Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Use microfilm copy of the Accomack County (Va.) Commissioner of Wrecks Records, 1842-1880 (bulk 1846-1850), Accomack County Reel 317.

Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Accomack County (Va.) Commissioner of Wrecks Records, 1842-1880 (bulk 1846-1850). Local Government Records Collection, Accomack County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This microfilm was created in 1984 by the Virginia State Library's (now the Library of Virginia) Archives Division.

Alternative Form Available

Accomack County (Va.) Commissioner of Wrecks Records, 1842-1880 (bulk 1846-1850), are also available in their original format - Barcode number 0007718955.

Historical Information

During its session begun in May 1782 the General Assembly created the office of commissioner of wrecks. The governor appointed two commissioners for each county bordering the ocean or Chesapeake Bay to assist in saving the crews and cargoes of stranded vessels. Persons who helped save a stranded ship or its cargo were paid by the ship's owner or the merchants whose goods had been saved. If no one claimed the goods they were advertised and, if still unclaimed, they were sold at public auction. Money raised at the auction was sent to the treasurer who kept an account of it for the owner of the cargo sold. The owner, upon proving his claim to the state auditor, was given a warrant to present to the treasurer for payment.

Accomack County was named for the Accomac Indians, who lived on the Eastern Shore at the time of the first English settlement in Virginia. The word means "on-the-other-side-of-water place" or "across the water." It was one of the original eight shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634 and spelled Accomac without the k. The county's name was changed to Northampton County in 1643. The present county was formed from Northampton about 1663. In October 1670, the General Assembly temporarily reunited Accomack and Northampton Counties as Northampton County. In November 1673, Accomack County was again separated from Northampton. In early records, the county's name was spelled many ways. In 1940 the General Assembly adopted the present spelling, Accomack. The county gained a small part of the southern end of Smith's Island from Somerset County, Maryland, in 1879, after the United States had approved boundary changes between Virginia and Maryland that had been agreed to in 1877. The county seat is Accomac.

A significant number of loose records from the 1700s suffered extreme water and pest damage. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Scope and Content

Accomack County (Va.) Commissioner of Wrecks Records, 1842-1880 (bulk 1846-1850), contain correspondence and accounts pertaining to the salvage and sale of cargo from four shipwrecks along the coast of Accomack County between 1846 and 1850. The correspondence consists mostly of letters written to Thomas Cropper, a commissioner of wrecks, or wreck master, and attorney, pertaining to his work as a commissioner of wrecks in Accomack County. The records document the value of the cargo salvaged and the amount owners recovered. The letters include information about the ships and shipwrecks.

The records pertain to wreck of the schooner John William and Sarah Louisa, which was stranded on Assateague Island en route from Mobile to Boston in 1850; the schooner Susanna and Phoebe, which wrecked near Wallops Island en route from Philadelphia to Richmond, 1846 March; the schooner Barque Mauran, which was wrecked on Wallops Beach in a gale 1850 July 18; and the wreck of the schooner E. S. Powell, 1849.

Also included are records pertaining to a judgment against Cropper brought by John A. Allen, 1849 Nov. 28, and an account of the sale of the schooner Swallow, sold by George C. Waters, 1849 Mar.

The records pertaining to the schooner John William and Sarah Louisa include a list of vessels struck on Florida reef and arrived at Key West in distress from 1845 Jan to 1846 Jan. The list contains the name of the ship, the date it struck the reef, the name of the captain, the amount of damages awarded by court, where from, where bound, the charge against the vessel's cargo, remarks, and the value of the vessel and cargo.

Related Material

Additional Accomack County Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm .

Accomack County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Accomack 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

Personal Names:

• Allen, John A.
• Waters, George S.

Corporate Names:

• Appomattox County (Va.) Circuit Court.
• Barque Mauran (schooner).
• E.S. Powell (schooner).
• John William and Sarah Louisa (schooner).
• Susanna and Phoebe (schooner).
• Swallow (schooner).
• Virginia--Auditor of Public Accounts (1776-1928)
• Virginia--Commissioner of Wrecks.

Subjects:

• Marine insurance--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Maritime law--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Merchant mariners.
• Merchant ships.
• Sailors.
• Salvage--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Schooners.
• Ship captains.
• Shipwrecks--Florida--Key West.
• Shipwrecks--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Windstorms--Virginia--Accomack County.

Geographical Names:

• Accomack County (Va.)--History--19th century.
• Assateague Island (Va.)--History--19th century.
• Wallops Island (Va.)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Accounts--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Commercial correspondence--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Commissioners--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Judicial records--Virginia--Accomack County.
• Legal correspondence--Virginia--Accomack County.

Added Entry - Personal Name:

• Cropper, Thomas S.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Accomac County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Adjunct Descriptive Data