Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Records, 1721-1931. Local government records collection, Elizabeth City County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Hampton VA under accession number 45562.

Historical Information

Elizabeth City County (extinct) was named for Elizabeth, daughter of James I, and was one of the eight shires established in 1634. It became extinct in 1952, when it was incorporated into the city of Hampton, which was the county seat. Hampton takes its name from the Hampton Creek, earlier called Southampton River in honor of the earl of Southampton, an important figure in the Virginia Company of London. An Indian village stood on the site in 1607, when John Smith visited the area. The English established a village there in 1601 and a trading post in 1630. Hampton was established by an act of assembly in 1680 and was designated as a port in 1708. It was first incorporated as a town in 1849, then it was incorporated again in 1852, but the act of incorporation was repealed in 1860. The General Assembly again incorporated the town of Hampton in 1887, and it became a city by court order in 1908. It was greatly enlarged in 1952 by a merger with Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus; the county and town thereby became extinct.

Recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Records were burned and/or destroyed during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Additional records were burned on April 3, 1865, in Richmond, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. A few pre–Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, and order books exist.

Scope and Content

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Records, 1721-1931 consists primarily of Law cases (judgments) but also contains records that fall into the Local Records categories of Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, Clerk's Records, Court Records (judgments and criminal), Election Records, Fiduciary Records, Land Records (deeds and plats), Marriage Records and Vital Statistics, Naturalization Records, Wills, and miscellaneous items such as a copy of a 1902 federal bankrupcy suit and census enumerator oaths and certifications for the 1910 census.

Many plats from this accession that used to be filed together have now been filed with the chancery suit with which they belong.

Related Material

Elizabeth City County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Elizabeth City 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:

• Hampton (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.

Geographical Names:

• Elizabeth City County (Va.) -- History.
• Hampton (Va.) -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Bonds (legal records) -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Census records -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Deeds -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Estate records -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Judicial records -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Marriage records -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Naturalization records -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Plats (maps) -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.
• Wills -- Virginia -- Elizabeth City County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data