Administrative Information

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Staunton (Va.) List of Families of Indigent Soldiers, 1864. Local government records collection, Staunton (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Staunton (Va.).

Historical Information

The City of Staunton, in Augusta County, was named, according to tradition, for Rebecca Staunton, wife of Sir William Gooch, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. Staunton was laid out in 1748 at the site of the Augusta County courthouse and was established as a town in 1761. It was incorporated as a town in 1801 and as a city in 1871.

Throughout the Civil War, the principal responsibility for Virginia's indigent soldiers' families lay with the locality. The Virginia State Convention in 1861 gave the responsibility entirely to counties and incorporated towns and authorized whatever actions had already been taken. Acts of Assembly in 1862 and 1863 expanded the localities' powers to provide for their needy, and in 1863 some minimal state assistance was added in. At first relief was provided as money, but as the monetary system collapsed, relief was distributed in kind. Agents of the court maintained lists of eligible families, gathered goods for distribution and paid for them, and impressed supplies if necessary. Virginia was unique amongst the southern states in that it assigned the provisioning of needy families almost solely to the locality.

Scope and Content

The Staunton (Va.) List of Indigent Soldiers' Families is primarily made up of one list of indigent soldiers' families. This list includes the names of soldiers' wives, and the number of children in each family. Also included is a circular from Major R.C. Saunders detailing instructions for purchasing supplies for the families. Finally, there is also included a note detailing the amount and cost of the flour and bacon being purchased for the families. All items are dated 1864.

Arrangement

Chronological

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Staunton (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Families of military personnel--Virginia--Staunton
• Poor--Virginia--Staunton
• Public welfare -- Virginia -- Staunton

Geographical Names:

• Staunton (Va.)--History--19th century
• Staunton (Va.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Genre and Form Terms:

• Lists -- Virginia -- Staunton
• Local government records--Virginia--Staunton