Fauquier County (Va.) Board of Overseers of the Poor Minutes, 1804-1845

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:
Fauquier County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The Fauquier County (Va.) Board of the Overseer of the Poor Minutes is one volume dated 1804-1845. The minutes give the names of people receiving financial support, food, and clothing, as well as binding children as apprentices, and the burial of the deceased. Records concerning the poorhouse are included. The minutes also include the details of the collection of the levy for the poor and how the money was spent.

Found in the book are a number of items: Requests for certificates from Landon and Cossom B. Day dated 6 September 1844; A statement of William E. Gaskins' portion of the levies for 1845; A paper with list of names in a column marked "con" and another list of names in a column marked "not" and some unidentified accounts; A note from William Bradford concerning his parish levy dated 29 July 1844; List of Overseers of the Poor for three years from April 1843; Order from John W. Simpson to the Overseers of the Poor dated 15 March 1843; A note concerning the bill submitted by Dr. Ambrose Hord, dated 8 January 1844; Bill given Sarah Eustace to pay for wood, dated 14 March 1844; An undated note concerning money left by Enoch Barber after paying for fish for the poorhouse; Certificate of the amount furnished Mrs. Brimmer in 1843; Agreement made by Richard T. Nalle and Rice dated 7 September 1844 to provide pork for the poorhouse; Inman Horner's accounts with the Overseers of the Poor for 1844; Four unidentified accounts; List of accounts for 1847; and George Pickett, Sheriff of Fauquier County, in accounts with the Overseers of the Poor for 1844.

Biographical / historical:

Fauquier County was named for Francis Fauquier, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1758 to 1768. It was formed from Prince William County in 1759. The county seat is Warrenton.

In 1780 the Virginia General Assembly replaced the Anglican vestries and churchwardens of the colonial period with elected bodies called Overseers of the Poor. The Overseers provided food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment for the persons who were too poor to support themselves or too ill to provide for their basic needs. They also bound out children whose parents could not support them or who failed to educate or instruct them, as well as orphans to become apprentices. The boys learned a trade and the girls learned domestic skills.

Acquisition information:

This item cames to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Fauquier County.

The microfilm was generated by Backstage Library Works through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.

Arrangement:

Chronological

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v. and 1 microfilm reel