Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Scott County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1821-1871. Local government records collection, Scott County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court records from Scott County.

Historical Information

Scott County was formed from Lee, Russell and Washington counties by a statute adopted on 24 November 1814. The county court first met on 14 February 1815. Scott County was named for General Winfied Scott, a native of Virginia, in recognition of his victories during the War of 1812. General Scott was later commanding general of the American army during the war with Mexico.

First known as commissioners, the office originated with the county quarterly court in 1623. Since 1662, the commissioners have been called justices of the peace. They have traditionally had both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Until 1869 justices served both as judges of the county court and as individual justices; since then they have had only the latter function.

Scope and Content

Scott County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1821-1871, are comprised of loose executions granted by magistrates. These records are found in Box 38.

Related Material

Additional Scott 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:

• Scott County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--Scott County.

Geographical Names:

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

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data