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Buchanan County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1877-1927. Local government records collection, Buchanan County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a shipment of court papers from Buchanan County.
Buchanan County was named for the United States president James Buchanan and was formed from Tazewell and Russell Counties in 1858.
Justices of the Peace were first known as Commissions of the Peace when they were formed in 1623. The Commissioners of the Peace replaced the Commanders of Plantations who served from 1607 to 1629. The name Justices of the Peace was used from 1662 through 1974, when they were replaced by Magistrates. They traditionally had both civil and criminal jurisdictions. They served other functions, including performing coroners' and lunacy inquisitions, and performing civil marriages. Until 1869 justices served as both judges of the county court and as individual justices; since then they have only served as justices.
Records were destroyed by fire in 1885; records created after that date suffered extreme damage in a flood in 1977.
Buchanan County (Va.) Justice of the Peace Records, 1877-1927, consists of Record of Judgments; Justices' Civil Judgments, and Executions; Executions Returned by Constables on Judgments of the Justices of the Peace; Justices' Criminal Judgments, an unnumbered volume, Volume 2 and Volume 8; and Criminal Judgments Lien Docket for Justices.
Additional Buchanan County Court Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm"
See 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 .
Barcode Number 1123813 contains Justices' Criminal Judgments, Volume 2 1899-1900. Barcode Number 1123807 contains Justices' Criminal Judgments, 1900-1902. Barcode Number 1123797 contains Justices' Criminal Judgments, Volume 8, 1914-1918.
These records are the records of judgments by the Justices of the Peace.
These volumes contain civil judgments and executions made by Justices of the Peace. Barcode Number 1123805 contains the years 1895-1910. Barcode Number 1123802 contains the years 1910-1919.
This volume is a criminal judgment lien docket.
This volume contains executions returned by constables for the judgments of Justices of the Peace.