Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

George Family Papers, 1733-1920. Accession 24642. City of Richmond Circuit Court Records, Local government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the City of Richmond Circuit Court, Richmond, Virginia, 20 March 1956

Family History

The George family were prominent residents of Caroline, Henrico, and Middlesex Counties, and the City of Richmond, Virginia. Reuben George (d. 1799) was the son of John George (1704-1784) and his first wife Mary Jordan. Reuben George married Mildred Rogers. He died about November 1799. His son, Byrd George, was born on 17 May 1768. He married first, Mary Garthright, of Henrico County, and second, Catherine Wilson, of Caroline County. He died on 7 December 1836. A son by his second marriage, William Orville George, was born on 28 February 1811. He was a resident of Richmond, and owned a large amount of real estate and dwellings which he rented, and also bought, sold, and hired out slaves. He died in Richmond on 16 August 1869.

Scope and Content Information

Papers, 1733-1920, of the George family of Caroline, Henrico, and Middlesex Counties, and Richmond, Virginia. The majority of the collection concerns Reuben George (d. 1799), his son Byrd George (1768-1836), and his son William O. George (1811-1869). This collection was transferred to the Archives by order of the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond.

The correspondence covers the years 1763-1844. Topics covered include business and financial matters, legal issues, including land disputes and debts, and estate administrations. There is a substantial amount of correspondence concerning slaves owned by various members of the George family, including their division upon the deaths of family members, and the hiring out of slaves to individuals in the area. Correspondents include James Baber, Byrd George, James George, Reuben George, William O. George, Ursula George, Mary McHaney, Wilson Cary Nelson, and Achilles Rogers.

Also included in the collection are various official appointments of Reuben George, as well as bonds. A large portion of the papers are business and financial records, containing account books, agreements, powers of attorney, bank books, Confederate bonds, lists of money loaned, Negro hires, slave divisions, slave bills of sale, tobacco purchases and shipments, cancelled checks, and receipts. There is also information relating to the construction of the State Penitentiary in Richmond, covering the years 1798 to 1800, including orders written by the architect, Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820).

Another significant portion of the collection consists of court records, namely those relating to the suit Pilcher v. George, which began in 1869, with the death of William O. George, and continued up until 1920. The suit involved a dispute between the heirs of William O. George, and the settlement of his estate. The papers in the series are copies. The originals remain in the Circuit Court of Richmond.

The ficuciary records and estate papers include accounts, sales, divisions, and receipts relating to the estates of Dabney Garthright, Byrd George, Catherine George, John George Sr., John George, Mary George, Reuben George (d. 1799), Reuben George (d. 1807), Robert George, Beverley Graves, James Isbell, Betty Mickleburrough, Robert Mickleburrough, Achilles Rogers, Reuben Tankersley, Catherine Wilson, and Zachariah Wilson.

The land records contain deeds, both original and copies, land patents, plats, and surveys. The military records include adjutant general's orders, Council orders, militia payrolls, returns, and muster rolls, a copy of the constitution and by-laws of the Richmond Light Dragoons (1848), subscription receipts, and other miscellaneous items.

There are also a number of copies of wills of members of the George family, as well as for individuals for whom they were executors. The individuals include Julius Allen, John Garthright, Byrd George, Reuben George, Daniel Isbell, Nancy Clarke Mayo, Sarah Price, Robert Spear, Reuben Tankersley, Zachariah Wilson, and Nathaniel Young.

The miscellaneous records include clippings, George family genealogical notes, insurance policies, invitations, and promissory notes, as well as other unique items, such as a list of students at the College of William and Mary (1830-1831), a lockgate pass (1801), a lottery ticket from the Medical College of Maryland (n.d.), and a proclamation concerning a runaway slave of John George (1758).

There is also a box of oversized items, including deeds, land patents and grants, a relief subscription list, pardons and oaths of allegiance, patent papers for inventions of William O. George, plats and surveys, and tobacco bills of lading and invoices.

Organization

Series I. Correspondence. Series II. Bonds, Commissions, Oaths. Series III. Business and Financial Records. Series IV. Court Records. Series V. Fiduciary Records and Estate Papers. Series VI. Land Records. Series VII. Military Records. Series VIII. Wills. Series IX. Miscellaneous Records. Series X. Oversized Items.