Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Letter from Frederick Briggs, 1789. Local Government Records Collection, Prince Edward County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Prince Edward County.

Historical Information

In August 1789, Frederick Briggs and William McElhany (spelled variously M'Elheney and Mackelhany) stole two horses from John Spencer in Charlotte County and were apprehended in Nottoway County by a posse led by Colonel Freeman Epps. They were transported back to Charlotte County and subsequently sent to the district court in Prince Edward County for further trial. The district court found both men guilty of horse thievery and sentenced them to die on 16 October 1789 by hanging.

In a deposition given in 1782, an individual named Bontley claimed that Frederick Briggs was a member of criminal gang specializing in horse thievery and counterfitting money. The catalog record for this deposition is available through the Library of Virginia's online catalog under call number 45000.

Scope and Content

The Letter from Frederick Briggs, 1789, consists of a typescript copy of a letter printed on a broadside from Briggs to his wife. In this letter, Briggs explained that he would soon be executed for horse thievery and pleaded with his wife to raise their children in such a way that they would not repeat his mistakes and enter a life of crime.

Related Material

Court orders and depositions from Frederick Briggs' trials in Charlotte County and Prince Edward County can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm

An additional copy of this broadside is located in the Library of Virginia's Special Collections, and the record is available through the Library of Virginia's online catalog. under call number Broadside 1789 .B7 FF.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Crime -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Criminals -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Larceny -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County

Geographical Names:

• Prince Edward County (Va.) -- History --18th century

Genre and Form Terms:

• Letters (correspondence) -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County

Added Entry - Personal Name:

• Briggs, Frederick

Adjunct Descriptive Data