Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Washington County (Va.) Estray Book, 1865-1913. Local government records collection, Washington County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Washington County and Accession Number 44413.

Historical Information

Washington County is the first locality in the United States known to have been named for George Washington. It was formed from Fincastle County in 1776, and a part of Montgomery County was added in 1777.

Created by an act of 1776, court first met on 18 January 1777. Minute books for the periods 1787-1819 and 1821-1837 and many loose papers were lost in a courthouse fire set by Union soldier James Wyatt on 15 December 1864 during the Civil War. Wyatt, who was raised in Washington County, sought revenge for what he claimed was a wrong done against him by a county court judge before the war.

Scope and Content

Washington County (Va.) Estray Book, 1865-1913 is a register giving public notice of valuable, tame animals, either lost or found wandering and presumed escaped from their owners. These records allow the owners to reclaim their animals. Pages 1-8 of book include notes and calculation examples on Practical Surveying and pages 10-55 records estrays.

Stuck in the back of the book, is an envelope with three warrants to view, describe, and appraise the value of the animals and three commissioners' report with the information. The warrants and reports are dated 1895, 1901, and 1902. Also stuck in the back of the book, are warrants and commissioners' reports dated 1887, 1894, 1900, and 1902.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

Additional Washington County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Washington County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Washington County Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Database found at the Library of Virginia web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Washington County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Estray records--Virginia--Washington County.
• Public records--Virginia--Washington County.

Geographical Names:

• Washington County(Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Court records--Virginia--Washington County.
• Estrays--Virginia--Washington County.
• Judicial records--Virginia--Washington County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Washington County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data