Powhatan County (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Allowances 1826-1832

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

Background

Scope and content:

The Powhatan County (Va.) Board of the Overseer of the Poor Allowances is one volumes dated 1826-1832. This book give the names of people receiving money or paying money to provide food, clothing, shelter and items need for the care of the poor. It gives the amount of money each of the persons received or paid for the care of the poor.

Stuck in the book is a paper with the accounts for November 20, 1832.

Biographical / historical:

Powhatan County was named for the Indian chieftain who ruled the native inhabitants of tidewater Virginia in the early seventeenth century. It was formed from Cumberland County in 1777, and part of Chesterfield County was added later.

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. The Overseers took over the supervision of the poorhouses and workhouses built by the vestries and built new poorhouses and workhouses where they were needed.

Acquisition information:

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Powhatan County.

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

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