A Guide to the Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records, 1870-1912 Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records, 1870-1912 Barcode numbers 1114392, 1114394, 1114399, 1114401, 1114403, 1114406, 1114448, 1114454/Richmond (Va.) Reel 1000

A Guide to the Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records, 1870-1912

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Collection numbers Barcode numbers 1114392, 1114394, 1114399, 1114401, 1114403, 1114406, 1114448, 1114454/Richmond (Va.) Reel 1000


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Repository
The Library of Virginia
Collection numbers.
Barcode numbers 1114392, 1114394, 1114399, 1114401, 1114403, 1114406, 1114448, 1114454/Richmond (Va.) Reel 1000
Title
Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records, 1870-1912
Physical Characteristics
8 v. (2688 p.)
Collector
Richmond (Va.) Circuit Court
Location
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records, 1870-1912. Local government records collection, Richmond (City) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of papers from Richmond.

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

Historical Information

The City of Richmond is located between Henrico and Chesterfield Counties. It was named by William Byrd II, who with the help of William Mayo laid out the town in 1737. The name probably came from the English borough of Richmond upon Thames. Richmond was established in 1742 and in 1779 was designated the capitol of Virginia effective April 1780. Incorporated as a town in 1782 and incorporated as a city in 1842, it was the capital of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. Richmond was enlarged by several annexations, including Manchester/South Richmond (1910), Barton Heights, Fairmount, and Highland Park (1914). A further annexation form Chesterfield County occurred in 1970.

Manchester (extinct), in the city of Richmond, was established in 1769 on land owned by William Byrd (1728-1777) on the south bank of the James River. The General Assembly had authorized Fort Charles to be built there in 1645, and the site was soon named Rocky Ridge. After its establishment in 1769, the newly laid-out town was named probably for Manchester Parish in Chesterfield County. The parish in turn was named either for George Montague, fourth duke of Manchester, or for the town of Manchester, England. Incorporated as a town in 1834, Manchester served as the county seat for Chesterfield County from 1871 until 1874 when it was incorporated as a city (although Chesterfield did not move its courthouse until 1876). In 1910 Manchester was consolidated with the city of Richmond with the provisos that a free bridge would be constructed to connect Manchester with Richmond and that Manchester would retain a courthouse. Today the area is also known as South Richmond.

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 cites had Almshouses to board invalids and paupers living in their cities. They also obtained employment for those who were able to work.

Scope and Content

The Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Books are six volumes dated 1870-1875, 1875-1885, 1885-1896, 1896-1899, 1899-1904, and 1908-1912. The books give the minutes from the Committee meetings. They discussed the administration of the Almshouse, renovation to the buildings and maintaining the buildings. The city also operated a soup house, an ambulance service, a hospital, and other services. The records discuss the services provided for individual inmates. The minutes include accounts of purchases of goods and services for the White and Colored Almshouses and for the employees and inmates. The minutes provide detailed descriptions of the activities occurring in and associated with the almshouses. The minutes also talk about activities of the inmates outside of the almshouses.

From 1870 to 1904 the buildings are called almshouses in the minutes. In 1908, the almshouses were now called the City Home and the old and new Colored Homes. There were discussions about the furnishings for the two new homes. There is information about selling the old Colored Almshouse land and the legal matters associated with the sale.

The Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1870-1885 includes references to the services provide for the Henrico County (Va.) paupers who stayed in the Almshouse starting in 1870. Two pieces of paper stuck in the book give these references to the Henrico County Overseers of the Poor payments found on pages 11, 108, 142, 175, 189, and 194. To find the information about the arrangement for the Henrico County paupers to stay in the Richmond City Almshouses, please see Henrico County (Va.) Minutes of the Overseers of the Poor, 1869-1891 found on Henrico County (Va.) Reel 214.

Found in the back of the Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1885-1896, there are two lists with the Order of Business for the meetings of the Committee for the Relief of the Poor. One list has nine items of business and the other has six items of business.

Found in the Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1896-1899, there is a list of the Order of Business for the Committee for the Relief of the Poor that has twelve items of business.

Found in the Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1899-1904, there is a paper with notes from a meeting on it. The notes concern $500 credit of the Visiting Nurses Fund.

Found in the Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1908-1912, there are numerous pieces of paper. There is a letter dated May 23, 1912 from the Richmond Heating and Plumbing Company containing their estimate of the installation of a water heater. A postcard from the Broadus Memorial Church dated August 10, 1910 was used to write a note on the front. A letter from John S. Williams, President of the Board of Trustees of the Memorial Hospital concerning the offer of a gift to the Committee on Relief of the Poor. A copy of the Rules of Order with twelve items of business is in the book. There are handwritten notes for the November 18, 1912 and the December 30, 1912 meetings. There are five papers with accounts on them. There are six pages of notations for the index. An invitation to the Adult Class Conference at the First Baptist Church on October 27-31, 1913 is stuck in the book.

Also, found in the Richmond (Va.) Overseers of the Poor Records: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1908-1912 is a small map entitled the "Nurses Home, Woman's Colored Property". The map starts at First Street, goes east on Leigh Street to Tenth Street, then south to Clay Street, then east on Clay Street to Twelfth Street, then south on Twelfth to Broad Street, then west on Broad Street to Ninth Street, then north on Ninth Street to Marshall Street, then west on Marshall Street and ends at First Street. There is a discussion oo March 20, 1922 about starting a training school for nurses in the City Hospital written on pages 246-247 of this book.

The Manchester (Va.) Overseers of the Poor: Almshouse and Poor Committee Minutes Book is one volume dated 1893-1909. The minutes list the bills received for services and supplies. It mentions services provided individual inmates. The minutes include recomendations for city ordinances. On May 7, 1907 the committee was called to deal with the disappearance of Superintendent William Allen. It had been discovered that Mr. Allen had charged for and received payments for services provided inmates that did not live in the almshouse.

Included with the book are proposals for goods and services needed for the Almshouse. There are copies of bills for goods, copies of committee minutes, list of repairs needed for the buildings, a list of supplies given to an inmate, and other business records.

The Manchester (Va.) Overseers of the Poor: Almshouse and Poor Committee Minutes Book is one volume dated 1909-1910. The minutes list the bills received for services and supplies. It mentions services provided individual inmates. Manchester had White and Colored Buildings and a kitchen building.

Related Material

Additional Richmond 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


Adjunct Descriptive Data

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

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Contents List

Barcode number 1114399: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1870-1875
Barcode number 1114392: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1875-1885
Barcode number 1114401: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1885-1896
Barcode number 1114403: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1896-1899
Barcode number 1114406: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1899-1904
Barcode number 1114394: Committee for Relief of the Poor Minutes Book, 1908-1912
Collection numbers 1114448/Richmond (Va.) Reel 1000: Manchester (Va.) Almshouse and Poor Committee Minutes Book, 1893-1909.
Physical Location: Use microfilm copy, Richmond (Va.) Reel 1000
Barcode number 1114454: Manchester (Va.) Almshouse and Poor Committee Minutes Book, 1909-1912