Elizabeth City County (Va.) Records, circa 1778-1950s, undated

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:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Records, circa 1778-1950s, undated. Local government records collection, Elizabeth City County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Hampton (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Records, circa 1778-1950s, undated. Local government records collection, Elizabeth City County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Records, circa 1778-1950s, undated, consist of the following series: Military and Pension Records, Court Records (subfield series include Personal Documentation, Clerks' Records and Court Finance), Fiduciary Records, Business Records, County Administrative Records (subfield series include Board of Supervisors Records and Board of Supervisors Records: Road and Bridge Records), Marriage Records, Land Records, Public Buildings and Grounds, Wills, Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, Organization Records, Miscellaneous Records and Tax and Fiscal Records.

Military and Pension Records: Federal Registration Board (draft), 1917 ca.; Peninsula Guards, 1916-1918; Court Records: Personal Documentation: Passports (mostly federal instructions but some applications) 1918-1950s ca.; Court Records: Clerk's Records: Clerk's Correspondence, 1900s ca; Fiduciary Records: Fiduciary Reports, 1857-1877; Business Records: Chesapeake Seafood Co.

County Administrative Records: Board of Supervisors Records, 1924-1927; Court Records: Personal Documentation: Declarations to become citizens, 1891-1893; Marriage Records, 1866); Military and Pension Records, 1881-1886; Land Records (Deeds, 1867-1948); Public Buildings and Grounds, 1872-1875 ca.; County Administrative Records: Board of Supervisors Records: Road and Bridge Records, 1876-1925; and Wills, 1778-1827.

Bonds, Commissions, Oaths, 1866-1890; Business Records, 1892-1917 (records pertaining to acquisition of land for land and railroad development); Court Records: Clerk's Records, 1867-1918 (correspondence, reports of business of the court, letter from the Freedmen's Bureau, Elizabeth City County, 1866; letter from Home for Disabled Veterans to Phoebus Justice of the Peace, 1892; cartoon drawing, undated); Court Records: Court Finance, 1856-1898; Organization Records: Churches and fraternal organizations, charters and petitions, 1883-1886; Fiduciary Records, 1851-1916; Miscellaneous Records, 1856-1898 (boat estray, 1856; accounts of E. Richardson with Joseph Billmyer, list of liens on property of Giddings, 1867; letter to Commonweatlh Attorney attesting to the character of John Thomas, 1888); Tax and Fiscal Records, 1884-1903 (ordinary bonds, requests for reassessments, includes a request from Annie Phoebus, 1891.)

Biographical / historical:

Elizabeth City County was named for Elizabeth, daughter of King James I. The county was one of the original shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. On 1 July 1952, the city of Hampton became greatly enlarged by a merger with Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus. The county and town thereby became extinct. Hampton takes its name from the Hampton Creek. It was established by an act of assembly in 1680. It was incorporated as a town in 1849, 1852 and 1887. It became a city by court order in 1908.

Records were burned and/or destroyed during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Additional records were burned on 3 April 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. A few pre-Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, and order books exist.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court records from Hampton Va.
Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
3 boxes--2 found at State Records Center--Archives Annex, Library of Virginia and 1 (1165193) found at Library of Virginia.