Giles County (Va.) Reports of Indigent Soldiers' Families, 1861-1865

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:

Giles County (Va.) Reports of Indigent Soldiers' Families, 1861-1865. Local government records collection, Giles County (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

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

Giles County (Va.) Reports of Indigent Soldiers' Families, 1861-1865. Local government records collection, Giles County (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Giles County (Va.) Reports of Indigent Soldiers' Families, 1861-1865, records names of the soldiers and family members, number of children per family, the amount of money or provisions provided to each family and for what use. The reports record that funds were to be used for provisions, shoes and clothing.

Biographical / historical:

Giles County was named for William Branch Giles, United States senator from Virginia in 1806 when the county was created from Montgomery, Monroe (now in West Virginia), and Tazewell Counties. Several subsequent additions were made from Wythe (1808), Monroe in 1829 and Mercer in 1841 (both now in West Virginia), Craig (1880), and Tazewell (1826 and 1836) Counties. The county seat is Pearisburg.

Throughout the Civil War, the principal responsibility for Virginia's indigent soldiers' families lay with the locality. The Virginia State Convention in 1861 gave the responsibility entirely to counties and incorporated towns and authorized whatever actions had already been taken. Acts of Assembly in 1862 and 1863 expanded the localities' powers to provide for their needy, and in 1863 some minimal state assistance was added in. At first relief was provided as money, but as the monetary system collapsed, relief was distributed in kind. Agents of the court maintained lists of eligible families, gathered goods for distribution and paid for them, and impressed supplies if necessary. Virginia was unique amongst the southern states in that it assigned the provisioning of needy families almost solely to the locality.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Giles County.
Arrangement:

Chronological.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
0.10 cu. ft.