Collections

Roanoke County (Va.) Business Records, 1809-1814, is comprised of various records created by individuals and companies is pursuit of documenting business activities in and around Roanoke County (Va.). Represented records largely consists of memorandum books, records the financial transactions of Nathaniel Burwell including the hiring out of slaves. Transactions record the names of individuals who purchased items or hired slaves and the amount paid. Transactions include the names of slaves.

Roanoke County (Va.) Records, 1824-1953, includes marriage licenses, 1838-1885, 1895-1912 and affidavits, powers of attorney, automobile forfeitures, miscellaneous receipts, search warrants, and photocopies of ministers' returns, 1824-1953.

Roanoke County (Va.) Court Records, 1838-1910, consists of ten volumes of tax and court records including Personal Property Tax Books (1838-1842, 1853-1863, 1865-1873), Common Law Memorandum Book (1871 January-1887 July), Reservations of Title to Personalty (1890 February-1910 August), and Treasurer's Collection Book for townships of Big Lick, Catawba and Salem (1871-1874).

Roanoke County (Va.) Court Transcripts, 1909-1947, are transcripts of depositions in circuit court civil and criminal suits. Included are transcripts for the civil suits George W. Zirkle, administrator for estate of Isaac Bointott vs. Roanoke Railway and Electric Company in a suit for damages (1909); John S. Woodrum and D. B. Strouse vs. the Commonwealth in a suit claiming erroneous assessment of land taxes (1910); Lena H. Arnold, administratrix of estate of Joseph D. Arnold vs. Daniel C. Wood, Paul A. Wood and John D. Wood, trading as Wood Lumber and Supply Co. and Elmer J. Mills for a judgment where the defendants are said to have caused the death of the deceased plaintiff through negligence (1938); and Cora Lee Hancock, administratrix of estate of Charles Elbert Hancock vs. I. T. Hooker where the defendant is sued for damages for having caused the death of the plaintiff in a car accident (1947). The transcription of Commonwealth vs. Joshua P. Raines contains depositions from the 1912 murder trial of Raines.

Roanoke County (Va.) Fiduciary Records, 1838-1938 circa, include miscellaneous records filed in a local court by trustees, administrators, executors, guardians, and committees that related to the performance of their duties managing a person's estate. These records typically include the following; bonds, appraisements, audits, inventories, accounts, estate divisions, settlements, dowery records, etc. Information related to enslaved people are commonly found in these records.

Roanoke County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Requisition Records, 1862-1865. The collection contains lists and correspondence documenting the requisition of Roanoke County slaves for labor on the defenses of Richmond during the Civil War. The lists document the name, age, owner, and estimated value of slaves eligible for requisition; also included are lists of slaves who were sent to Richmond from Roanoke County in December 1862 and from Big Lick and Salem Depot in January 1865. The collection also contains a list of free negroes selected for labor in the Confederate Service by the County Court 30 March 1864. Correspondence between the county court and authorities in Richmond consists of printed requisition orders from the Governor's office, a letter to the county clerk in response to a request for an exemption from an 1865 requisition order, and a letter from the quartermaster department documenting his supervision of 14 Roanoke County slaves in Richmond in December 1862.

Roanoke County (Va.) List of Slave Owners During the War, circa 1861-1865, and the number of slaves owned by each.

Roanoke County (Va.) Marriage Registers, 1838-1934, are a series of original volumes which record marriages in the county during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. All books vary according to types of informational content, titles and formats. The first register, referred to as Marriage Register 0 but titled as Marriage Licenses, is divided into two separate volumes. The first volume, which covers 1838-1853, is based on ministers' returns. The volume contains the following information: the full names of both parties, the date of the marriage, by whom the marriage was performed, the denomination of the individual performing the marriage and the date of the return. The volume is paged--21 leaves. Only this volume is found on Microfilm Reel 20. The second volume, which covers 1850-1865, is based on licenses issued by the county court clerk according to the Code of Virginia passed on the 1st July 1850. The volume contains the following information: the name of the male, the name of the female, the name of the parent, the name of the guardian and the date of the license. Entries are arranged chronologically by month, day and year. The volume is paged--92 leaves. Marriages between "freed" or "coloured people" are noted between 1853-1865.

Roanoke County (Va.) Organization Records, 1899-1905, 1926, is comprised of various records created by groups in Norfolk County. Represented records consist of unprocessed, loose records. The records typically consist of appointments of trustees, minutes, and miscellaneous records of religious organizations, fraternal organizations, independent associations, and cooperatives.

Roanoke County (Va.) Records, circa 1838-1953, undated, consist of the following series: Court Records (subfield series included Judgments, Criminal Records, Chancery Records, Court Finance, Clerks' Records and Personal Documentation), Land Records, Fiduciary Records, Tax and Fiscal Records, Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, County Administrative Records (subfield series include Board of Supervisors Records: Road and Bridge Records), Miscellaneous Records and Organization Records.