Dinwiddie County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Dinwiddie County was formed in 1752 from Prince George County.

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.

The bulk of court records prior to 1865 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse during the last months of the Civil War. Post-1830 volumes such as deed books, will books, chancery order books, and marriage registers exist.

From the guide to the Dinwiddie County (Va.) Register of Free Negroes, 1850-1864, (The Library of Virginia)

Dinwiddie County was named for Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758, and was formed from Prince George County in 1752. The county seat is Dinwiddie.

The bulk of court records prior to 1865 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse during the last months of the Civil War. Post-1830 volumes such as deed books, will books, chancery order books, and marriage registers exist.

From the guide to the Dinwiddie County (Va.) Plats, 1860-1904, (The Library of Virginia)

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.

Dinwiddie County was named for Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. The county was formed from Prince George County in 1752.

The bulk of court records prior to 1865 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse during the last months of the Civil War. Post-1830 volumes such as deed books, will books, chancery order books, and marriage registers exist.

From the guide to the Dinwiddie County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1844-1932, (The Library of Virginia)

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.

Dinwiddie County was named for Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. The county was formed from Prince George County in 1752.

From the guide to the Dinwiddie County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1932-1954, (The Library of Virginia)

Dinwiddie County was named for Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. The county was formed from Prince George County in 1752.

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.

The bulk of court records prior to 1865 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse during the last months of the Civil War. Post-1830 volumes such as deed books, will books, chancery order books, and marriage registers exist.

From the guide to the Dinwiddie County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1872-1909, (The Library of Virginia)

Dinwiddie County was named for Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. The county was formed from Prince George County in 1752.

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.

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.

The bulk of court records prior to 1865 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse during the last months of the Civil War. Post-1830 volumes such as deed books, will books, chancery order books, and marriage registers exist.

From the guide to the Dinwiddie County (Va.) Records of Meetings of Overseers of the Poor, 1850-1870, (The Library of Virginia)

Dinwiddie County was named for Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. The county was formed from Prince George County in 1752.

The bulk of court records prior to 1865 were stolen, mutilated, and/or destroyed by Union troops who ransacked the courthouse during the last months of the Civil War. Post-1830 volumes such as deed books, will books, chancery order books, and marriage registers exist.

Free negroes who were delinquent on their taxes were subject to being indentured by the county court to earn the money to pay the levy.

From the guide to the Dinwiddie County (Va.) Lists of Free Negroes, 1859-1860, (The Library of Virginia)