Henry County (Va.) Circuit Court

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

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 Henry County (Va.) Court Record, 1832, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, who was the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776. The county court first met on 20 January 1777. Part of Patrick County was added later in 1858. The county seat was previously in Martinsville but has been moved near Collinsville.

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 Henry County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1779-1946, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Records, 1785-1850, (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). 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.

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) School Records, 1886-1921, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) List of subscribers for building a new Baptist church near Leatherwood Store, undated, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

An act passed by the Virginia legislature required that a register be kept by the clerk of court for every slave held by any person for his or her life only. See Revised Code of Virginia 1819, volume 1, p. 439, section 70; Code of Virginia 1849, chapter 103, section 8; and Code of Virginia 1860, chapter 103, section 14.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Records, 1796-1868, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

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 Henry County (Va.) Township Records, 1871-1785, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

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 Henry County (Va.) Birth and Death Records, 1870-1924, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776. The county court first met on 20 January 1777. Part of Patrick County was added on 19 February 1858. Henry County was named, like Patrick County, for Patrick Henry, who was the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia.

The sheriff was "the most powerful and the best paid of any county official in colonial times." Among his many duties, he collected the taxes, which were paid in tobacco, took custody of it and paid the county expenses as directed by the court. By doing so, he acted as a combination of both the commissioner of revenue and the county treasurer. The sheriff was also responsible for services rendered in the prosecution of court cases (law enforcement) and for the conduct of elections. He was appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by the county court. His term of office was for one year until 1731, after which it was two years. His two deputies, also known as sub (under) sheriffs, did most of the work.

In 1782, the General Assembly of Virginia enacted a major revision of tax laws of the Commonwealth. The act provided for the statewide enumeration on the county level of land and certain personal property. The act created a permanent source of revenue for the operation of government in Virginia.

This original volume was created by both the County and Circuit Courts.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Sheriff's Accounts, Returns and Receipt Book, 1850-1861, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Poll to Select a Member of the House of Delegates from the County at the Commandant's Office in Lynchburg, May 1863, (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.

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, who was the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776. The county court first met on 20 January 1777. Part of Patrick County was added later in 1858.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1783-1931 (bulk 1795-1916), (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

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 Henry County (Va.) Provisions for Families of Indigent Soldiers, 1863-1864, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

The Virginia legislature passed an act on 27 February 1866 to legalize the marriages of former slaves who had been cohabiting as of that date. See Virginia Acts of Assembly, 1866-1867, Chapter 18, An act to amend and re-enact the 14th section of chapter 108 of the Code of Virginia for 1860, in regard to registers of marriage; and to legalize the marriages of colored persons now cohabiting as husband and wife.

The federal Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands directed the Assistant Superintendents of the states to order the county clerks to make a registry of such cohabiting couples. See Circular No. 11, dated 19 March 1866, in Orders, Circulars, Circular Letters, and Letters of Instruction, vol. 2 (1866). Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, 1865-1869. Miscellaneous reel 3880, Library of Virginia. National Archives microfilm M1048 (reel 41), Record Group 105.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Register of Colored Persons cohabiting together as Husband and Wife, 1866, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Bond of Joseph French to Charles Fodrill, 1804 Dec. 6, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

The deed book of Henry County in this collection was created by the County Court.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Deed Book, 1777-1779, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Polls Taken for Various Elections, 1861-1863, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

Beginning in 1776, various Acts of Assembly attempted to establish free and public schools in the commonwealth although the issues of taxation to support public education and state control over the process were always contentious. The Literary Fund was authorized by the General Assembly in 1810 to direct state funds acquired through escheats, confiscations, penalties, forfeitures and all rights in personal property found derelict towards public education. The District Free School act of 1829 attempted to establish public schools in all counties via the voluntary contribution of local money with additional funds provided by the state Literary Fund but this act was ultimately deemed a failure. The early 1840s saw a revival of interest in public education and two state educational conventions were held in Richmond in 1841 and 1845. The result of the conventions was the passage of three acts including the 1846 Act to Amend the Present Primary System, the 1846 Act for the Establishment of a District System, and the 1846 act concerning taxation for the support of a public school system. The Henry County free schools were established as a result of these 1846 acts.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Free School Registers, 1847-1853, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Warrant, 1834, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Election Records, 1863 and undated, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Summons, Commonwealth v. William, a Slave, 1833, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Commonwealth Cause, 1834, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, revolutionary leader and the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776.

Courts of Oyer and Terminer (hear and determine) are English in origin. In Virginia, they were convened to try slaves who committed capital offenses, persons accused of committing capital offenses at sea, and other special situations concerning capital offenses. The law establishing the oyer and terminer commission in Virginia has its origins in an act of assembly passed in April 1692 and amended several times in the decades afterwards. The law detailed the procedure for a slave brought to trial for a capital offense. A slave was denied the right to a jury trial that white men and women had.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes, 1856-1859, (The Library of Virginia)

Henry County was formed in 1776 from Pittsylvania County.

From the guide to the Henry County (Va.) Declaration Bond, 1834, (The Library of Virginia)