County (while it unquestionably received later accessions of territory from Isle of Wight and Surry Counties) was in its original formation created from part of the territory of Prince George County. By Act of Assembly, November 1720, the counties of Spotsylvania and Brunswick were created. "Brunswick County, begins on the south side the river Roanoke, at the place where the line lately run for ascertaining the uncontroverted bounds of this colony toward North Carolina, intersects the said River Roanoke, and to be bounded by the direction of the governour with consent of council, so as to include the southern pass; which land from and after the time that it shall be laid off and bounded shall become a county by the name of Brunswick county". (Hening, iv, p. 77, et seq.) After directing the erection of public buildings and the distribution of arms, reciting the privileges of inhabitants and declaring the jurisdiction for Spotsylvania County to reside in the justices of Essex, King and Queen and King William Counties, the act further recites, "And the court of Prince George county has the same power in Brunswick:" It will be noticed that the act does not state from what counties Spotsylvania and Brunswick Counties were erected but the settling of jurisdiction in the magistracy of specifically named counties is very good circumstantial evidence that Spotsylvania and Brunswick were erected from parts of the territory of the counties whose magistrates were invested with jurisdiction until a final organization should be effected. Therefore from the provisional jurisdiction given the magistracy of Prince George County in the new county of Brunswick we infer that the first territory laid off into Brunswick was taken from Prince George. The Land Patents seem, however, to settle definitely that Brunswick County was set off from Prince George. Reference to any map of Virginia will show that the dividing line between the present Dinwiddie County (which was until 1752 a part of Prince George) and the present counties of Greensville (which was until 1781 a part of Brunswick) and Brunswick is the Nottoway River. Now, in the year 1720, when the act establishing Brunswick County was passed, there were no Dinwiddie and Greensville Counties; therefore the Nottoway River was in Prince George County, as is also well established by the following patents: in August 1720 John King was granted 97 acres in Prince George County on south side of the Nottoway River beginning at the first falls above Sturgeon Run; at the same time John Wall was granted 185 acres in Prince George County on south side Nottoway River above the mouth of Waquiyoah (at present Waqua) Creek (Register of the Land Office, Patent Book, no. 11, pp. 39, 40). All maps show that the territory to the south of Nottoway River is in either Brunswick or Greensville County. The Sturgeon Run (now Creek) and Waquiyoah (now Waqua) Creek are today in the county of Brunswick. Though the act creating Brunswick County was passed in 1720 there was apparently no court held for that county until 1732, when on May 2, 1732, by commission from the governor, dated April 22, 1732, a court met and organized. No records of proceedings in Brunswick County prior to this date have ever been found. From the evidence adduced it seems quite clearly to have been the case that in 1720 Brunswick County was created from Prince George, and that on account of the sparseness of population no court was held until May 1732, and that at that time territory was added to Brunswick from the Counties of Isle of Wight and Surry, thereby adding more tithables and by the increase in population warranting the establishment of a regular court and forever removing jurisdiction over Brunswick affairs from the hands of the Prince George magistracy. 12 The "Journal of the House of Delegates" (1857-8), p. 323, gives the date as Feb. 16, 1858, but A (1857-8), p. 108, gives the date as Feb. 13, 1858, the former, of course, being the correct one. 18 The "Act for erecting a new County on the heads of Essex, King and Queen and King William Counties; and for calling the same Caroline County" appears in Hening (iv, p. 240) by title only; but reference to Part VI, chapter vii, below, will show the full text of this Act, a copy of which was recently secured by the Library from the Public Record Office in London, for use in this connection. It will be noted that Caroline County, although authorized by an Act passed in 1727,-came into actual existence in 1728, -the former date being the general and more popular interpretation of the earliest actual existence of this county. 14 See note 62. 14, a "It took in the portion of Wallingford Parish west of the Chickahominy River (the Sandy Point region previously in James City County)" -Lyon G. Tyler. 15 Charles River County was formed in 1634 (H. i, p. 224), but the name was changed to York in 1642/3 (H. i, pp. 224, 249). 16 The "Act for dividing the County of Henrico into two distinct Counties" does not appear in Hening (1748, -vols 5 and 6) either by title or in full text; but reference to Part VI, chapter xi, below, will show the full text of this Act, a copy of which was recently secured by the Library from the Public Record Office in London, for use in this connection. It will be noted that Chesterfield County, although authorized by an Act passed in 1749, and coming into actual existence in that year, - is usually credited to the year 1748, this latter date being the general and more popular interpretation of the earliest actual existence of this county. 17 The enrolled bills and the Acts (1850-1, p. 21) give this order as "Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles and Monroe", while a typographical error makes Williams's "Index to Enrolled Bills" (p. 104, 1. 30), under the caption "Craig County", give the order as "Roanoke, Giles, Monroe and Botetourt". 