Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Use microfilm copy, Rockbridge County (Va.) Reel 201.

Preferred Citation

Rockbridge County (Va.) Poor House Register, 1887-1927. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Rockbridge County.

The microfilm was generated by Backstage Library Works through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.

Historical Information

Rockbridge County was named for Natural Bridge, an exceptional rock formation located in the county. The county was formed from Augusta and Botetourt counties in 1778, and another part of Botetourt was added later.

In 1780 the Virginia General Assembly replaced the Anglican vestries and churchwardens of the colonial period with elected bodies called Overseers of the Poor. The Overseers provided food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment for the persons who were too poor to support themselves or too ill to provide for their basic needs. The Overseers took over the supervision of the poorhouses and workhouses built by the vestries and built new poorhouses and workhouses where they were needed.

In 1844, the General Assembly enacted laws to create poor farms overseen by boards of directors for the maintenance and education of the poor. The boards bought farms and built buildings, appointed a superintendant for each poor farm, and chose a physician to attend the sick and teachers to educate the children. The adults and older children were required to work if they were able.

Scope and Content

The Rockbridge County (Va.) Poor House Register is one volume dated 1887-1927. The register gives the name of the people living in the poor house, their age when they were admitted, the district from which they came, and the date when discharged. There is a column for remarks. This column tells what happened to the people. It gives the dates of death, the name of a person a people went to live with after living in the poor house, or the place the inmate moved to when they left the poor house. There is a section of the book that gives birth dates for children born in the poor house between July 16, 1887 and May 14, 1918. There is another section with death dates for people dying in the poor house or county farm between August 4, 1887 and June 18, 1927.

Found in the pages of the book is a blotter provided by McCrum Drug Company, Inc., Lexington, Virginia. A note written to G. L. Clark, Superintendent of the Poor dated July 11, 1924, asking him to care for Mrs. Mary Harler. A note written to Mr. Paxton dated November 3, 1927, asking him to care for George Hicks as an inmate of the county farm. Seven burial request forms for burials on August 17, 1919, August 1, 1921, May 9, 1922, February 3, 1923, March 30, 1923 (two burials), and April 6, 1925. . There is a letter written to Mr. Grover Clark, Superintendent of the Poor, undated, asking him to allow Henry Mutispaugh to live at the county farm.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

Additional Rockbridge County Court Records can be found on microfilm in the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm"

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Rockbridge County (Va.) Board of Overseers of the Poor
• Rockbridge County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Almshouses--Virginia--Rockbridge County
• Poor--Virginia--Rockbridge County
• Public Welfare--Virginia--Rockbridge County

Geographical Names:

• Rockbridge County--History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Rockbridge County
• Registers (lists) --Virginia--Rockbridge County

Adjunct Descriptive Data