Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Miscellaneous New Kent County (Va.) Civil War Era Records, 1861-1863. Local government records collection, New Kent County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came in a transfer of court papers from New Kent County under the accession number 43278.

Historical Information

James Lyons, 1801-1882, was born in Hanover County, Virginia. He served in the Confederate Congress as representative from Virginia, 1862-1864.

New Kent County may have been named either for the English county of Kent or for Kent Island, in the upper waters of the Chesapeake Bay. William Claiborne, a native of Kent who had been driven from Kent Island by Lord Baltimore, was a prominent resident of the New Kent area about 1654 when the county was formed from York County. Part of James City County was added in 1767. The county seat is New Kent.

Records were destroyed when John Posey set fire to the courthouse on 15 July 1787. Many records were lost when the courthouse was partially destroyed by fire during Civil War hostilities in 1862. Additional records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Scope and Content

Miscellaneous New Kent County (Va.) Civil War Era Records, 1861-1863, consist of the following: inventories and receipts used to keep track of goods purchased by the county on behalf of families of New Kent County soldiers, papers related to salt distribution in the county, correspondence, and a statement made to New Kent County Court.

Inventories and receipts, 1861-1863, used to keep track of goods purchased by the county on behalf of families of New Kent County soldiers record date of purchase, items purchased (sugar, coffee, corn, etc.,), name of soldier and number of family members, where soldier was serving, total amount paid, and receipts related to purchases.

Papers related to salt distribution in the county, 1863, include a salt agent bond, report of salt agent, and receipts.

Letter and petition, 1863, related to the burning of the New Kent County jail by Confederate troops. The letter was written by James Lyons, a Virginia representative in the Confederate Congress, to John P. Pierce at New Kent County Courthouse. Lyons informs Pierce that the Confederate Secretary of War refused to assist the county with building a new jail; therefore, the county leaders should send Lyons a petition providing a detailed account of the burning of the jail by Confederate troops. Lyons stated he would present the petition to the Confederate House of Representatives. A copy of the county's petition is included with the letter. The petition details how and why the jail was burned by Confederate troops in pursuance of orders by General J.E.B. Stuart; the county's belief that the Confederate government should be responsible for rebuilding the jail; and the inability of the county to fund the rebuilding of a jail due to debilitating effects of the war on the tax base.

Statement, 1862, made by Beverley P. Crump filed in New Kent County Court regarding his imprisonment and trial by Union troops in New Kent County. Crump informs the court that he took the oath of allegiance to the United States in order to gain his freedom; however, he regrets having done so and wants to retract it.

Related Material

New Kent County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional New Kent 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

Corporate Names:

• New Kent County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Jails -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Public welfare -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Salt -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Soldiers.

Geographical Names:

• New Kent County -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Destruction and pillage.
• New Kent County -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate.
• New Kent County -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons.
• New Kent County -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Inventories -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Letters (correspondence) -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Petitions -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Receipts (financial records) -- Virginia -- New Kent County.
• Reports -- Virginia -- New Kent County.

Added Entry - Personal Name:

• Lyons, James, 1801-1882.

Adjunct Descriptive Data