Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Fluvanna County (Va.) Reports of Indigent Soldiers' Families, 1861-1865. Local government records collection, Fluvanna County (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Fluvanna County (Va.).

Historical Information

Fluvanna County was named after the eighteenth-century term for the upper James River. The name, meaning river of Anne, was given in honor of Queen Anne of England. The county was formed from Albemarle County in 1777.

Throughout the Civil War, the principal responsibility for Virginia's indigent soldiers' families lay with the locality. The Virginia State Convention in 1861 gave the responsibility entirely to counties and incorporated towns and authorized whatever actions had already been taken. Acts of Assembly in 1862 and 1863 expanded the localities' powers to provide for their needy, and in 1863 some minimal state assistance was added in. At first relief was provided as money, but as the monetary system collapsed, relief was distributed in kind. Agents of the court maintained lists of eligible families, gathered goods for distribution and paid for them, and impressed supplies if necessary. Virginia was unique amongst the southern states in that it assigned the provisioning of needy families almost solely to the locality.

Scope and Content

The Fluvanna County (Va.) Reports of Indigent Soldiers' Families, 1861-1865 is primarily made up of reports and accounts of funds gathered and supplies distributed to indigent soldiers' families. These reports, gathered by court-appointed commissioners, include the names of soldiers and family members and the needs of the families or the supplies provided to each family and the cost of thse items. Also included are court ordered bonds for funds for the purchase of supplies or distribution to the families and detailed accounts of money and supplies received and how it was used. Lists of indigent soldiers included with these records include detailed descriptions of the fate of the soldiers and their family situations, including childrens' ages, and crops and livestock in the families' hands. The reports record that funds were to be used for specific foods such as bacon, meal, sugar, salt, flour, pork and molasses.

Arrangement

Chronological.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Fluvanna County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Families of military personnel--Virginia--Fluvanna County
• Poor--Virginia--Fluvanna County
• Public welfare--Virginia--Fluvanna County

Geographical Names:

• Fluvanna County (Va.)--History--19th century
• Fluvanna County (Va.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Genre and Form Terms:

• Accounts--Virginia--Fluvanna County
• Local government records--Virginia--Fluvanna County
• Reports--Virginia--Fluvanna County