Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Nelson County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1828-1937. Local government records collection, Nelson County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Acquisition Information

These volumes came to the Library of Virginia under a transfer of court records from Nelson County.

Historical Information

Nelson County was formed in 1807 from Amherst County. The county was named for Thomas Nelson, Jr., governor of Virginia from June to November 1781.

Scope and Content

Nelson County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1828-1937, are comprised of Justices' Execution Books and Witness Certificates.

First known as commissions, this office 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. Justices have traditionally had both civil and criminal jurisdiction, and have served other functions, including performing coroners' and lunacy inquistions. Until 1869 justices served both as judges of the county court and as individual justices; since then they have had only the latter function.

The Justices' (FI FA) Execution Books contain writs of executions commanding the sheriff to levy and take the amount of a judgment from the goods and chattels of the judgment debtor. The Latin phrase, fieri facias, means "cause it to be done."

Related Material

Additional Nelson 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:

• Nelson County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--Nelson County.

Geographical Names:

• Nelson County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data