18 The "Act for dividing the County of Orange" does not appear in Hening (1748, vols. 5 and 6) either by title or in full text; but reference to Part VI, chapter ix, below, will show the full text of this Act, a copy of which was recently secured by the Library from the Public Record Office in London, for use in this connection. It will be noted that Culpeper County, -although authorized by an Act passed in 1748, came into actual existence in 1749,the former date being the general and more popular interpretation of the earliest actual existence of this county. 19 The "Act for dividing the County of Goochland" does not appear in Hening (1748, -vols. 5 and 6) either by title or in full text; but reference to Part VI, chapter viii, below, will show the full text of this Act, a copy of which was recently secured by the Library from the Public Record Office in London, for use in this connection. It will be noted that Cumberland County, although authorized by an Act passed in 1748, -came into actual existence in 1749,-the former date being the general and more popular interpretation of the earliest actual existence of this county. 20 The "Journal of the House of Delegates", 1879-80, p. 376, gives this date as February 27, 1880, while A (1879-'80), p. 125, gives the date as March 3, 1880, the former, of course, being the correct one. 21 Dunmore County was formed in 1772 (H. viii, p. 397), but the name was changed to Shenando[ah] in 1778 (H. ix, p. 424). 22 Through the generous co-operation of the Hon. H. H. Holt, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Elizabeth City County, we are able to offer the following letter in regard to the destruction of the records of that County: Hampton, Va., March 13th, 1916. "Mr. Morgan P. Robinson, Dear Sir: Virginia State Library, In reply to your communication of the 10th, I have the honor to say that I am not sure whether the records of this office which have been lost or destroyed were so lost or destroyed during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, or the Civil War, or during all of them. The Town of Hampton was burned during each of these wars, but whether or not the records were preserved through any of them I do not know. I do know, however, that our records are very much broken from 1634, the date of the organization of this County, up to 1861, the date of the Civil War. During this period there are only a few scattering books concerning deeds, wills and in some instances Court proceedings and bonds. The beginning of our records which are now complete is 1865, after the end of the Civil War. The others prior to that time, as I said before, are scattering and there are lapses of fifty or sixty years between some of the books. Regretting that I cannot give you definite information as to the destruction of these records, I am Very respectfully, H. H. Holt, Clerk. 23 See note 13. 24 See note 35. 25 Fincastle County was formed in 1772 (H. viii, p. 600), but became extinct in 1777, when its territory was divided into Kentucky, Montgomery and Washington Counties (H. ix, p. 257). 28 See note 6; but "Owing to some delay of the population in these parts, not being able to support a sufficient number of competent men able to officer the new County', the Courts for all this section were held at Orange C. H., until Nov. [11th], 1743, when the first Court was held for Frederick County". (Cartmell's "A History of Frederick County, Virginia", p. 18). 27 See note 17. 28 We are indebted to Doctor Lyon G. Tyler, of Williamsburg, Va., for the following data concerning the early history of Gloucester County: "Lands in Gloucester are shown by the Land Grants previous to 1651 to have been in York. As its first delegates appeared in April, 1652 (H. i, p. 371), it must have been formed in 1651". 20 The "Act for dividing the County of Henrico" appears in Hening (iv, p. 240) by title only; but reference to Part VI, chapter vi, below, will show the full text of the Act, a copy of which was recently secured by the Library from the Public Record Office in London, for use in this connection. It will be noted that Goochland County, although authorized by an Act passed in 1727,-came into actual existence in 1728, -the former date being the general and more popular interpretation of the earliest actual existence of this county. 30 The "Act for dividing New Kent County" appears in Hening (iv, p. 95) by title only, but reference to Part VI, chapter v, below, will show the full text of this Act, a copy of which was recently secured by the Library from the Public Record Office in London, for use in this connection. It will be noted that Hanover County, although authorized by an Act passed in 1720,came into actual existence in 1721, the former date being the general and more popular interpretation of the earliest actual existence of this county. The following letter throws light upon the destruction of the records of Hanover County: "Mr. Morgan P. Robinson, State Library Bldg., Dear Sir: Your letter of December 23rd, just received. Richmond, Va., December 24th, 1915. I note that you ask me to give my recollection or knowledge of the destruction of our Court records during the war between the States. Responding to your inquiry, I have to say that I was raised in Hanover County, about eight miles east of Hanover C. H., but was rarely at Hanover C. H., until after the close of the war. The lower part of Hanover, reaching within a few miles of Hanover C. H., was occupied by the armies of McClellan and Grant, and was the subject of frequent cavalry raids, which took in Hanover C. H., and the Clerk of the County Court of Hanover County as a precaution against the destruction of the records of that Court removed them to Richmond, and they were deposited in the Court Bldg., which then stood on the Capitol Square just in front of the Franklin Street entrance from the east, just about where the fountain now stands, which building was destroyed, and so far as I know no papers of value were taken or quence all of the records of the County Court of Hanover County were burned. The records of the Circuit Court (which