Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Amherst County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1822-1842. Local government records collection, Amherst County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This volume came to the Library of Virginia in a shipment of court records from Amherst County.

Historical Information

Amherst County was formed from Albemarle County in 1761. Islands in the Fluvanna (now the James) River were added in 1770. The county is named for Major General Jeffery Amherst, British commander in North America during the later part of the French and Indian War and governor of Virginia from 1759-1768.

Scope and Content

Amherst County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1822-1842, consists of a docket of Justices' Executions Returned.

First known as Commanders of Plantations and then Commissioners, the office came into existence with the county quarterly court of 1623. Called Justices' of the Peace in 1662, they have had both civil and criminal jurisdiction, and have served other functions, including performing corners' and lunacy inquisitions. Until 1869, justices served both as judges of the county court and as individual justices; since then they have had only the latter function.

The justices' execution docket lists executions sued out or pending by the justices. It shows notice of process, names of all parties, amount of judgment, date of execution, return date and justices' returns.

Related Material

Additional Amherst County Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Amherst County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--Amherst County.

Geographical Names:

• Amherst County (Va.)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Amherst County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data