Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Fluvanna County (Va.) Estray Records, 1786-1901. Local government records collection, Fluvanna 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 Fluvanna County.

Historical Information

Fluvanna County takes its name from an eighteenth-century designation of the upper James River. The name, meaning river of Anne, was originally bestowed in honor of Queen Anne of England. The county was formed from Albemarle County in 1777.

Estrays were stray livestock found wandering. An inquest was held to determine the value of the livestock in order to reimburse the person who had found and cared for the animal. The report generally includes a physical description of the animal as well as an assessed monetary value.

Scope and Content

Fluvanna County (Va.) Estray Records, 1786-1901, consists of loose certificates of estray which give public notice of valuable, tame animals, either lost or found wandering and presumed escaped from their owners, allowing the owners to reclaim the animals. Enteries generally indicate by whom the animal was taken up, before what justice the person went and when, and the description and appraisement (value) of the animal.