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Preferred Citation

Miscellaneous New   Kent   County   (Va.) Civil War Era Records, 1861-1863. Local government records collection, New   Kent   County   Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came in a transfer of court papers from New   Kent   County   under the accession number 43278.

Historical Information

James Lyons, 1801-1882, was born in Hanover County  , Virginia. He served in the Confederate Congress as representative from Virginia, 1862-1864.

New   Kent   County   may have been named either for the English county   of Kent   or for Kent   Island, in the upper waters of the Chesapeake Bay. William Claiborne, a native of Kent   who had been driven from Kent   Island by Lord Baltimore, was a prominent resident of the New   Kent   area about 1654 when the county   was formed from York County  . Part of James City County   was added in 1767. The county   seat is New   Kent  .

Records were destroyed when John Posey set fire to the courthouse on 15 July 1787. Many records were lost when the courthouse was partially destroyed by fire during Civil War hostilities in 1862. Additional records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Scope and Content

Miscellaneous New   Kent   County   (Va.) Civil War Era Records, 1861-1863, consist of the following: inventories and receipts used to keep track of goods purchased by the county   on behalf of families of New   Kent   County   soldiers, papers related to salt distribution in the county  , correspondence, and a statement made to New   Kent   County   Court.

Inventories and receipts, 1861-1863, used to keep track of goods purchased by the county   on behalf of families of New   Kent   County   soldiers record date of purchase, items purchased (sugar, coffee, corn, etc.,), name of soldier and number of family members, where soldier was serving, total amount paid, and receipts related to purchases.

Papers related to salt distribution in the county  , 1863, include a salt agent bond, report of salt agent, and receipts.

Letter and petition, 1863, related to the burning of the New   Kent   County   jail by Confederate troops. The letter was written by James Lyons, a Virginia representative in the Confederate Congress, to John P. Pierce at New   Kent   County   Courthouse. Lyons informs Pierce that the Confederate Secretary of War refused to assist the county   with building a new   jail; therefore, the county   leaders should send Lyons a petition providing a detailed account of the burning of the jail by Confederate troops. Lyons stated he would present the petition to the Confederate House of Representatives. A copy of the county's   petition is included with the letter. The petition details how and why the jail was burned by Confederate troops in pursuance of orders by General J.E.B. Stuart; the county's   belief that the Confederate government should be responsible for rebuilding the jail; and the inability of the county   to fund the rebuilding of a jail due to debilitating effects of the war on the tax base.

Statement, 1862, made by Beverley P. Crump filed in New   Kent   County   Court regarding his imprisonment and trial by Union troops in New   Kent   County  . Crump informs the court that he took the oath of allegiance to the United States in order to gain his freedom; however, he regrets having done so and wants to retract it.

Related Material

New   Kent   County   is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional New   Kent   County Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection available at Virginia Memory.

For more information and a listing of lost records localities see Lost Records research note .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• New   Kent   County   (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Jails -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Public welfare -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Salt -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Soldiers.

Geographical Names:

• New   Kent   County   -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Destruction and pillage.
• New   Kent   County   -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate.
• New   Kent   County   -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons.
• New   Kent   County   -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Inventories -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Letters (correspondence) -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Local government records -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Petitions -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Receipts (financial records) -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .
• Reports -- Virginia -- New   Kent   County  .

Added Entry - Personal Name:

• Lyons, James, 1801-1882.

Adjunct Descriptive Data