A Guide to the Records of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, 1871-1914
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 31211
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Phone: (804) 692-3888 (Archives Reference)
Fax: (804) 692-3556 (Archives Reference)
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
© 2008 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Jessie R. Robinson
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Records of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, 1871-1914. Accession 31211, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
Transferred by Allen L. Lucy, Clerk, Supreme Court of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. 26 September 1981.
Historical Information
The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals was created by an act of the General Assembly passed at the May 1779 session and has continued to the present day. Its antecedent was the General Court, which, after it was reestablished under the constitution of 1776, shared appellate jurisdiction with the Supreme Court until 1851, when the new state constitution abolished the General Court. Prior to that date, the General Court had criminal jurisdiction, while the Supreme Court was restricted to civil cases. While the court now has concurrent original jurisdiction in issuing and hearing writs of habeas corpus, mandamus and prohibition, retirement, removal, and matters of judicial censure, its jurisdiction is almost exclusively appellate. An act of the General Assembly passed on March 16, 1971 changed the name of the court to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Originally, the judges of the other state courts also served on the Supreme Court. However, since 1789 Supreme Court judges have been elected by the General Assembly. Currently the court has seven justices whose term in office is twelve years. Although the Supreme Court has always held its sessions in Richmond, it also has met from time to time in other locations in the state for the convenience of its litigants. In particular, the court met at Wytheville from 1870-1945 and at Staunton from 1870-1971.
Scope and Content
Contains a variety of material including correspondence, job applications and recommendations, court case papers, law license applications, completed Bar Examinations, as well as proposals, bids and receipts for printing from the office of the Clerk of Court. The material reveals the process by which citizens were appointed to positions within the Court, as well the steps lawyers had to take in order to become licensed to practice in Virginia. Documents found in this collection also show the process by which printing of the Court's records was procured and managed by the Clerk of Court.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I. Correspondence, 1882-1910 Series II. Court Papers and Miscellaneous Documents, 1871-1914 Series III. Law License Applications and Bar Examinations, 1898-1906 Series IV. Printing Records, 1880-1903Contents List
Contains mostly correspondence related to filling vacancies at the various courts. The positions applied for include clerk, crier, librarian, reporter, stenographer, and tipstaff. The vacancies were spread amongst the courts at Richmond, Staunton and Wytheville. Most applicants wrote letters their own letters to the Supreme Court justices, but letters of recommendation and endorsement from prominent citizens were submitted as well. In many cases, an applicant's folder contains several copies of the same letter sent to each justice. Almost all of the application correspondence dates from the same time period (1894-1895). Also found in this series are two folders of letters written upon the death of Judge R.C.L. Moncure in 1882, and one folder of miscellaneous correspondence.
The application material is arranged according to the position applied for, and then grouped alphabetically by the last name of the applicant. The additional folders of general correspondence can be found at the end of the list.
-
Clerk of Court, Richmond.
- Box 1
Folder 1
Taylor, George K., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 1
-
Clerk of Court, Staunton.
- Box 1
Folder 2
Barnes, C.S.W., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 3
Boude, John C., 1894-1895 .
- Box 1
Folder 4
Kinney, John M., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 5
Kinney, John M., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 6
Powell, John A., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 6
Shenard, J.H., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 7
Waddell, Joseph A., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 2
-
Clerk of Court, Wytheville.
- Box 1
Folder 8
Campbell, A.A., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 9
Fudge, G.H., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 10
Lowry, William G.G., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 11
Lowry, William G.G., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 12
Lowry, William G.G., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 13
Lowry, William G.G., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 14
Lowry, William G.G., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 15
Lynch, T.A., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 15
Morriss, M.M., 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 16
Pendleton, William C., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 1
Powell, John J.A., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 2
Powell, John J.A., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 3
Powell, John J.A., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 4
Talliaferro, Van, 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 5
Terry, F.H., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 6
Terry, F.H., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 7
Terry, F.H., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 8
Thomas, C.B., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 8
Unidentified endorsement letter, 1894 .
- Box 1
Folder 8
-
Crier.
- Box 2
Folder 9
Cook, John A., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 10
Cook, John A., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 9
-
Librarian.
- Box 2
Folder 11
Christian, Joseph, 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 11
Cooper, Charles W., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 12
Fauntleroy, Randolph, 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 12
Hawkins, John B., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 13
Micou, A.R., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 14
Minor, Benjamin B., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 14
Montiero, J.X., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 15
Quarles, John E., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 15
Sanders, J.A., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 16
Scott, W.W., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 17
Scott, W.W., 1894 .
