Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court

Prince Edward County was named in honor of Edward Augustus, a son of Prince Frederick Louis, a grandson of George II, and a younger brother of George III. The county was formed from Amelia County in 1753.

In 1782 the Virginia legislature passed an act to ascertain the number of people in the Commonwealth. The court of each county was directed to divide the county into precincts and list the number of people both white and black in each precinct. The lists were delivered to the county clerk, who was to make a fair copy and deliver it to the governor in council before the tenth of December. Henings Statutes at Large, 11:40-41. For more information, see the 1790 Virginia census research note, available on the Library of Virginia web site.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Lists of Inhabitants, 1782, (The Library of Virginia)

Prince Edward County was formed from Amelia County in 1753. The county court first met on 8 January 1754. The county was named in honor of Edward Augustus, a son of Prince Frederick Louis, a grandson of King George II, and a younger brother 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 then by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service. Once the marriage service was performed, the minister submitted a return to the county clerk. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years.

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

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1850-1859, (The Library of Virginia)

The claims were made in response to an act passed by the General Assembly in May 1782 (chap. 10) to ascertain the losses and injuries sustained from the depradations of the enemy within the commonwealth. The act required counties to hold special courts or to appoint members of the court to collect information and proof of the various losses and injuries sustained during the Revolutionary War. The proceedings or reports and the supporting documentation were to be submitted to the governor and council, to be laid before the next general assembly.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) citizens' claims of property lost to British army, 1781, (The Library of Virginia)

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

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Marriage Licenses, 1861-1870, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Law Papers, 1856-1922, (The Library of Virginia)

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 continued to keep records of births and deaths for all or part of the period between 1896 and 1912. Systematic statewide registration began again in June 1912.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Birth and Death Records, 1912-1917, (The Library of Virginia)

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 Prince Edward County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1759-1946, (The Library of Virginia)

An act passed in 1782 by the Virginia legislature made it lawful to emancipate slaves, and also stipulated that liberated slaves neglecting to pay tax levies might be hired out by the sheriff long enough to raise the taxes.

An act passed in 1793 by the Virginia legislature required every free Negro or Mulatto to be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the county clerk. Emancipated slaves may have been registered with the court at an earlier date in some localities. Registrations were to be renewed annually at a cost of 25 cents.

An act passed in 1801 by the Virginia legislature required commissioners of the revenue annually to return a complete list of all free African Americans within their districts, with their names, sex, place of abode, and trades, and a copy of the list to be fixed at the courthouse door.

An act passed in 1806 by the Virginia legislature required free African Americans to obtain a license for carrying a firearm.

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

In September 1831, the Prince Edward County Court ordered the constables of the county's two districts to collect any arms found with any free person of color, in response to fears aroused by Nat Turner's slave revolt in August 1831.

The General Assembly passed a law as early as July 1, 1861, calling for the enrollment of free negroes to work in the public service. From 1862 to 1863, at the request of the president of the Confederate States, the General Assembly passed three more laws that requisitioned slaves to work on fortifications and other works of the public defense. Each county and city were alloted a certain number of slaves that had to be provided to the government under the requisition.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1783-1865 (bulk 1801-1864), (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Court Records, 1755-1940, (The Library of Virginia)

Prince Edward County was formed in 1753 from Amelia County.

The deed books of Prince Edward County in this collection were created by the County Court.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Deed Books, 1778-1783, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Deeds, 1759-1989 (bulk 1872-1943), (The Library of Virginia)

Buckingham County was named for either the English county or for the duke of Buckingham. Some sources say that the county's namesake is Archibald Cary's tract of land called Buckingham, on what was then Willis's Creek. It was formed from Albemarle County in 1761.

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 the Library of Virginia's website for Colonial Tithables

Original tithable list was used as a wrapper for a suit heard in Prince Edward County District Court.

Records were destroyed by fire in 1869.

From the guide to the Buckingham County (Va.) Tithable List A-G, 1764., (The Library of Virginia)

Prince Edward County was named in honor of Edward Augustus, a son of Prince Frederick Louis, a grandson of King George II, and a younger brother of King George III. The county was formed from Amelia County in 1753. The county court first met on 8 January 1754.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Military and Pension Records, 1902-1916, (The Library of Virginia)

John Randolph of Roanoke was born 2 June 1773 in Prince George County, Virginia and settled in Charlotte County, Virginia. After the death of his brother Richard in 1795, John Randolph inherited the plantation Bizarre, across the river from Farmville. A member of the prominent Randolph family, he was a cousin of Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall. Randolph served in the United States House of Representatives from 1799 to 1813, 1815 to 1817, 1819 to 1825, 1827 to 1829, and 1833, and in the United States Senate from 1825 to 1827. Randolph was an adherent of states' rights and the strict construction of the federal Constitution. He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 24 May 1833, freeing his slaves in his will. Randolph was buried at his home in Charlotte County, and later reinterred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Draft Preamble and Resolutions on the Death of John Randolph, 1833, (The Library of Virginia)

On 1832 June 7, Congress enacted pension legislation extending benefits more universally than under any previous legislation. This act provided for full pay for life for all officers and enlisted men who served at least 2 years in the Continental Line, the state troops or militia, the navy or marines. Men who served less than 2 years but at least 6 months were granted pensions of less than full pay. Benefits were payable effective March 4, 1831, without regard to financial need or disability and widows or children of Revolutionary War veterans were entitled to collect any unpaid benefits due from the last payment to a veteran until his death.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1833, (The Library of Virginia)

Prince Edward County was formed in 1753 from Amelia County.

