Mecklenburg County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Mecklenburg County was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1781-1882, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was formed in 1764 from Lunenburg County.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Will of Sarah Greer (Grier), 1811, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named, like Charlotte County, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764. Its area is 624 square miles, and the county seat is Boydton.

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 Mecklenburg County (Va.) List of Persons Registered to Vote, 1902-1962 (bulk 1902-1943), (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named, like Charlotte County, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

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.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Wills, 1765-1967, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764. The county court first met on 11 March 1765. The county was named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort 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. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years. The license, issued then by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service.

Until 1780, marriages could be performed only by ministers of the Established Church, who were required by law to record marriages in the parish register. In 1780, dissenting ministers(only four per county from each sect) were first permitted to perform marriage ceremonies. Ministers' returns were required by law beginning in 1780, so all marriages from that date would be of record in the county court clerk's office--thereby creating an official record. Some ministers adopted a custom of making collected returns--a list of marriages performed within a period of time such as a year or several years. Beginning in 1784, marriage certificates were returned annually. The law was rarely enforced, and ministers' returns were sometimes late, incorrect, incomplete and in many instances, not made at all. Once the marriage service was performed, the minister submitted a return to the county clerk. The county clerk recorded these returns along with other marriage records, such as licenses, in a volume.

The ministers' returns, marriage licenses and index, from which thse volumes were compiled, were created by the County Court.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Ministers' Returns, Marriage Licenses and Index, 1785-1842, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of King George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764. The county court first met on 11 March 1765. The county seat is Boydton.

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 Mecklenburg County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1788-1827, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named, like Charlotte County, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Deeds, 1765-1928 (bulk 1848-1928), (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was formed in 1764 from Lunenburg County.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Deed, 1791, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named, like Charlotte County, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Land Warrant List, 1783, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was formed in 1764 from Lunenburg County.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) List of Negroes Hired Out of the Estate of L. Burwell, 1802, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was formed in 1764 from Lunenburg County.

The will books of Mecklenburg County (Va.) in this collection were created by the County Court.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Will Books, 1782-1798, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named, like Charlotte County, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Fee Books, 1794-1798, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named, like Charlotte County, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

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 Mecklenburg County (Va.) Report of commissioners appointed to lay off county into townships, 1870, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was named, like Charlotte County, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

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 Mecklenburg County (Va.) Reports of Indigent Soldiers' Families, 1863-1864, (The Library of Virginia)

Mecklenburg County was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764.

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.

From the guide to the Mecklenburg County (Va.) Registers of Free Negroes, 1809-1865, (The Library of Virginia)