Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lee County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1848-1932, Local government records collection, Lee County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a shipment of court papers from Lee County.

Historical Information

Lee County was named Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, governor of Virginia from 1791 to 1794. It was formed from Russell County in 1792. Part of Scott County was added in 1823. Its area is 438 square miles, and the county seat is Jonesville.

First known as commissions, the office of Justice of the Peace originated with the county quarterly court in 1623. Commanders of Plantations (1607-1629) were predecessors of the commissioners, who since 1662 have been called justices of the peace. They have traditionally had both civil and criminal jurisdiction, and have served other functions, including performing coroners' 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.

Scope and Content

Lee County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1848-1932, consists of Cases Disposed of by Justices, Criminal Cases Disposed of by Justices, Execution and Judgment Dockets, Justices' Judgments, Justices' Report of Criminal Cases, Justices' Summons, Justices' Warrants, and Reports and Warrants.

Related Material

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

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Lee County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--Lee County.

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data