The will books of Prince Edward County in this collection were created by the County Court.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Will Books, 1795-1807, (The Library of Virginia)

The clerk's office depicted in the 1854 drawings is still standing and includes some of the letter presses originally designed for the building. The structure is known as the Worsham clerk's office because it stands in the village of Worsham, named after Branch Worsham, the first clerk of court in Prince Edward. The county seat moved to Farmville in 1872.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.), Public Buildings and Grounds, 1854-1875, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Correspondence, 1862 May 1, (The Library of Virginia)

The 1870 Virginia Constitution required that each county in the state be divided into no less than three townships (see Article VII, section 2). Based on the New England administrative organization of a county, each township would elect the administration officials for the offices of supervisor, clerk, assessor, collector, commissioner of the roads, overseer of the poor, justice of the peace, and constable. The supervisors of each township would comprise the board of supervisors for the county, and would be responsible for auditing the county accounts, examining the assessors' books, regulating property valuation, and fixing the county levies. The Acts of Assembly provided that each township be divided into school and electoral districts (see Acts of Assembly 1869-1870, Chapter 39). A constitutional amendment in 1874 changed the townships into magisterial districts and each district elected one supervisor, three justices of the peace, one constable, and one overseer of the poor. The supervisors of the districts made up the county board of supervisors whose duties were identical as those set out in 1870. The published Acts of Assembly appended a list of township names by county following the acts for every year that townships existed in Virginia.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Township Records, 1870-1875, (The Library of Virginia)

In August 1789, Frederick Briggs and William McElhany (spelled variously M'Elheney and Mackelhany) stole two horses from John Spencer in Charlotte County and were apprehended in Nottoway County by a posse led by Colonel Freeman Epps. They were transported back to Charlotte County and subsequently sent to the district court in Prince Edward County for further trial. The district court found both men guilty of horse thievery and sentenced them to die on 16 October 1789 by hanging.

In a deposition given in 1782, an individual named Bontley claimed that Frederick Briggs was a member of criminal gang specializing in horse thievery and counterfitting money. The catalog record for this deposition is available through the Library of Virginia's online catalog under call number 45000.

From the guide to the Letter from Frederick Briggs, 1789, (The Library of Virginia)

In colonial Virginia, only adult white men who owned property and a few who rented substantial farms were permitted to vote for representatives in the lower house of the General Assembly. The only elected officials in colonial Virginia were the members of the House of Burgesses. Even though voting was restricted to a minority of the population and an even smaller minority, the prosperous and better-educated members of the society, was represented in the General Assembly, politics was always a public event, and on election day many Virginians congregated to watch the voting and enjoy the carnival-like atmosphere.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Election Records, 1754-1758, circa, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Lists of Tithables, 1767, 1773-1775, 1777., (The Library of Virginia)

Farmville and 15 other towns were established by an act of the Virginia legislature 1798 Jan. 15.

Judith Randolph was the wife of Richard Randolph of Bizarre Plantation in Prince Edward County. They had two sons, Tudor Randolph and John St. George Randolph.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Plan of the Town of Farmville, 1804 Oct. 15, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Court Records, 1749-1925 (bulk 1750-1800), (The Library of Virginia)

Throughout the Civil War, the principal responsibility for Virginia's indigent soldiers' families lay with the locality. The Virginia State Convention in 1861 gave the responsibility entirely to counties and incorporated towns and authorized whatever actions had already been taken. Acts of Assembly in 1862 and 1863 expanded the localities' powers to provide for their needy, and in 1863 some minimal state assistance was added in. At first relief was provided as money, but as the monetary system collapsed, relief was distributed in kind. Agents of the court maintained lists of eligible families, gathered goods for distribution and paid for them, and impressed supplies if necessary. Virginia was unique amongst the southern states in that it assigned the provisioning of needy families almost solely to the locality.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County Indigent Soldiers' Families Accounts and Orders, 1861-1864, (The Library of Virginia)

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 the "Colonial Tithables," found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Tithables, 1750-1787, circa, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1754-1913, (The Library of Virginia)

Prince Edward County was formed in 1753 from Amelia County.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Bond, 1761, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Smallpox Hospital Commission Records, 1836, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) citizens' claims of property lost to British army, 1782, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Unrecorded and Recorded Deeds and Wills, 1749-1874, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) County Court Records, 1760-1904, (The Library of Virginia)

Slaves could sue for emancipation if they were descendant(s) of a free female ancestor, typically a Native American (Hening Statutes, volume 2, p.170.)

