Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Cumberland County (Va.) Board of Madison Township Checkbook, 1875. Local government records collection, Cumberland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Cumberland County.

Historical Information

Cumberland County was named for William Augustus, duke of Cumberland, third son of George II. It was formed from Goochland County in 1749.

The 1870 Virginia Constitution required that each county in the state be divided into no less than three townships (see Article VII, section 2). Based on the New England administrative organization of a county, each township would elect the administration officials for the offices of supervisor, clerk, assessor, collector, commissioner of the roads, overseer of the poor, justice of the peace, and constable. The supervisors of each township would comprise the board of supervisors for the county, and would be responsible for auditing the county accounts, examining the assessors' books, regulating property valuation, and fixing the county levies. The Acts of Assembly provided that each township be divided into school and electoral districts (see Acts of Assembly 1869-1870, Chapter 39). A constitutional amendment in 1874 changed the townships into magisterial districts and each district elected one supervisor, three justices of the peace, one constable, and one overseer of the poor. The supervisors of the districts made up the county board of supervisors whose duties were identical as those set out in 1870. The published Acts of Assembly appended a list of township names by county following the acts for every year that townships existed in Virginia.

Scope and Content

Cumberland County (Va.) Board of Madison Township Checkbook, 1875, contains blank checks and used check stubs that indicate to whom payment was made, the amount, and for what reason. Payments were made for services as grand juror, services as election judge, support of the township's poor, service as superintendent of the poor, and for bridge repair. The majority of the volume is blank.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Cumberland County (Va.) Overseers of the Poor.
• Cumberland County (Va.). Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• County government -- Records and correspondence -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.
• Local finance -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.
• Local government -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.
• Public records -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.

Geographical Names:

• Cumberland County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Accounts -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.
• Checkbooks -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.
• Township records -- Virginia -- Cumberland County.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Township of Madison (Cumberland County, VA)