Westmoreland County (Va.) Sheriff's Tax and Fee Book, 1794-1795

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Westmoreland County (Va.) Sheriff's Tax and Fee Book, 1794-1795. Local government records collection, Westmoreland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Westmoreland County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Westmoreland County (Va.) Sheriff's Tax and Fee Book, 1794-1795. Local government records collection, Westmoreland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Westmoreland County (Va.) Sheriff's Tax and Fee Book, 1794-1795, records the duties of the early county sheriff as both tax collector and law enforcement official. Like earlier Virginia tax records, the volume is a small booklet of manuscript lists that record the names of property owners arranged by the intial letter of the surname. The book records both land tax and personal property information as well as other tax related information. Fees for the prosecution of court cases--serving warrants, petitions, executions (court orders directing a sheriff to enforce a judgment), etc. are interspersed with the tax information. Essentially, the volume is the record book of fees/taxes owed and amounts collected. The volume has an internal index which is both alphabetical and numerical. The index is arranged according to the last letter of the individual's surname (A-W) and the page number order in which the name appears in the volume.

Biographical / historical:

Westmoreland County was formed from Northumberland County in 1653, and part of King George County was exchanged with Westmoreland in 1778. The county was named for the English county.

The sheriff was "the most powerful and the best paid of any court official in colonial times." Among his many duties, he collected the taxes, which were paid in tobacco, took custody of it and paid the county expenses as directed by the court. By doing so, he acted as a combination of both the commissioner of revenue and the county treasurer. The sheriff was also responsible for services rendered in the prosecution of court cases (law enforcement.) He was appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by the county court. His term of office was for one year until 1731, after which it was two years. His two deputies, also known as sub (under) sheriffs, did most of the work.

In 1782, the General Assembly of Virginia enacted a major revision of the tax laws of the Commonwealth. The act provided for the statewide enumeration on the county level of land and certain personal property. The act created a permanent source of revenue for the operation of government in Virginia.

The original records, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.

Acquisition information:
The original volume was given as a gift, under the accession number 41043, to the Library of Virginia and has been conserved.
Arrangement:

Arranged by the intial letter of the surname; arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v. (207 leaves)