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Augusta County (Va.) Court Papers, 1745-1776. Local government records collection, Augusta County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
The original papers (items) were lent ot the Virginia State Library in August 1967.
The negative photostatic volume was created by the Virginia State Library's (now the Library of Virginia)Archives Division, under the accession number 26980, from the original papers.
Augusta County was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 9 December 1745. The county was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, who married Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and was the mother of King George III.
"Presiding over the county court was a bench of Justices of the Peace appointed by the governor of the colony. The sheriff, who was also a justice, was presiding officer and chief administrator. The clerk of the court kept minutes of the proceedings in court order books. The county court tried all civil cases above the precinct level, and all criminal cases except felonies and those carrying the death penalty for white persons." In effect, the county court directed all aspects of county affairs both from a judicial and adminstrative standpoint. The entire history of this court is noted in this historic volume.
Local taxes were assessed in pounds of tobacco on the head tax basis, called tithes or tithable. The term "tithable" referred to a person who paid (or for whom someone else paid) on of the taxes imposed by the General Assembly for the support of civil government in the colony. In colonial Virginia, a poll tax or capitation tax was assessed on free white males, African American slaves, and Native American servants (both male and female), all age sixteen or older.
Apprentice indentures are bonds and contracts showing the names of the master and apprentice, the trade to be taught, details of the contract, amount of the bond and names of the sureties.
The original records, from which this volume was compiled, were created by the County Court.
Augusta County (Va.) Court Papers, 1745-1776, is a volume comprised of individual items noted in other county records such as a minute book, will books (volumes 1-4) and order books (volumes 1-16.) The volume reflects the wide range of subjects covered by the county court (in its executive capacity) during this time including accounts, bonds, road petitions and overseer appointments, tithable lists, exemptions from taxes, unclaimed land and land alterations, agricultural subsidies, indentured servants, apprentice indentures, mill petitions, inquisitions, bills of sale for slaves and the only surviving marriage consent (1751). Each individual item is identified by both a section and individual item number--hand numbered prior to creating the photostatic volume. For reference purposes only, the items are separated into two volumes. The first volume is comprised of sections 1-7 and the second volume is comprised of sections 8-14.
An overview in the front of the volume notes the subjects covered by each section and the volume number. Each section is broken down into item number, date of item, source of item and description of item. The back of items are noted with a letter b. Items appear in this volume that were previously unrecorded. The volume also cites the abstract work of Judge Lyman Chalkley as he referenced a number of these early items in his three volume work on the "Records of Augusta County, 1745-1800." His abstracts were purchased by the DAR in 1905. The volume dates from the meeting of the first county court, 9 December 1745 until the official year of independence from mother England, 4 July 1776.
Additional Augusta County Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult
Consult Lyman Chalkley's "Records of Augusta County, Virginia, 1745-1800, 3 vols., 1965" found in the Library of Virginia's book collection.
For an excellent overview of the early court system, consult "A History of Early Spotsylvania" by James Roger Mansfield, pages 103-106 found in the Library of Virginia's book collection.