Rockingham County (Va.) Letter from the Auditor of Public Accounts to the Clerk of Court, 1840

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

Summary

Creator:
Rockingham County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Rockingham County (Va.) Letter from the Auditor of Public Accounts to the Clerk of Court, 1840. Consists of a signed request from James E. Heath, Auditor of Public Accounts, requesting transfer, as required by law, of copies of records of committees of lunatics, specifically bonds of lunatic committees, orders of court pertaining to lunatic committees, and inventories or accounts of the estates of lunatics.

Biographical / historical:

Created in 1778. A courthouse fire in 1787 destroyed wills and estate records, primarily. In June 1864 during the Civil War, court records (mostly volumes) were removed from the courthouse and loaded on a wagon to be taken to place of safety on or beyond the Blue Ridge. The wagon was overtaken by Union troops near Port Republic and set on fire, which was put out by local citizens. Many order books, deed books, will books, and fiduciary books, however, were lost or severely damaged by the fire. The loose records that remained at the courthouse were undamaged. Pre-1865 records including deeds and wills were rerecorded following an act of assembly passed in November 1884.

Acquisition information:
This item came to the Library of Virginia under the accession number 38198.
Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
2 p.