PUBLIC "-//Library of Virginia//TEXT (US::Vi::vi02781::A Guide to the Botetourt County (Va.) Court Records, 1720-1970)//EN" "vi02781.xml" A Guide to the Botetourt County (Va.) Court Records, 1720-1970 Botetourt County (Va.) Court Records, 1720-1970 1044095-1188248 (not inclusive) Sarah Nerney Library of Virginia © 2008 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Conditions of Use

Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record, created by Sarah Nerney, 4 August 2008 Description is in English 2013-11-21 Converted to schema conforming EAD by dtd2schema.vh.xsl. A Guide to the Botetourt County (Va.) Court Records, 1720-1970 A Collection in the Library of Virginia 1044095-1188248 (not inclusive) Sarah Nerney

Library of Virginia 2008 Library of Virginia staff Library of Virginia Descriptive Summary The Library of Virginia Botetourt County (Va.) Court Records, 1720-1970 1044095-1188248 (not inclusive) State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia English Botetourt County (Va.) Circuit Court Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Access to original Botetourt County records is not granted without an appointment and without prior discussion with an archivist. Same day access to records is not possible. Advance notice of at least one week is required so that an archivist will have time to inspect the requested records. An archivist may determine that some materials cannot be served due to their physical state. The records were heavily water damaged and as a result are extremely fragile and can be severely moldy. Persons with mold or dust sensitivity may want to avoid research in these records. Patrons must consult with Archives Research Services prior to a visit to the Library of Virginia to view any original Botetourt County records.

Use Restrictions

These materials can be extremely fragile and moldy due to extensive water damage. An archivist may determine that a record is too fragile or damaged to be served. Patrons must consult with Archives Research Services prior to a visit to the Library of Virginia to view any original Botetourt County records.

Preferred Citation

Botetourt County (Va.) Court Records, 1720-1970. Local government records collection, Botetourt County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Botetourt County.

Historical Information

Botetourt County was named for Norborne Berkeley, baron de Botetourt, the royal governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770. It was formed from Augusta County in 1769, and part of Rockbridge County was added in 1785.

On 1970 December 15, a fire gutted the Botetourt County courthouse in Fincastle, Virginia. The court records were not burned but were heavily water damaged. Many of the court papers are extremely fragile today as a result of this water damage and some are not useable. Because of the near-loss of the Botetourt County records, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Public Records Act in 1975. The act mandated that deeds, wills, and other vital records be inventoried and microfilmed and copies of the film stored permanently in the Library of Virginia in Richmond for safekeeping. Counties could also choose to send court records to the Library of Virginia for storage and safekeeping as needed.

Scope and Content

Botetourt County (Va.) Court Records, 1720-1970, consist of Board of Supervisors records, bonds/commissions/oaths, business records, census records, Commissioner of the Revenue records, county court records, circuit court records, circuit superior court of law and chancery records, superior court of law records, election records, fiduciary records, justice of the peace records, land records, marriage records and vital statistics, military and pension records, organization records, road and bridge records, school records, tax and fiscal records, township records, treasurer's records, and wills. Please consult Archives Research Services for details.

Arrangement

Arranged by records series.

Adjunct Descriptive Data Related Material

Additional Botetourt County records including order books, deed books, will books, marriage records, and other records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records On Microfilm found on the Library of Virginia web site.

Botetourt County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Botetourt County Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Database found at the Library of Virginia web site

 Index Terms Corporate Names: Botetourt County (Va.). Circuit Court. Subjects: Public records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Geographical Names: Botetourt County (Va.) -- History. Genre and Form Terms: Boards (organizations) -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Bonds (legal records) -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Business records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Census records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Civil court records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Criminal court records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Estate inventories -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Indexes (reference sources) -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Judicial records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Local government records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Marriage records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Military records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Pensions (compensation) -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. School records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Tax records -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Voters' lists -- Virginia -- Botetourt County. Wills -- Virginia -- Botetourt County.