Brunswick County (Va.) Judgments, 1782-1971 (bulk 1806-1857)

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Brunswick County (Va.) Judgments, 1782-1971 (bulk 1806-1857). [insert series or volume title] Local Government Records Collection, Brunswick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
141.6 cu. ft. (142 boxes); 13 volumes
Creator:
Brunswick County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Brunswick County (Va.) Judgments, 1782-1971 (bulk 1806-1857). [insert series or volume title] Local Government Records Collection, Brunswick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Brunswick County (Va.) Judgments, 1782-1971 (bulk 1806-1857), contain civil suits and criminal suits, or also known as commonwealth causes, heard in County Court, Superior Court of Law, Circuit Superior Court, and Circuit Court. The majority of civil suits in this collection relate to matters of debt. These records consist of both processed and unprocessed, loose records and several volumes.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: Judgments are identified as civil suits, often involving debt, heard by a jury on the "law" side of the court as opposed to the "chancery" (or equity) side. Should the defendant not have funds to repay the debt, the court ordered their property (including enslaved people) to be seized and sold to repay the debt owed to the plaintiff. Judgments also contain suits brought by enslaved people seeking to gain their freedom.

In Judgments, an assumpsit or declaration (sometimes referred to as a narratio) lays out the plaintiff's grievance as a petition acted as a formal application to the court requesting judicial action. Judgment suits also generally included record types like subpoenas, summons, and exhibit. Judgments may also include additional documentations such as executions, bonds, and various kinds of writs.

Judgment suits make up a large quantity of a locality's records; consequently, they provide a great deal of information concerning the activities and interests of the people who lived in the locality. Since the vast majority of judgment suits relate to financial matters, they are a valuable resource in studying the economic and social history of Virginia localities and are the impotence for many chancery suits.

Locality History: Brunswick County was named for the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, one of the German possessions of King George I. It was formed by statute in 1720 from Prince George County and on 31 October 1723 the boundaries of the county were ordered to be laid out. However, because of the sparse population, the county court first met in June 1732. Brunswick County was enlarged by the addition of parts of Surry and Isle of Wight counties in 1733. The county seat is Lawrenceville.

Lost Locality Notes: Most loose records prior to 1781 are missing. Pre-1781 volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Types of Courts

The County Court was the original colonial court of adjudication and recordation, and it was the principal tribunal for the administration of local justice. The individual justices could act on small claims matters as well as criminal matters where imminent bodily harm was a possibility, there being an appeal to the full County Court, which met monthly. This court ceased to exist in 1904 and the recordation function was transferred to the circuit court.

The Superior Court of Law was created in 1808. It met twice a year in each county, presided over by a circuit-riding General Court judge. Records were filed with the County Court. It had civil and criminal jurisdiction. The court ceased to exist in 1831.

The Circuit Superior Courts of Law and Chancery, established in 1831, were the upper courts on the local level. Sessions were held twice a year in each county, presided over by a General Court judge. The counties were grouped into districts for the convenience of the judge. The court ceased to exist in 1851.

The Circuit Court was authorized by the Constitution of 1851 and established by an act of the General Assembly passed in May 1852. Courts were held twice yearly in each county, presided over by 21 judges who rode circuits in the area of their jurisdiction. The records were filed with County Court records. These courts were granted original jurisdiction concurrrent with that of the County Courts, as well as appellate jurisdiction in all civil cases of more than fifty dollars and criminal cases not "expressly cognizable in some other court," including those involving loss of life.

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, plus 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 1808 and were replaced by the Superior Courts of Law.

Additional Judgment Types

Condemnations are judgments concerning the taking of private property for public use through the power of eminent domain. Most cases involve railroad or canal companies and contain maps/plats of the land in question.

Acquisition information:
These items came in a transfer of court papers from Brunswick County in an undated accession.
Processing information:

Prior to 2026, the judgement descriptive records were not standardized in their inclusion of contextual information or content lists. Local Records staff reviewed this record and have updated to current standards as of 2026.

Encoded by G. Crawford: 2013; updated by J. Taylor: September 2026.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into three series:

  • Series I: Judgments, 1782-1971
  • Series II: Unprocessed Judgments, 1906-1961
  • Series III: Judgment Volumes, 1789-1961