Collections

The Bedford County (Va.) Board of the Overseer of the Poor Minutes for Russell Parish is one volume dated 1816-1830. The minutes give the names of people receiving financial support, food, and clothing, as well as binding children as apprentices, and the burial of the deceased. The minutes also include the details of the collection of the levy for the poor and how the money was spent.

Bedford County (Va.) Business Records, 1884-1941 is comprised of various records created by individuals and companies is pursuit of documenting business activities in and around Bedford County (Va.). Represented records largely consists of bound volumes such as ledgers, daybooks, minute books, cashbooks, certificates of deposits, registers of discounted bills, policy books, and a contract book.

Bedford County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1755-1912, consists of cases concerning issues of equity brought largely by residents of the county and filed in the circuit court. These cases often involve the following actions: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, disputes regarding contracts, debt, divorce, and business disputes. Other less prevalent issues include freedom suits, permissions to sell property, and disputes concerning trespass. Predominant documents found in these chancery causes include bills (documents the plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, plats, wills, records involving enslaved individuals, business records or vital statistics.

Bedford County Court Records, (Va.), 1845-1849. The collection contains three documents removed from Bedford County court records: an envelope, possibly from the chancery cause, Echols vs. Johnston, 1845; the deposition of David Gish, from the court case Admr. of Joseph H. Jeter vs. Admr. of William Greenwood, etc., 1847, heard in the Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery for Bedford County; and a letter, 1849, with the surnames Hurst, Graves, and Johnson.

Bedford County (Va.) Judgments, 1753-1870, contain civil cases heard in County Court, Superior Court of Law, Circuit Superior Court, and Circuit Court in which justice was administered on the strictly formulated rules of common law. The majority of cases in this record series relate to matters of debt.

Bedford County (Va.) Minute Books, 1822-1891, record all mattters brought before the court on a daily basis when the court is in session including but not limited to: civil and criminal suits, appointments of county officers, appointments of guardians and administrators, deed recordings, free negro registrations, naturalization registrations, and court fees. Clerks would transfer information from minute books to an appropriate order book, deed book, free negro register, etc. Collection includes minute books from the Superior Court of Law and County Court.

Bedford County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1909-1915, consists of Department of Commerce and Labor, Division of Naturalization, Petition and Record, 1909-1915, and Department of Commerce and Labor, Division of Naturalization, Declaration of Intention, 1909-1913, standardized volumes of naturalization records issued by the federal government. There were two primary types of naturalization volumes issued by the federal government: Declaration of Intention volumes and Petition volumes. Oftentimes, applicants were documented in both of these volume types within a locality, but that is not always the case. An applicant may have entered their declaration of intention in one locality before moving and completing their naturalization petition elsewhere.

Bedford County (Va.) Organization Records, 1907-1941 is comprised of various records created by groups in Bedford County. Represented records consist of a minute book and a ledger.

Bedford County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1785-1812 typically record an area of land processioned with geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the local court.