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Use microfilm copy, Warren County (Va.) Reel 46.
Warren County (Va.) Various Record Series, 1836-1865 (1861-1865.) Warren County (Va.) Reel 46, Local government records collection, Warren County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
This original volume came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Warren County.
Reel 46 was generated by Backstage Library Works through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.
Warren County was formed from Shenandoah and Frederick counties in 1836. The county was named for Joseph Warren, of Massachusetts, the revolutionary patriot who sent Paul Revere and William Dawes on their famous rides and who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Minutes/Orders record all matters brought before the court when it was in session and may contain important information not found anywhere else.
In accordance with an act passed by the General Assembly 1862 Feb. 18 and amended 1862, October 1 providing a mode of exemption from military service, the county and corporation courts were directed to appoint a Board of Exemption. The board was charged with deciding all claims for military exemptions brought before it, "carefully and rigidly conforming to all the provisions of the Act of Assembly." On 1863 Feb. 13, the Governor issued an order directing that where no board has been appointed, the presiding justice of each county and corporation court, together with the two senior justices, constitute the board.
On 9 May 1862, the General Assembly stated that "the courts of the several counties of this Commonwealth are hereby authorized and empowered to order the purchase, for the use of the people of said counties, such quantities of salt as the said courts may deem necessary and to provide for the payment of the same by county levies. The said courts shall have the power and authority to distribute the salt thus purchased amongst people of their counties." On 30 March 1863, the General Assembly had created the office of "Superintendent of Salt Works."
Around the time of the Civil War, salt was necessary for curing meat, tanning leather, fertilizing fields as well as, for farm animals to survive. Prior to the war, a significant amount of salt was imported from Europe, but when the war started, the Union blockaded delivery of salt to the Confederate states. The most important saltworks for the Confederacy were at Saltville, Virginia. When alternate sources failed to produce a sufficient supply of salt, the southern states began a rationing process to ensure fair distributions. Many of the states handed rationing responsibility to the county courts, which created lists of eligible families and the amounts of salt they could receive.
This original volume was created by the County, Circuit and Corporation Courts.
Warren County (Va.) Various Record Series, 1836-1865 (bulk 1861-1865), document specific series of records collected, for the most part, during the Civil War. The School records series consist of a School Commissioners' Record Book, 1836-1864 and School Fund accounts, 1862-1864. The Commissioners' book is a "record of orders appointing School Commissioners of Warren County by the Court of the said County and of the proceedings of the said School Commissioners." Included in the front of the volume are two loose documents (1845) related to the tuition of poor children in the county. The second series consists of Circuit Court records, March 1863-August 1864. These records include the convening of Grand juries, indictments against various individuals for criminal acts, discussion of court fees paid to various individuals for their public service, a record of summonses issued by the county sheriff for judgments between individuals, reporting of estate settlements and bonds obtained by the administrator and two loyalty oaths from 1861 and 1864.
The third series, Military and Pension records, are located amongst the pages of the Salt distribution register. These minutes document the board's ruling on petitions for exemption from military service in the Confederate Army. Most petitions were made on the grounds of permanent bodily infirmity as noted by a physician's certificate or having furnished a substitute. The fourth series contains one specific Tax and Fiscal record, a Salt Distribution Register kept from 1863-1865. The register is found by flipping the volume over and opening the back cover. An important commodity in the Civil War, the register gives detailed records on the distribution of salt throughout the county. The register notes the date of distribution, the name of the head of household, the county district, the number of individuals within the family and the amount paid. In necessary cases, salt was given away free or at a lower cost to families of serving soldiers or widows of soldiers. Free African American families are noted.
Divided into the following series: I. School records, 1836-1864; II. Circuit Court records, 1863-1864; III. Military and Pension records, 1862; IV. Tax and Fiscal Records, 1863-1865.
Additional School, Court, Military and Pension Records and Tax and Fiscal Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult