Albemarle County (Va.) Judgments, 1747-1958 (bulk 1773-1870)

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:

IN PROGRESS: Identified judgments related to Black and Multiracial individuals pre-1865 are digitized and available through Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Additional judgments related to Black and Multiracial individuals remain in unprocessed records.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Albemarle County (Va.) Judgments, 1747-1958 (bulk 1773-1870) [site series or volume]. Local government records collection, Albemarle County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
491 boxes 6 volumes
Creator:
Albemarle County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Albemarle County (Va.) Judgments, 1747-1958 (bulk 1773-1870) [site series or volume]. Local government records collection, Albemarle County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Albemarle County (Va.) Judgments, 1747-1958 (bulk 1773-1870), contain civil cases in which justice was administered on the strictly formulated rules of common law. The majority of cases in this record series relate to matters of debt.

Use Digital Images

John Barrett, etc., vs. Thomas Jefferson, 1788 Aug. The case is a suit for payment on a bond assigned to Barrett by William Carr. Jefferson borrowed twenty pounds from Carr in 1783.

Reid and Barrett vs. Thomas Jefferson, 1792 Apr. Reid and Barrett are suing Jefferson for payment for delivery of goods, wares and merchandise, plus interest and damages of two hundred pounds. The case involves the suit of Reid and Barrett for payment for delivery of goods, wares and merchandise, plus interest and damages of two hundred pounds. The jury finds for the plaintiff for eighty-eight pounds nineteen shillings and seven pence damages. The case papers include a one-page response from Jefferson, in which he speculates about why he may or may not have settled the account with Reid and Barrett, a letter from John Barrett to Thomas Jefferson, 1780 June 2, pertaining to a piece of linen selected by Jefferson's wife; a copy of Jefferson's accounts with Reid and Barrett from 1774 to 1775, and a summons for Jefferson to appear in court 1791 Sep. 20.

Philip Mazzei vs. John Thomas, etc., 1795 Apr. Thomas Jefferson, attorney for Philip Mazzei, sues on Mazzei's behalf for payment of a debt of five hundred pounds. The jury finds for Mazzei, plus one penny in damages. The case papers contain the complaint against Thomas, a summons for Thomas, a statement of fact and list of accounts involving a judgment of debt against Philip Gooch in a suit brought by Thomas Jefferson's attorneys; a bond from Thomas Jefferson, attorney for Mazzei, to John Thomas and Charles Lilburne Lewis, 1791 Oct. 10, and two bail bonds, 1794 Apr.

William Davis vs. Executors of William Watson, 1785 Nov. Davis sues the estate of William Watson for fifty pounds, alleging that Watson failed to pay Davis his share of the bounties he earned with Davis' traps. The jury awards the plaintiff ten pounds. The case papers include depositions of Samuel Davis and Keziah Bean and a wolf scout warrant signed by Thomas Jefferson and others. Jefferson agrees to pay three pounds for every wolf killed, and half the sum for every whelp killed.

Giovanni Antonio Giannini (John Antonio Giannina) vs. Thomas Jefferson, 1795 Apr. Giannini is suing Jefferson for damages on a contract Giannini signed with Philip Mazzei, in Italy, in 1773. Jefferson is acting as Mazzei's security. Giannini is seeking compensation for return passage to Leghorn (Livorno), Italy, for himself and his family members, as promised in the 1773 contract. The case records contain Giannini's complaint, the contract between Giannini and Mazzei, in Italian, an English translation of the contract, exceptions of attorneys Philip Gooch and Thomas Carr, summonses for John Key; and Thomas Jefferson's plea, by his attorneys. Antonio Giannini, Maria Giannini and Nicolau Matelli were all parties to the contract, each to serve Mazzei for 5 years at the same rate of pay.

Assignee of Archibald Robertson vs. Executor of Thomas Jefferson, 1828 Aug. Samuel Garland, Robertson's assignee, is suing to collect a debt of $6,160 from Thomas Jefferson's estate. The case records include a bond made by Jefferson in 1825.

Consists of six pages of accounts used as evidence in an unidentified court case. Two accounts between Isabella Squair and Benjamin M. Perkins. One account between James Hamner and W. L. Staples.

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: Albemarle County was named for William Anne Keppel, second earl of Albemarle and governor of the Virginia colony from 1737 to 1754. It was formed from Goochland County in 1744, and part of Louisa County and certain islands in the Fluvanna River, now called the James, were added in 1761 and 1838.

Lost Locality History: Created in 1744. All order books except the first and many loose papers between 1748 and 1781 were destroyed by British general Banastre Tarleton's raid on Charlottesville in 1781 during the Revolutionary War.

Acquisition information:

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Albemarle County in an undated accession.

Judgment Suit, 1836-1833, came to the Library of Virginia in 2000 as a dontation under the accession number 37049.

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.

Several judgments were previosuly described separately in individual finding aids. These judgments are own included in this record, but are described separately still in the Library catalog.

Individually described judgments once included:
  • Albemarle County (Va.) Judgment Suit, 1826-1833
  • Albemarle County (Va.) Judgment, John Barrett, etc., vs. Thomas Jefferson, 1788 Aug.
  • Albemarle County (Va.) Judgment, Reid and Barrett vs. Thomas Jefferson, 1792 Apr.
  • Albemarle County (Va.) Judgment, Philip Mazzei vs. John Thomas, etc., 1795 Apr.
  • Albemarle County (Va.) Judgment, William Davis vs. Executors of William Watson, 1785 Nov.
  • Albemarle County (Va.) Judgment, Assignee of Archibald Robertson vs. Executor of Thomas Jefferson, 1828 Aug.
  • Albemarle County (Va.) Judgment, Giovanni Antonio Giannini (John Antonio Giannina) vs. Thomas Jefferson, 1795 Apr.

Encoded by G. Crawford, 2008; updated by M. Mason March 2026.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Judgments, 1780-1852, relating to free and enslaved Black and Multiracial individuals
  • Series II: Judgments, 1747-1921
  • Series III: Unprocessed Judgments, 1744-1958
  • Series IV: Judgment Dockets and Indexes, 1843-1954

Physical location:
Library of Virginia