Court then had its own clerk in the same building with the County Court Clerk) were allowed to remain in the Clerk's Office at Hanover C. H. and though that section was several times raided and the Clerk's Office opened, and some few papers probably lost, I do not think any of the record books were destroyed, and, so far as I know, no papers of value were taken or destroyed. Among the records thus preserved two old books bound in raw hide dated about 1730, remained in the office and were not hurt. I do not know if this answers fully your inquiry, but if you desire any further information and I can obtain it for you will be very glad to answer any inquiry you make make. Yours very truly, GEO. P. HAW." *1 Through the generous co-operation of the Hon. S. P. Waddill, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Henrico County, we are able to offer the following letter in regard to the preservation of the records of that county: "Mr. Morgan P. Robinson, Archivist, Dear Sir: Richmond, Va. Richmond, Va., Your favor of the 14th ult. received, and in reply-The earliest records of this County begin with the year 1677, and from that date to 1781, we have a good many volumes, but they are not in continuous order, but from 1781 to the present date they are intact. I have always understood that a great many records of the County were destroyed when Arnold during the Revolution invaded this City, and the fact that there are volumes remaining prior to that date, is due to the fact that the records were carried from the City and stored at a point on James River known as the Powhatan Furnace. Some of the books prior to 1781 have indexes and others have not. The Board of Supervisors of this County some few years ago took up the matter of indexing them and had an index made of those in the 17th Century, but did not continue it from 1700 to 1781. It appears that the Governor of the State was authorized to appoint commissioners to set up lost records [Hening x, p. 453], and such a commission was appointed for this County by Governor Benj. Harrison on April 8th, 178-(82), and the Commission held its first session on the 24th day of February, 1783, and some of the records that were destroyed were set up by the commission. It is recited that the Commissioners met pursuant to the Act of the Assembly 'for the relief of persons who have been, or may be, injured by the destruction of the records of the County Courts.' In the proceedings it is stated that such an such a record had been destroyed by the enemy, but the circumstances attending the destruction are not stated. Some twenty or more years ago under an Act of the General Assembly, passed, I think, at the instance of Hon. Lyon G. Tyler, President of William and Mary College, the records of this office of the 17th Century were copied by the late Chas. M. Wallace, and were deposited in the State Library. I found these old records when I became connected with this office in a very damp place and hastening to destruction. I changed the location of them and took other means to preserve them and have had a number of them rebound. The paper in many of them is extremely brittle and the least handling damages them. Of late years they have been subjected to a great deal of handling by persons whose prime motive is to secure the information they want, and who have little respect for their preservation, and unless some remedy can be suggested they will finally be destroyed. All of the records of the Circuit Court of this County were destroyed at the Evacuation of the City on the 3rd day of April, 1865- the Court holding its sessions at the State Courthouse, which was located on the Capitol Square, just opposite the rear of the State Library, at the head of lower Franklin Street. No steps were ever taken to set up these records because the Court had no jurisdiction as to land titles, etc. Please excuse the delay in replying but I was not conscious of the fact that so much time had elapsed since the receipt of your letter. Yours truly, Samuel P. Waddill." 21, The "Journal of the House of Burgesses" (H. B., gives the name as Henricus, but thereafter as Henrico. "First Republic", pp. 254, 313). 31,b See note 29. 1619-59, pp. vii, 3) (See also Brown's * 82 Illinois County (1778-1784) was formed by an Act of Assembly passed December 9, 1778, "for the better protection and defence of the county and its inhabitants" (H. ix, p. 554), to "be enforced, from and after the passage of the same, for and during the term of twelve months * and no longer." (H. ix, p. 555). By an Act of Assembly passed July 14, 1780, the above Act of 1778 was amended to "continue and be in force for one year after the passing of this act, and from thence to the end of the next session of assembly." (H. x, p. 303). An Act of Congress passed September 6, 1780, "recommended to the several states in the Union, having claims to waste and unappropriated lands in the western country, a liberal cession to the United States, of a portion of their respective claims, for the common benefit of the nation." ("Journals of Congress", 1823, iii, pp. 516-7; H. xi, pp. 571-2). On January 2, 1781, the Virginia Assembly passed certain resolutions, setting forth her offer of "a Cession of the lands on the north west of Ohio to the United States", and the conditions thereto attached (H. x, p. 564). By an Act of Assembly passed December 20, 1783, the Virginia delegates in Congress were authorized "to convey to the United States, in congress assembled, all the right of this commonwealth in the territory north westward of the river Ohio" (H. xi, p. 326). By Deed of Cession of March 1, 1784, this area was conveyed to the United States, in Congress assembled, by the delegates from Virginia for that purpose designated. ("Journals of Congress", 1823, vol. iv, pp. 341-4; Н. xi, pp. 571-5). 33 Illinois County was formed in 1778 (H. ix, p. 554), but ceased to be a county of Virginia in 1784, when it was ceded to the United States (H. xi, pp. 571-5). |