- Box 2
Folder 18
Scott, W.W., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 1
Turner, Charles W., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 2
Turner, Charles W., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 3
Van Doren, William, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 3
Wysor, B.J., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 4
Richards, L.M., 1910 .
- Box 3
Folder 4
Turner, Charles, 1910 .
- Box 2
Folder 11
-
Librarian / Crier.
- Box 3
Folder 5
Talliaferro, William M., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 5
-
Reporter.
- Box 3
Folder 6
Brown, Edward, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 7
Brown, J. Thompson, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 8
Brown, J. Thompson, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 9
Burks, Martin P., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 9
Davies, Samuel D., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 10
Eby, Abram C., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 10
Grattan, George, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 11
Harrison, James P., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 12
Howard, Overton, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 13
Howard, Overton, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 14
Kirkpatrick, F.S., 1894-1895 .
- Box 3
Folder 15
Logan, R.H., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 15
Matthews, James M., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 16
Moncure, E.C., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 17
Moore, Samuel J.C., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 18
Moore, Samuel J.C., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 19
Saunders, Edward, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 20
Saunders, Edward, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 21
Saunders, Edward, 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 22
Scott, R. Carter, 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 1
Tredway, James L., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 2
Tredway, James L., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 3
Tredway, James L., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 4
Turner, C.W., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 4
Turner, Robert H., 1894 .
- Box 3
Folder 6
-
Stenographer.
- Box 4
Folder 5
Bolling, John R., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 5
Jones, Stewart, 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 5
-
Tipstaff, Richmond.
- Box 4
Folder 6
Bigger, Samuel W., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 7
Burgess, D.M., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 8
Gaulding, R.J., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 9
Hackett, Samuel P., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 10
Moncure, W. Eustace, 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 11
Russell, W.E., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 12
Talley, John L., 1894-1895 .
- Box 4
Folder 13
Ward, Robert D., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 6
-
Tipstaff / Crier, Richmond.
- Box 4
Folder 12
Hulce, Herbert L., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 12
-
Tipstaff, Staunton.
- Box 4
Folder 14
Kinney, William N., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 15
Turner, Logan, 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 14
-
Tipstaff, Wytheville.
- Box 4
Folder 16
Cook, John A., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 16
-
Tipstaff / Crier / Janitor, Wytheville.
- Box 4
Folder 17
Gibson, Peter, 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 17
Harper, John E., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 17
Hockett, J.C., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 17
Houston, M.D., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 17
Moyers, David H., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 17
Romans, John M., Jr., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 17
Wolfe, W.A., 1894 .
- Box 4
Folder 17
-
Miscellaneous Correspondence.
- Box 4
Folder 18
Application envelopes and lists, 1894; undated .
- Box 4
Folder 19
Death of Judge R.C.L. Moncure (Memorial Meeting), 1882 .
- Box 4
Folder 20
Death of Judge R.C.L. Moncure (Memorial Meeting), 1882 .
- Box 4
Folder 21
Miscellaneous letters, 1886-1896 .
- Box 4
Folder 18
Contains papers associated with a variety of court cases assumed to have been heard by the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Some of the papers are arranged according to the style of suit. Other court papers, mostly court orders from the Staunton and Wytheville courts, were found to be grouped together according to the court in which they were heard. That original arrangement was maintained. Also included in this series is a group of miscellaneous court-related documents and reference material, such as the signed oath of Judge Martin P. Burks (1919), and a published version of the Rules of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals (1871).
Arranged in three groups: court papers by style of suit, court papers by court, and miscellaneous/reference material. Arranged alphabetically within.
-
Papers by Style of Suit.
- Box 5
Folder 1
Administrator of Richard Baugham vs New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad, 1914 .
- Box 5
Folder 2
Bridgewater Roller Mills Company vs Strough, 1901 .
- Box 5
Folder 3
Broaddus, et. al. vs Supervisors of Essex County, 1901 .
- Box 5
Folder 4
John H. Core vs City of Norfolk, 1901 .
- Box 5
Folder 5
Fidelity Loan and Trust Company vs John Engleby, et. al., 1900 .
- Box 5
Folder 6
First National Bank of Roanoke vs Terry's Administrator, 1900 .
- Box 5
Folder 7
Hancock vs White-Hall Tobacco Warehouse, 1902 .
