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Essex County (Va.) List of Guardians, 1804-1823, was a register kept by the county court clerk. According to a note found in the front of the volume, the clerk was ordered to issue summonses against all guardians who obtained their appointments during this time period so that all accounts could be settled. The register lists the names of the guardians, the names of the wards, the date of the guardians' qualifications, the names of the parents, the account of guardianship (when settled and for what years) and any accounts not settled.

Essex County (Va.) List of Negroes Belonging to Those Under a Guardian and Unsettled Estates, 1821-1825, is a volume that records lists of slaves held by persons who inherited via a will still in probate or as a result of widow's dower rights, and lists of the slaves belonging to an unsettled estate. Several of these lists are for slaves held by a guardian for his charge. The lists give the name of the owner, widow, and/or guardian; to whose estate the slaves belong; the names and ages of the slaves; some familial relationships, especially that of mother and child; and the date that the list was recorded by the court. Some of the lists are additions to previous lists that give slave births or deaths since the original list was recorded. There is an index at the beginning of the volume that lists in alphabetical order by surname the names of either the estate holder or the legatee and the page number where the list can be found.