A Guide to the Petersburg (Va.) Register of Deaths, 1853-1871 Petersburg (Va.) Register of Deaths, 1853-1871 0007762506

A Guide to the Petersburg (Va.) Register of Deaths, 1853-1871

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Barcode number: 0007762506


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Repository
The Library of Virginia
Barcode number
0007762506
Title
Petersburg (Va.) Register of Deaths, 1853-1871
Physical Characteristics
1 v.
Collector
Petersburg (Va.) Circuit Court.
Location
Library of Virginia
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Petersburg (Va.) Register of Deaths, 1853-1871, Local government records collection, Petersburg Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer from Petersburg Circuit Court under the accession number 52919.

Historical Information

Petersburg was formed from parts of Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Chesterfield Counties. A garrison and fur trading post called Fort Henry was established there in 1645 on the site of the Indian town Appamattuck. The present name, suggested in 1733 by William Byrd (1674-1744), honors Peter Jones, Byrd's companion on expeditions into the Virginia backcountry. Petersburg was established in 1748 and incorporated as a town in 1784. In the latter year the towns of Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft were added to Petersburg. It was incorporated as a city in 1850.

A law requiring the systematic statewide recording of births and deaths was passed by the General Assembly on April 11 1853. Every commissioner of revenue registered births and deaths in his district annually, at the same time personal property subject to taxation was ascertained. The commissioner recorded births and deaths that had occurred prior to 31 December of the preceding year and returned the record to the clerk of court by 1 June. Information was obtained from heads of family, physicians, surgeons, or coroners. The law imposed penalties for failing to furnish or collect the information. The clerk of court in each locality entered the information supplied by the commissioner into registers and prepared an accompanying alphabetical index. A copy of each register was forwarded to the Auditor of Public Accounts. The law went into effect on 1 July 1853, and continued until 1896, when an economy-conscious legislature repealed the recording provisions.

Scope and Content

Petersburg (Va.) Register of Deaths, 1853-1871, contains the name of the deceased; the race and sex; the date and place of death; notations regarding enslaved people and the names of holders of enslaved people; name of the disease or cause of death; age at death (years, months and days); place of birth; occupation; marital status; name of parents of the deceased; name of person giving the information; and description of the informant (whether a physician, consort, head of the family or friend).

Related Material

Additional Petersburg Marriage and Vital Statistics Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia web site.

Index Terms

    Corporate Names:

  • Petersburg (Va.). Circuit Court.
  • Subjects:

  • African Americans -- History.
  • Slavery -- Virginia -- Petersburg.
  • Geographical Names:

  • Petersburg (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.
  • Genre and Form Terms:

  • Death registers -- Virginia -- Petersburg.
  • Local government records -- Virginia -- Petersburg.
  • Vital statistics -- Virginia -- Petersburg.

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

  • Petersburg (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.