Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Prince William County (Va.) Circuit Court. Records, 1739-1831, Robert Alonzo Brock Collection, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Acquisition Information

The Robert Alonzo Brock Collection was filmed by The Huntington Library in cooperation with The Library of Virginia with funding provided by The Library of Virginia Foundation with the support of The Roller- Bottimore Foundation and The Robins Foundation. Microfilm received 15 April 2004.

Historical Information

Prince William County was formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George Counties.

Many pre-Civil War records were lost, destroyed, or stolen by Union troops in 1863 during the Civil War. Sixteen deed books and five will books are missing.

Charles Simms, 1755-1819, was born in Prince William County, Virginia. He was an officer in the Revolutionary War attaining the rank of colonel. Simms married Nancy Ann Douglas, the daughter of William Douglas, in 1778 in Morristown, New Jersey.

Scope and Content

Records, 1739-1831, of Prince William County Circuit Court consist of an administrator's account and a certificate related to administration of an estate (1799, 1831); recommendations for appointments of officials (1781); miscellaneous court documents related to judgments (1757, 1765); documents related to proving deeds (1739, 1745); court document stating how Charles Simms provided evidence detailing William Douglas' service in the French and Indian War and acknowledging Simms as a native born Virginian (1780); and a Commonwealth claim (1807.)

Related Material

Additional Prince William County court records, military and pension records, fiduciary records,land records, andtax and fiscal records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

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

Persons:

• Douglas, William.
• Simms, Charles. 1755-1819.

Corporate Names:

• Prince William County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--Prince William County.

Geographical Names:

• Prince William County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Certificates--Virginia--Prince William County.
• Claims--Virginia--Prince William County.
• Estate administration records--Virginia--Prince William County.
• Judicial records--Virginia--Prince William County.
• Letters of recommendation--Virginia--Prince William County.

Added Entry - Personal Name:

• Brock, R. A. (Robert Alonzo), 1839-1914, collector.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Originals are located at the Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California.