The General Assembly of Virginia had jurisdiction over granting divorces between 1803 and 1850.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) Judgments, 1814-1839, (The Library of Virginia)

The District Court was created in 1788. The purpose of the creation of the District Court was to alleviate congestion in the General Court which had caused unreasonable delays in the adjudication of common law cases. Virginia was divided into eighteen districts, each composed of several counties, plust the district of Kentucky. Courts were held in each district twice yearly and cases were heard from the several counties in that district. The District Court always met at the same place in each district, and its records were kept at that one location. The District Courts were abolished in 1809 and were replaced by the Superior Courts of Law.

The District Court at Prince Edward County included the following localities: Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, and Prince Edward counties.

From the guide to the Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court Papers, 1789-1809, (The Library of Virginia)

Archival Resources

Role	Title	Holding Repository
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Unrecorded and Recorded Deeds and Wills, 1749-1874	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1833	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Letter from Frederick Briggs, 1789	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Plan of the Town of Farmville, 1804 Oct. 15	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1759-1946	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Judgments, 1814-1839	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Military and Pension Records, 1902-1916	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Marriage Licenses, 1861-1870	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) citizens' claims of property lost to British army, 1782	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1754-1913	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Lists of Inhabitants, 1782	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court Papers, 1789-1809	Library of Virginia
referencedIn	Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court. Records, 1806-1873	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Tithables, 1750-1787, circa	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Will Books, 1795-1807	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Deed Books, 1778-1783	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Deeds, 1759-1989 (bulk 1872-1943)	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Township Records, 1870-1875	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) citizens' claims of property lost to British army, 1781	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Birth and Death Records, 1912-1917	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Bond, 1761	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Buckingham County (Va.) Tithable List A-G, 1764.	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) County Court Records, 1760-1904	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Draft Preamble and Resolutions on the Death of John Randolph, 1833	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Smallpox Hospital Commission Records, 1836	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Law Papers, 1856-1922	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.), Public Buildings and Grounds, 1854-1875	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1783-1865 (bulk 1801-1864)	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Election Records, 1754-1758, circa	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Court Records, 1749-1925 (bulk 1750-1800)	Library of Virginia
referencedIn	Prince Edward County (Va.) Register of Children of Colored Persons whose Parents had ceased to cohabit which the Father recognizes to be his, 27th February 1866	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Correspondence, 1862 May 1	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Court Records, 1755-1940	Library of Virginia
referencedIn	A Guide to Prince Edward County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons cohabiting together as Husband and Wife, 27th February 1866	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Lists of Tithables, 1767, 1773-1775, 1777.	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County Indigent Soldiers' Families Accounts and Orders, 1861-1864	Library of Virginia
creatorOf	Prince Edward County (Va.) Marriage Register, 1850-1859	Library of Virginia

Bibliographic and Digital Archival Resources

Role	Title	Holding Repository

Filters:

Relation	Name
associatedWith	Briggs, Frederick	corporateBody
associatedWith	Brock, R. A. (Robert Alonzo), 1839-1914	person
associatedWith	Confederate States of America. Virginia Infantry Regiment, 44th. Company G.	corporateBody
associatedWith	Henry, W. W.	person
associatedWith	Prince Edward County (Va.)	corporateBody
associatedWith	Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery.	corporateBody
associatedWith	Prince Edward County (Va.) County Court.	corporateBody
associatedWith	Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court	corporateBody
associatedWith	Prince Edward County (Va.) Superior Court of Law.	corporateBody
associatedWith	Randolph, John, 1773-1833	person
associatedWith	Randolph, Judith, 1772-1816	person
associatedWith	Township of Buffalo (Prince Edward County, VA)	corporateBody
associatedWith	Township of Farmville (Prince Edward County, VA)	corporateBody
associatedWith	Township of Hampden (Prince Edward County, VA)	corporateBody
associatedWith	Township of Leigh (Prince Edward County, VA)	corporateBody
associatedWith	Township of Lockett (Prince Edward County, VA)	corporateBody
associatedWith	Worsham, Branch	person

	Place Name	Admin Code	Country
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County
	Buckingham County (Va.)
	Cumberland County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	United States
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Business records
	Virginia
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Virginia
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Halifax County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Farmville (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Charlotte County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Buckingham County (Va.)
	Wills
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	United States
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)
	Prince Edward County (Va.)

Subject
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
Architectural drawings
Census districts
Christian sects
County government
Crime
Elections
Families of military personnel
Military pensions
Personal property
Public records
Slaves

Occupation

Activity

Corporate Body

Related Descriptions

Search Elsewhere

ArchiveGrid Search DPLA Search

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rd06vg

Ark ID: w6rd06vg

SNAC ID: 48924675

Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court

Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court	Title

Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court

Corporate Body

Social Networks and Archival Context

Sponsors

Hosts