as prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated in any question of identity. Such registers shall be kept written up, well indexed, and shall be open to public inspection at reasonable hours. The register shall follow a set form and each descriptive list shall be attested by said clerk."

In addition, "the clerk of every court of record of each county or corporation, other than the county or corporation court, shall within ten days from the date of conviction of any person in his court of any offence mentioned in the first section of this act, deliver to the clerk of the county or corporation court, for record in said register, an attested descriptive list of the person so convicted, in the form hereinbefore prescribed." The judges of the respective courts are responsible for seeing that the provisions of the act are "punctually and properly carried out" by their respective clerks. The act was amended on 18 January 1871 and outlined the following: "For the services mentioned in this or the first section of this act, the clerk shall be entitled to a fee of fifty cents, to be paid out of the state treasury." By and large, the county and circuit court clerks went about compiling these registers throughout the counties of Virginia as late as the 1960s.

Order books and/or Minute books record all matters brought before the court when it was in session and may contain important information not found anywhere else. A wide variety of information is found in order/minute books--including individuals convicted of felonies.

This original register was created by the County, Circuit and Magistrate's Courts. A Magistrate's Court is defined as a court with jurisdiction over minor criminal offenses; such a court also has the power to bind over for trial persons accused of more serious offenses.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Convict Register, 1889-1951, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for King Charles I, and was one of the eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. A record of 7 January 1634 employs the name York County, and a statute of 1643 officially changed the name to York County, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of King Chares I, and later King James II.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Most pre-Revolutionary War-era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Judgments, 1769-1870 circa, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

The Nelson House was constructed around 1730 in Yorktown by the grandfather of Thomas Nelson, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Virginia from June through October of 1781. It remained in the Nelson family until 1908 when it was bought by Captain and Mrs. George P. Blow. The National Park Service acquired the house in 1968 and exhibits it as part of the Colonial National Historical Park. The house is one of the finest examples of early Georgian architecture still standing in Virginia. A cannonball from a bombardment during the seige of Yorktown in 1781 is still lodged in its brick walls.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Chancery Cause, Kate Nelson vs. Martha Bryan, 1885, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was established in 1643.

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 city clerk.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1831-1850, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Deeds, 1761-1876 (bulk 1820-1849), (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

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. They also bound out children whose parents could not support them or who failed to educate or instruct them, as well as orphans to become apprentices. The boys learned a trade and the girls learned domestic skills.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Minute Book, 1857-1870, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

The Nelson House was constructed around 1730 in Yorktown by the grandfather of Thomas Nelson, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Virginia from June through October of 1781. It remained in the Nelson family until 1908 when it was bought by Captain and Mrs. George P. Blow. The National Park Service acquired the house in 1968 and exhibits it as part of the Colonial National Historical Park. The house is one of the finest examples of early Georgian architecture still standing in Virginia. A cannonball from a bombardment during the seige of Yorktown in 1781 is still lodged in its brick walls.

The Mutual Assurance Society against Fire on Buildings, of the State of Virginia, was incorporated by the General Assembly on 22 December 1794. Insurance offered by the society was against all losses and damages occasioned accidentally by fire. Rates of hazard were determined by the material composition of the buildings, by the users to which the buildings were put, and by what may be kept in them. Revaluations of insured property were required every seven years or whenever additions were made to a policy. The articles of incorporation were amended in 1982 to change the name from The Mutual Assurance Society Against Fire on Buildings of the State of Virginia, to its present name, Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia. In 1991 the offices in downtown Richmond were sold and the company relocated to the west end of Richmond. After 210 years the company continues to prosper in Virginia, remaining the oldest incorporated business in Virginia.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Chancery Cause Mutual Assurance Society Against Fire on Buildings of the State of Virginia vs. Kate Nelson, etc., 1887, (The Library of Virginia)

York County originally was named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

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.

An act passed in 1806 required freed slaves to leave the state within a year.

Free Negro Lists were compiled by the commissioner of the revenue for tax purposes.

An act passed by the Virginia legislature in 1806 prohibited free Negroes from carrying a firelock of any kind without a license.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1806-1861, (The Library of Virginia)

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

From the guide to the York County (Va.) Criminal Causes, 1778-1859, (The Library of Virginia)