Collections

Accomack County (Va.) Oaths of Allegiance and Justice of the Peace Appointments, 1757-1758 and 1761-1762, consist of two oaths of allegiance and two justice of the peace appointments. The oaths of allegiance are dated 1757-1758 and are signed by multiple men below the text of the oath. The justice of the peace appointments are dated 1761-1762 and appoint multiple men to be justices. The oaths of allegiance and appointments are related and contain many of the same names.

Accomack County (Va.) Oyer and Terminer Commissions and Test Oath, 1740-1777, records the appointment of individuals to a court of oyer and terminer whose purpose was to try slaves accused of committing capital offenses. Information found in the commissions include the names of individuals appointed to the court, names of slaves to be tried, names of slaveowners, crimes committed by slaves, and trial dates. The collection also includes a test oath the justices were required to take before they could serve on the court of oyer and terminer.

Accomack County (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1846-1854, consist of records related to the petitions of over 40 individuals. These petitions are applications that formerly enslaved individuals submitted to state and local courts for permission to remain in Virginia with their free status. The petitions often include the formerly enslaved individual's name, their method of emancipation, name of their former enslaver, and whether the application/petition was successful or not. Petitions may also include affidavits signed mainly by white residents or witness statements again provided by white residents. Additional names of enslaved or free Black and multiracial individuals can be found in these records.

Accomack County (Va.) Port of Entry Books, 1778-1793, consist of 2 volumes that record the arrival of ships to Virginia's Eastern Shore ports located in Accomack County. Each entry includes the date each ship arrived, it's name, the ship's most recent port of departure, the type of vessel (schooner, sloop, etc), the ship's size, where it was built, the name and citizenship of the ship's master and owners, and some entries include a brief description of it's cargo.

Accomack County (Va.) powers of attorney and letters relating to slaves of Bull and Warner, 1839, includes three letters from William Hugg of Camden, New Jersey to James Ailworth of Accomack County. Hugg notified Ailworth that he had captured and imprisoned slaves that belonged to the estates of John Bull, Sr., and Jacob Warner. Ailworth was the administrator of Bull's estate. Hugg requested Ailworth to send someone to recover the slaves. In one of the letters, he references abolitionists. The collection also includes two powers of attorney that gave representatives of Warner and Bull's estates the authority to recover the slaves.

Accomack County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1700-1850 circa typically record an area of land processioned with geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the local court.

Accomack County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1700-1850 circa typically record an area of land processioned with geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the local court.

Accomack County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1700-1850 circa typically record an area of land processioned with geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the local court.

Accomack County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1700-1850 circa typically record an area of land processioned with geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the local court.

Accomack County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1788-1850 typically record an area of land processioned with geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the local court.