Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Use microfilm copy, Highland County (Va.) Reel 35.

Preferred Citation

Highland County (Va.) Records of the Overseers of the Poor, 1847-1861. Local Government Records Collection, Highland 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 Highland County.

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

Historical Information

Highland County was named for its mountainous terrain. It was formed from Bath and Pendleton (West Virginia) Counties in 1847.

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. They also bound out children whose parents could not support them or who failed to educate or instruct them, as well as orphans to become apprentices. The boys learned a trade and the girls learned domestic skills.

Scope and Content

The Highland County (Va.) Records of the Overseer of the Poor is one volume dated 1847-1861. The minutes give the names of people receiving financial support, food, and clothing, as well as those removing into and out of the county, and the burial of the deceased. The reports names the individuals providing the services to the poor people and the amounts they were paid. The minutes also include the details of the Board of the Overseers of the Poor's annual financial settlement with the Sheriff for the years 1848 through 1861.

Stuck in the book are an undated statement that Edgar Wilson was to testify before a Grand Jury which is signed by J. C. Matheny, Clerk; a part of an envelope with an address and a stamp; and a letter from Harrie Rexrode to an unnamed person dated Dec. 21, 1903.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

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

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

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

Subjects:

• Poor--Virginia--Highland County
• Public welfare--Virginia--Highland County
• Tax collection--Virginia--Highland County

Geographical Names:

• Highland County--History--19th century

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Highland County
• Minutes--Virginia--Highland County

Adjunct Descriptive Data