Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Closed for processing.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court Papers, 1789-1809. Local government records collection, Prince Edward County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Prince Edward County.

Historical Information

Prince Edward County was named in honor of Edward Augustus, a son of Prince Frederick Louis, a grandson of King George II, and a younger brother of King George III. The county was formed from Amelia County in 1753. The county court first met on 8 January 1754. The county seat is Farmville.

The District Court was created in 1788. The purpose of the creation of the District Court was to alleviate congestion in the General Court which had caused unreasonable delays in the adjudication of common law cases. Virginia was divided into eighteen districts, each composed of several counties, plust the district of Kentucky. Courts were held in each district twice yearly and cases were heard from the several counties in that district. The District Court always met at the same place in each district, and its records were kept at that one location. The District Courts were abolished in 1809 and were replaced by the Superior Courts of Law.

The District Court at Prince Edward County included the following localities: Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, and Prince Edward counties.

Scope and Content

Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court Papers, 1789-1809, consist of civil suits and commonwealth causes that were heard in the District Court of Prince Edward County. The majority of cases in this record series relate to matters of debt. Documents commonly found in civil suits include declarations or narratios that explain the plaintiff's complaint, executions, affidavits, and depositions. Suits may include exhibits such as wills, plats, deeds, indentures, estate inventories, and business records. Names of slaves are commonly found in the District Court papers. Additional types of suits heard by the District Court include land ejectment suits and petitions for freedom made by slaves.

The collection includes a Buckingham County Tithable List, 1764, surnames A-G, that was used as a wrapper for a district court suit that originated in Buckingham County

Related Material

Additional Prince Edward County District Court Records including order books can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Prince Edward County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• African Americans -- History
• Civil procedure -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Crime -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Debt -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Estates (Law) -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Right of property -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Slaves -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County

Geographical Names:

• Buckingham County (Va.) -- History
• Charlotte County (Va.) -- History
• Cumberland County (Va.) -- History
• Halifax County (Va.) -- History
• Prince Edward County (Va.) -- History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Affidavits -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Business records -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Decisions -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Deeds -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Depositions -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Judicial records -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Petitions -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Plats -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County
• Wills -- Virginia -- Prince Edward County

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Prince Edward County (Va.) District Court

Adjunct Descriptive Data