- Box 5
Folder 8
Hancock vs White-Hall Tobacco Warehouse, 1902 .
- Box 5
Folder 9
Raymond Hudson vs T.J. Barham, Trustee, undated .
- Box 5
Folder 10
William M. McAllister vs Lewis Harman and Carter Berkeley, 1901 .
- Box 5
Folder 11
Millhiser Manufacturing vs Gallego Mills Company, et. al., undated .
- Box 5
Folder 12
William O'Boyle vs Commonwealth of Virginia, 1901 .
- Box 5
Folder 13
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company vs Johnston, et. al., 1901 .
- Box 5
Folder 14
Amelia Russell vs Commonwealth of Virginia, undated .
- Box 5
Folder 15
Charles Shoemaker vs Joseph M. Bowman, undated .
- Box 5
Folder 16
F.C. Todd vs Charles L. Ruffin, et. al., 1902 .
- Box 5
Folder 17
Virginia Coal and Coke Company vs Judge William S. Stuart, 1902 .
- Box 5
Folder 1
-
Papers by Court.
- Box 5
Folder 18
Staunton, 1880 .
- Box 5
Folder 19
Staunton, 1893 .
- Box 5
Folder 20
Staunton, 1894 .
- Box 5
Folder 21
Wytheville, 1880 .
- Box 5
Folder 22
Wytheville, 1893 June .
- Box 5
Folder 23
Wytheville, 1893 July .
- Box 5
Folder 24
Wytheville, 1894 .
- Box 5
Folder 25
Wytheville, 1894 .
- Box 5
Folder 18
-
Miscellaneous Documents / Reference Material.
- Box 5
Folder 26
Argument Docket, Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, 1904 .
- Box 5
Folder 27
Court fee receipts, 1879-1886 .
- Box 5
Folder 28
Oath: Judge Martin P. Burks, 1919 .
- Box 5
Folder 29
Oath: Andrew C. Gilligan, 1900 .
- Box 5
Folder 30
Rules of the Supreme Court of Porto Rico, 1904 .
- Box 5
Folder 31
Rules of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, 1871 .
- Box 5
Folder 26
Contains applications for certification to take the Bar Examination, as well as handwritten exams. During this time, applicants were required to apply for certification through the Court before taking the exam. Each applicant was also required to submit written recommendations from practicing lawyers regarding the applicant's knowledge and character. Along with the applications is one folder of related correspondence. This series also contains many completed, handwritten examinations, all of which received failing grades. The examinations include both the questions and the answers given. Many of the exams are undated.
Applications are arranged alphabetically by applicant's last name, while the examinations are arranged chronologically by year, and then alphabetically within.
-
Law License Applications.
- Box 6
Folder 1
Archer, Henry F., 1898 .
- Box 6
Folder 1
Armistead, Frank, 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 1
Aylett, P.H., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 2
Bolling, Frank C., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 2
Brown, Gordon, 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 2
Dame, Charles M., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 3
Goodwyn, H.W., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 3
Guerrant, John G., 1898 .
- Box 6
Folder 3
Hobson, Haskins, Jr., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 4
McCormick, Frank, 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 4
Mooklar, W. Temple, 1898-1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 4
Moore, Robert E., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 5
Rives, Robert S., 1898 .
- Box 6
Folder 5
Ross, John, Jr., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 6
Weckert, John C., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 6
Weymouth, John, 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 6
Welsh, John B., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 7
White, David M., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 7
Williams, R. Gray, 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 7
Winn, Arthur W., 1899 .
- Box 6
Folder 8
Application-related correspondence, 1900 .
- Box 6
Folder 1
-
Bar Examinations (Failed).
-
1903.
- Box 6
Folder 9
Burdett, Lewis S.
- Box 6
Folder 9
Pearson, Harry L.
- Box 6
Folder 9
Stoakley, W.D.
- Box 6
Folder 9
-
1904.
- Box 6
Folder 10
Beverly, L.T.
- Box 6
Folder 10
French, Killey S.
- Box 6
Folder 10
Harris, Thomas S.
- Box 6
Folder 10
Lewis, James T.
- Box 6
Folder 11
Pearson, Harry L.
- Box 6
Folder 11
Sutherland, M.L.
- Box 6
Folder 11
Stoakley, W.D.
- Box 6
Folder 10
-
1905.
- Box 6
Folder 12
Bragg, Sanford B.
- Box 6
Folder 12
Cutchins, John A.
- Box 6
Folder 13
Daugherty, W.A.
