Buchanan County (Va.) Fiduciary Records, 1896-1955

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

Background

Scope and content:

Buchanan County (Va.) Fiduciary Records, 1896-1955, consist of Circuit Court Clerk's Fiduciaries Order Book; County and Circuit Court Fiduciary Accounts; Circuit Court Fiduciary Settlement Book, Volume 2 through Volume 5; Circuit Court Receivers' Record, Volume 1; and Index to Fiduciaries' Accounts.

Biographical / historical:

Buchanan County was named for the United States president James Buchanan and was formed from Tazewell and Russell Counties in 1858.

Fiduciary Records consist of the records produced by executors, executrices, administrators or administratrices. The executors and executrices handled the estate of a person who died testate and the administrators and administratrices handled the estate of a person who died intestate. They had an inventory or an inventory and appraisement made of the deceased person's estate. They gave accounts currents telling how they collected debts owed the decease and the payment of the decease person's debts. They gave a report called a "Settlement of the Estate" which said what was done with the deceased person's estate that was left after all that person's debts were paid.

Fiduciary Records may include the records of a guardian appointed to administer the estate of a child under the age considered to be the age of an adult. The guardian would give accounts of the monies spent to feed, cloth, educate, and maintain their ward. They would rent out the land and/or slaves owned by their ward to produce income for the ward's support and record the amount of rent received in their accounts. If their ward received a legacy or a deed of gift, that information would be recorded in the guardian's accounts. When the child became of age, a final account would be made and a receipt from the ward would be included.

Records were destroyed by fire in 1885; records created after that date suffered extreme damage in a flood in 1977.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a shipment of court papers from Buchanan County.
Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
8 volumes.