Westmoreland County (Va.) Organization Records, 1852-1914

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:

Westmoreland County (Va.) Organization Records, 1852-1914 [series or volume title]. Local government records collection, Westmoreland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Westmoreland County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Westmoreland County (Va.) Organization Records, 1852-1914 [series or volume title]. Local government records collection, Westmoreland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Westmoreland County (Va.) Organization Records, 1852-1914, is comprised of various records created by groups in Westmoreland County. Represented records largely consist of unprocessed loose records. These records report to the court changes in trustees for white and African American churches. Most appointments relate to church trustees but there are two other organizations named as well including the Ladies Colonial Beach Union Chapel Association (1906) and the Sons and Daughters of Wisdom (1908). The appointments name the new trustees and sometimes the trustees who are being replaced.

Includes boxes containing material identified as organization records. These records may be flat filed or foldered but not fully processed.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: Organization Records, both volumes and loose records, are in some cases transferred to the Library of Virginia as components of court record transfers. These organization records in some cases were simply stored in the local court building for safe keeping by business owners. In other cases, organization records (particularly ledgers, account books, etc.) may have been filed in a court case as an exhibit. These organization record exhibits appeared both in chancery causes and in judgments, these records serving as exhibits for business dissolution cases, debt suits, and contract disputes.

Locality History: Westmoreland County was named for the English county. It was formed from Northumberland County in 1653. The county seat is Montross.

Lost Locality Notes: Many loose papers were burned during both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Volumes that record deeds, court orders (except for an order book for the period 1764–1776), and wills exist.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Westmoreland County under an undated accession.
Processing information:

Prior to 2025, the various organization records in this collection were originally described as individual records, but they have been consolidated into one large organization record for the locality. Since 2025, these records additionally include identified but not processed records.

These records were processed by Sarah Nerney in 2007.

Encoded by S. Nerney: 2007; updated by J. Taylor: October 2025

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into one series:

  • Series I: Westmoreland County (Va.) Organization Records, 1852-1914 [UNPROCESSED]

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
0.45 cubic feet (1 box)