Decrees, Qualifications, and Wills of the Second Auditor, 1850-1928

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

Summary

Extent:
10.6 cu. ft. (24 boxes)
Creator:
Virginia. Office of the Second Auditor.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Records, 1850-1928, containing legal notices of the qualification of administrators, executors, or guardians of estates of holders of Virginia state stock. The Virginia Office of the Second Auditor was required to keep a register of Virginia state stock and had to be informed on the sale or transfer of stocks by the administrators, executors or guardians of estates. The collection is housed in twenty-four boxes into two series. Included are decrees, indexes, letters, powers of attorney, qualifications, resolutions, and wills.

Biographical / historical:

The history of the second auditor's office began in 1823 when the office was created by the General Assembly as part of an act to improve the navigation of the James and Kanawha rivers. Under the act, the second auditor was given responsibility for the Fund for Internal Improvements and for acting as secretary to the Board of Public Works. He was also appointed clerk and accountant to the directors of the Literary Fund. An act passed in 1829 made him the superintendent of the fund, and he assumed the responsibilities formerly held by the president and directors. In 1835 an act authorized the commissioners of the newly created Sinking Fund to redeem the state's debt, and the second auditor was appointed a commissioner with the responsibility, together with the state treasurer, for keeping the accounts of this fund.

Prior to the Civil War, the duties of the second auditor were fairly simple and straightforward, as were the duties of the treasurer. After the war, however, the devastation of the state's economy resulted in the creation of more numerous and complicated records concerning the redemption of the state debt. The office of the second auditor suffered from inadequate procedures for maintaining accurate records on the state's finances. By 1874, neither office had a complete or accurate account of the public debt, and between 1874 and 1877 major scandals were disclosed involving both offices and that of the sergeant at arms of the House of Delegates. Although a complete revision of the accounting methods used by both financial offices, especially the second auditor's, was called for, only minor changes were made.

In 1906 a legislative committee made periodic inspections of the finance offices. Finding that the situation in the second auditor's office remained almost as chaotic as it had been in 1874, the committee recommended that the office be abolished and its duties taken over by the first auditor. Although the committee's recommendations were not followed, its members continued to call for reform. Action was taken only after the election of Governor Harry F. Byrd, Sr., in 1926. Byrd hired a group of consultants from New York to study the finance offices, and the resulting report brought about a complete reorganization of state government in 1928. The offices of first and second auditor were abolished and replaced by a newly created office of comptroller. The second auditor's office closed its books on February 29, 1928.

Acquisition information:
Transfer information unavailable [SAI 160, 161].
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into two series:

  • Series I: Indexes, 1850-1928 [SAI 160]
  • Series II: Decrees, Qualifications, and Wills, 1850-1928 [SAI 161]