Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Essex County (Va.) School Records, 1835-1907 (bulk 1871-1899.) Local government records collection, Essex County (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

Box 1137631 contains reports of school commissioners, 1835, 1837 and accounts from Central School District, 1871-1872 that were transferred to the Virginia State Library (now the Library of Virginia) under accession number 21817.

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court records from Essex County.

Historical Information

Essex County probably was named for the English county. It was formed from old Rappahannock County in 1692.

The Virginia Constitution of 1870 mandated Virginia's first statewide public school system. The schools were racially segregated by law until the mid-twentieth century.

The 1870 Virginia Constitution required that each county in the state be divided into no less than three townships (see Article VII, section 2). Based on the New England administrative organization of a county, each township would elect the administration officials for the offices of supervisor, clerk, assessor, collector, commissioner of the roads, overseer of the poor, justice of the peace, and constable. The supervisors of each township would comprise the board of supervisors for the county, and would be responsible for auditing the county accounts, examining the assessors' books, regulating property valuation, fixing the county levies. The Acts of Assembly provided that each township be divided into school and electoral districts (see Acts of Assembly 1869-1870, Chapter 39). A constitutional amendment in 1874 changed the townships into magisterial districts and each district elected one supervisor, three justices of the peace, one constable, and one overseer of the poor. The supervisors of the districts made up the county board of supervisors whose duties were identical as those set out in 1870. The published Acts of Assembly appended a list of township names by county following the acts for every year that townships existed in Virginia.

Scope and Content

Essex County (Va.) School Records, 1835-1907 (bulk 1871-1899.) The collection contains financial records documenting teacher salaries and other expenses paid to operate schools in three school districts in the county: Central and Rappahannock Districts, 1870-1907 and the Occupacia District, 1872-1873; 1879-1880 in addition to two townships, Rappahannock and Central, 1871. The records are comprised of teacher contracts, treasurer's warrants for teacher salaries and other expenses, accounts, receipts for teacher reports indicating the number of days taught and salary earned in a given month, and petitions for the establishment of schools and hiring of particular teachers.

The collection also contains reports of school commissioners, 1835, 1837; state education fund vouchers, 1872-1873; 1878-1879; general county school fund vouchers, 1871-1875; 1879-1880, and other vouchers and warrants, 1871-1872; 1881-1883.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Essex County (Va.) Public Schools. Central District.
• Essex County (Va.) Public Schools. Occupacia District.
• Essex County (Va.) Public Schools. Rappahannock District.
• Essex County (Va.). Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Schools -- records and correspondence -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• Segregation in education -- Virginia -- Essex County.

Geographical Names:

• Essex County (Va.) -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Accounts -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• Contracts -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• Financial records -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• Petitions -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• School records -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• Vouchers -- Virginia -- Essex County.
• Warrants -- Virginia -- Essex County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data