- Box 6
Folder 13
Harris, T.S.
- Box 6
Folder 13
Hulton, A.P.
- Box 6
Folder 14
Leonard, James H.
- Box 6
Folder 14
Light, S.H.
- Box 6
Folder 14
Reid, Joseph H.
- Box 6
Folder 15
Sutherland, M.L.
- Box 6
Folder 15
Whitley, George F.
- Box 6
Folder 16
Williamson, J.L.
- Box 6
Folder 16
Wilson, Charles G.
- Box 6
Folder 12
-
1906.
- Box 7
Folder 1
Baggarly, F.C.
- Box 7
Folder 1
Beverly, F.T.
- Box 7
Folder 1
Bickers, H.C.
- Box 7
Folder 1
Jackson, William.
- Box 7
Folder 1
Liggan, William G.
- Box 7
Folder 1
-
Undated.
- Box 7
Folder 2
Armistead, Frank.
- Box 7
Folder 2
Bowlin, W.B.
- Box 7
Folder 2
Crockett, Albert P.
- Box 7
Folder 3
Duff, Thomas F.
- Box 7
Folder 3
Issacs, George G.
- Box 7
Folder 3
Lewis, James T.
- Box 7
Folder 3
Peatross, [Illegible].
- Box 7
Folder 4
Thomas, S.B.
- Box 7
Folder 4
Thraves, W.V.
- Box 7
Folder 4
Tucker, Grafton.
- Box 7
Folder 2
-
Contains a variety of documents related to the printing of court records by the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Appeals. It appears that the Court was required to solicit bids for printing every year through a newspaper advertisement. The company with the most attractive bid was then responsible for printing the Court's records for the following year. Included in this series are printing account payment receipts, proposals and bids submitted by printers, very limited correspondence, and two General Assembly bills related to changes to the Code of Virginia affecting the Clerk and the printing of court records.
Arranged alphabetically according to type of record; arrangement within each group varies.
-
Printing Accounts Paid.
- Box 7
Folder 5
1880-1881 .
- Box 7
Folder 6
1881 .
- Box 7
Folder 7
1882-1883 .
- Box 7
Folder 8
1883-1884 .
- Box 7
Folder 9
1884-1885 .
- Box 7
Folder 10
1885-1886 .
- Box 7
Folder 11
1886-1887 .
- Box 7
Folder 12
1887-1888 .
- Box 7
Folder 13
1888-1889 .
- Box 7
Folder 14
1894 .
- Box 7
Folder 15
1894-1895 .
- Box 7
Folder 16
1895-1896 .
- Box 7
Folder 17
1896-1897 .
- Box 7
Folder 18
1897-1898 .
- Box 7
Folder 19
1898-1899 .
- Box 7
Folder 20
1899-1900 .
- Box 7
Folder 21
1900-1901 .
- Box 8
Folder 1
1901-1902 .
- Box 8
Folder 2
1902-1903 .
- Box 8
Folder 3
undated .
- Box 8
Folder 4
Lists of Cases and Amounts for Printing Records, 1894-1898 .
- Box 7
Folder 5
-
Printing Proposals.
- Box 8
Folder 5
1882 .
- Box 8
Folder 6
1883-1884 .
- Box 8
Folder 7
1885-1886 .
- Box 8
Folder 8
1887-1888 .
- Box 8
Folder 9
1888-1889 .
- Box 8
Folder 10
1889-1890 .
- Box 8
Folder 11
1890-1891 .
- Box 8
Folder 12
1891-1892 .
- Box 8
Folder 13
1892-1893 .
- Box 8
Folder 14
1893-1894 .
- Box 8
Folder 15
1894-1895 .
- Box 8
Folder 16
1895 .
- Box 8
Folder 17
1896-1897 .
- Box 8
Folder 18
1898-1899 .
- Box 8
Folder 19
1899-1900 .
- Box 8
Folder 20
1900 .
- Box 8
Folder 21
1901 .
- Box 8
Folder 22
1902-1903 .
- Box 8
Folder 23
1903 .
- Box 8
Folder 5
-
Printing-Related Documents.
- Box 8
Folder 24
Correspondence, 1892-1902 .
- Box 8
Folder 25
General Assembly Bill to Amend and Reenact Section 3476 of the Code of Virginia, undated .
- Box 8
Folder 26
General Assembly Bill to Amend and Reenact Section 3507 of the Code of Virginia, undated .
- Box 8
Folder 27
Response to General Assembly Proposed Code Changes, undated .
- Box 8
Folder 24