Fauquier County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes Ended, 1891-1892

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

Background

Scope and content:

Fauquier County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes Ended, 1891-1892, are largely unprocessed with this record concerning only a handful of cases relating to Lee Heflin and Joseph Dye and their subsequent lynchings. The material found in these cases consist primarily of warrants, summons, indictments, and verdicts handed down by grand juries.

Warrants were issued by grand juries, judges, and justices of the peace directing law enforcement officials to either arrest and imprison a person suspected of having committed a crime or to cause an individual to appear in court to answer accusations made against them. Peace warrants directing an offender to "keep the peace of the Commonwealth" or to restrain from any violent acts are commonly found in assault and battery cases.

Summonses were used to call a suspected person to appear in court. A summons could also be issued to direct witnesses or victims to come before the court in order to provide evidence or information deemed pertinent to a case.

An indictment is the official, written description of the crime that an accused individual is suspected of committing, which is approved by a grand jury and presented to a court in order to begin legal proceedings. Due to this process, indictments are often referred to as "presentments."

Verdicts are the formal pronouncements made by juries on issues submitted to them by a judge or other law enforcement official. In the case of a guilty verdict, a judge will sentence the offender. Sentences may include a fine, corporal punishment, and/or imprisonment.Coroners also submitted verdicts such as "death by suicide," "death by natural causes," etc. when determining the cause of a suspicious or sudden death.

Biographical / historical:

Fauquier County was named for Francis Fauquier, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1758 to 1768. It was formed in 1759 from Prince William County.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Fauquier County as part of accession 37409.
Arrangement:

Box 1 is arranged chronologically.

Remaining boxes unprocessed

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
0.23 cu. ft. (1 box), remaining material unprocessed