PUBLIC "-//Library of Virginia//TEXT (US::Vi::vi05126::A Guide to the Gloucester County (Va.), Health and Medical Records, 1886-1960)//EN" "vi05126.xml" A Guide to the Gloucester County (Va.), Health and Medical Records, 1886-1960 Gloucester County (Va.), Health and Medical Records, 1886-1960 Tracy S. Harter Library of Virginia © 2020 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved. Machine-readable finding aid created in EAD by Tracy S. Harter, 22 June 2020 Description is in English A Guide to the Gloucester County (Va.), Health and Medical Records, 1886-1960 A Collection in the Library of Virginia

Library of Virginia 2020 T. Harter Library of Virginia Descriptive Summary The Library of Virginia Gloucester County Health and Medical Records, 1886-1960 1.8 cu. ft. (4 boxes), 3 volumes. English Gloucester County (Va.) Circuit Court Administrative Information Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Gloucester County (Va.) Health and Medical Records, 1886-1960. Local government records collection, Gloucester County Court Records, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

This collection came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Gloucester County Circuit Court under an undated accession.

Processing Information

Encoded by T. Harter: June 2020; edited by V. Brooks: July 2026

 Historical Information

Context for Record Type:

Mental Health Records may consist of a variety of documents that historically were referred to as lunacy papers in the courthouses of Virginia localities and municipalities.

In 1863, the Virginia General Assembly passed two pieces of legislation affecting persons committed to mental hospitals. In February, it passed legislation allowing for a committee to sell any stock and for any proceeds beyond that necessary for an individual's care to be invested in any stock, to include Confederate bonds. In March, the General Assembly widened the scope of this by passing legislation authorizing any fiduciaries such as the committee or trustee of the estate of any person to petition their circuit court to allow them to invest any part of estate funds in Confederate bonds or certificates.

Locality History:

Gloucester County was named probably to honor Henry, duke of Gloucester, the third son of King Charles I, or it may also have been named for the English county. It was formed from York County in 1651. The county seat is Gloucester.

Scope and Content

Gloucester County (Va.) Health and Medical Records 1886-1960, consist of four boxes and three volumes of mental health records and Diphtheria antitoxin receipts. Mental health records may include warrants, orders, petitions, depositions, reports, etc. for or by justices of the peace and others regarding the mental condition of individuals who were released to the recognizance of a family member or who were committed to a mental hospital. One volume contains "Record of Persons Adjudged Insane," 1901-1936, and two volumes contain "Record of Insane, Epileptic, Inebriate and Feeble-Minded Persons,"1937-1960.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into a single series:

Series I: Health and Medical Records, 1886-1960, Adjunct Descriptive Data Related Material

Additional Gloucester County court records can be found on microfilm and in the Chancery Records Index at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" and The Chancery Records Index.

Contents List Health and Medical Records 1886-1960 Library of Virginia 1.8 cubic feet (4 boxes), 3 volumes.

arranged chronologically

Mental Health Records, 1886-1912 Mental Health Records, 1913-1925 Mental Health Records, 1925-1931 Diptheria Antitoxin Receipts; Mental Health Records, 1922-1927, 1932-1936 Record of Persons Adjudged Insane, 1901-1936 Record of Insane, Epileptic, Inebriate and Feeble-Minded Persons, 1937-1943 Record of Insane, Epileptic, Inebriate and Feeble-Minded Persons, 1943-1960