Willis Groce, a white man, accused of attempting to sell Peter, Tom, Derry, and Jack, formerly enslaved persons freed by the will of Willis' late brother, William Groce. Jury acquits Willis of the charges.

1817 March 5: Commonwealth vs Miles (enslaved) :

The court charges Miles with the murder of William Snow a local peddler. The jury finds Miles guilty and sentence him to be hanged 1817 April 7.

1817 March: Commonwealth vs Benjamin Carr, etc :

Benjamin Carr, Elizabeth Matthews, and Polley English are charged with stealing or receiving known stolen goods. These goods are items believed to be stolen by Miles, after murdering William Snow. All parties are acquitted.

1817 April: Commonwealth vs David Taylor (free) :

The court charges David Taylor, a free Black man, with aiding Miles in feloniously obtaining a certificate of emancipation. The jury finds David guilty and turns the case over to the superior court.

1817 May 5: Commonwealth vs John W. English :

John W. English, a white man, is charged with forging and furnishing Miles with free papers under the alias David Johnson. The jury finds John guilty and sentence him to 12 months in the county jail and a $200 fine.

1817 May: Commonwealth vs David Taylor (free) :

The court charges David Taylor, a free Black man, with feloniously assisting Miles, labeled by the law as a "runaway" enslaved man. A charge on which David is acquitted.

Two white men, Dempsey Carr and Willis Carr, charged with the murder of John McCall, who was traveling through the area with his wife and child by way of North Carolina. The jury finds the brothers guilty, sentencing Willis to 18 years in state penitentiary and Willis to be hanged the 20th of June till he is dead. There is one reference in the depositions to John McCall with the descriptor "negro" but this is not indicated in any other documentation. John McCall and his family were also camped out on land owned by Nathan Butler, a free Black man, when the murder took place. While unclear based on the records, it is possible race played a role in this murder.

The court charges Sally with kidnapping an unnamed Black boy from the county poor house. Sally is described as "Indian, mulatto, or free person of color."

Robert Lawrence, a white man, accused of beating Patience, an enslaved woman, so severely that she died from the injuries. The depositions describe the gruesome nature of Patience's injury as well as the merciless manner in which Robert beat and whipped Patience, exemplifying the true horrors enslaved people experienced at the hands of white people.

Randall Allmond stands charged of stabbing Isaac Ricks, a free Black man working as a blacksmith. Depositions and petitions in the Executive papers of Governor John Tyler, indicate there was a lingering feud between the two men. The jury finds Randall guilty, sentencing him to one stripe, to be sold into enslavement, and to be removed beyond the limits of the United States. Randall received an 1826 May 23 pardon from Governor John Tyler which still required Randall to remove himself and family beyond the commonwealth; however, census records and chancery suits indicate that Randall and his family remained in the county.

The court charges Louisa with suffering Arthur, an enslaved man, to go at large and trade as a freeman. Arthur is Louisa's husband. Sentence is unknown.

Davy Thomas is accused of taking part in Nat Turner's Rebellion (or Southampton Rebellion) by advising and conspiring with an enslaved person or enslaved people to rebel and make insurrection. Is found not guilty.

William Stringer, a white man, accused and convicted to 4 years in prison for kidnapping Nancy Scott and her child James Scott, both free people, and then selling James and attempting to sell Nancy into enslavement in complete defiance of their human rights.

The court charges Joe Tynes with suffering Lovy, an enslaved woman, to go at large and trade as a free woman. The jury finds Joe guilty and orders Lovy be sold and the profits of the sale to go the state literacy fund. Representing how profits from the State's sale of Black people benefited the educational funds for white children in Virginia.

1838 October 1: Commonwealth vs Dick Joyner (free) :

The court charges Dick Joyner with aiding and abetting Dick to escape from the enslavement of James Chalmers. The jury finds Dick Joyner guilty and sentences him to 5 years in the state penitentiary.

1838 October 9: Commonwealth vs John Wells :

The court charges John Wells, a white man, with aiding and abetting Dick to escape from the enslavement of James Chalmers. The jury enters a verdict of nolle prosequi "not to wish to prosecute" in the case.

1838 October 10: Commonwealth vs John Wells :

The court charges David Taylor, a free Black man, with aiding Miles in feloniously obtaining a certificate of emancipation. The jury finds David guilty and turns the case over to the superior court.

1817 May 5: Commonwealth vs John W. English :

John Wells is alleged to have forged a copy of the register of Dick Joyner, a free Black man, in order to help Dick, an enslaved man, escape from the enslavement of James Chalmers. The jury finds John guilty and sentences him to 2 years in the state penitentiary. The case contains Dick or Richard "Dick" Joyner's certificate of register.

William B. Ballendine, a white man living in Henrico, Virginia, accused of not adhering to terms of Robert's, a free Black child, indenture of apprenticeship. The court orders the indenture to be cancelled and to further see the court's minutes.

The court charges Monroe Clements, a white man, with taking by force of arms an unnamed, freedom seeking enslaved woman from a William Denson, another white man. William Denson apprehended the enslaved woman as a "runaway" and was taking her to the magistrate in order to confine her to the local jail when Monroe Clements captured her.

Court accuses Augustus Ballard, a white Justice of the Peace, with knowingly failing to enforce the 36th and 37th sections of the 19th chapter of the act concerning public policy. The accusations assert that Augustus allowed Jacob Butler and Eady Butler, both free Black people, to migrate to Pennsylvania and New York (free states) and then return to the Commonwealth and knowingly give a false judgment in the matter discharging Jacob and Eady from custody. The jury entered a verdict of nolle prosequi. Also see 1851 May: Commonwealth vs Jacob H. Duck.

These cases concern about 35 accusations against Joseph Holloway largely occurring in 1855. The charges are generally either selling ardent spirits to free Black or enslaved people, or suffering an unlawful assembly of enslaved people on his property. The cases involving selling of ardent spirits name Emmanuel, Eley, Deik, and Jim as enslaved; and Everand Joyner, Peter Lawrence, and Paul Lawrence as free Black people. There is no verdict in any of these cases as all warrants are returned "not found in county," indicating Joseph Holloway may have fled the state.

The court charges Henry Pruden, a white man, with "feloniously cutting, mutilating and destroying the testicles" of Thad (or Thaddeus) a man Pruden enslaved. The jury finds Henry Pruden guilty and sentences him to four months in the county jail and $500 fine. Henry Pruden receives a pardon, 1858 October 28, from Governor Henry A. Wise, which required the fine to be paid by Pruden but dismissed the jail time in part due to Pruden's age and feeble health. The case proves the true inhumanity of enslavement, and the existent to which enslavers and the law viewed enslaved people as property void of personhood. See Governor Henry A. Wise Executive Papers, 1856-1859 for more information.

The court charges John B. Loveland, Caleb C. Loveland, Benjamin Loveland, and James Scott, white crew members of the New Jersey vessel "Francis French" with attempting to carry away, harbor, and aid the escape of Anthony, an enslaved man after an Inspector of Vessels search discovered Anthony aboard the ship. The jury enters a verdict of nolle prosequi (This is after William H. Thompson, a free Black crew member admits to the charge. See Uncommonwealth blog "Soon the grievance will cease to exist": chief of vessels reports, for additional information on this case).

Riddick Butler, a white man, accused with the act that "by speaking, did maintain that owners have not right of property in their slaves." While the court deemed the charge as "not a true bill" (made on false information), the unlawfulness of such a statement proves the existent to which Virginia and other southern states went to suppress abolitionist sentiments leading up to the Civil War.