Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Nottoway County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes, 1866-1928 (bulk 1866-1925). Local government records collection, Nottoway County 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 Nottoway County.

Historical Information

Nottoway County was named for the Nadowa Indian tribe. The word nadowa, anglicized to nottoway, means snake, or enemy. It was formed from Amelia County in 1788.

Many records were destroyed or heavily mutilated in 1865 by Union troops during the Civil War. A few volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Scope and Content

Nottoway County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes, 1866-1928 (bulk 1866-1925), are criminal court cases and consist primarily of warrants, summons, and indictments handed down by grand juries and other legal authorities in order to prosecute individuals who violated the penal code. These offenses ranged in severity from assault and battery to larceny to murder.

Warrants were issued by grand juries, judges, and justices of the peace directing law enforcement officials to either arrest and imprison a person suspected of having committed a crime or to cause an individual to appear in court to answer accusations made against them. Peace warrants directing an offender to "keep the peace of the Commonwealth" or to restrain from any violent acts are commonly found in assault and battery cases.

Summonses were used to call a suspected person to appear in court. A summons could also be issued to direct witnesses or victims to come before the court in order to provide evidence or information deemed pertinent to a case.

An indictment is the official, written description of the crime that an accused individual is suspected of committing, which is approved by a grand jury and presented to a court in order to begin legal proceedings. Due to this process, indictments are often referred to as "presentments."

Related Material

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

Nottoway County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Nottoway County Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection available at Virginia Memory.

For more information and a listing of lost records localities see Lost Records research note .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Nottoway County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--History.
• Assault and battery--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Crime--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Criminals--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Larceny--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Libel and slander--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Murder--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Rape--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Tax evasion--Virginia--Nottoway County.

Geographical Names:

• Nottoway County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Indictments--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Summons--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Verdicts--Virginia--Nottoway County.
• Warrants (Law)--Virginia--Nottoway County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data