Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court Papers, 1789-1809

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:
Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court Papers, 1789-1809, consist of civil suits and commonwealth causes that were heard in the District Court of Prince Edward County. The majority of cases in this record series relate to matters of debt. Documents commonly found in civil suits include declarations or narratios that explain the plaintiff's complaint, executions, affidavits, and depositions. Suits may include exhibits such as wills, plats, deeds, indentures, estate inventories, and business records. Names of slaves are commonly found in the District Court papers. Additional types of suits heard by the District Court include land ejectment suits and petitions for freedom made by slaves.

The collection includes a Buckingham County Tithable List, 1764, surnames A-G, that was used as a wrapper for a district court suit that originated in Buckingham County

Biographical / historical:

Prince Edward County was named in honor of Edward Augustus, a son of Prince Frederick Louis, a grandson of King George II, and a younger brother of King George III. The county was formed from Amelia County in 1753. The county court first met on 8 January 1754. The county seat is Farmville.

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, plust 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 1809 and were replaced by the Superior Courts of Law.

The District Court at Prince Edward County included the following localities: Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, and Prince Edward counties.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Prince Edward County.
Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
7.25 cu. ft. (9 boxes)