Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Henrico County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1795-1823. Local government records collection, Henrico County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Henrico County.

Historical Information

Henrico County was named for Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King James I. It was one of the eight original shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. The county seat is in the western part of the county.

Henrico County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. All county court records prior to 1655 and almost all prior to 1677 are missing. Many records were destroyed by British troops during the Revolutionary War. Post–Revolutionary War county court records exist. Almost all circuit superior court of law and chancery and circuit court records were destroyed by fire during the evacuation of Richmond on April 3, 1865, during the Civil War. The county’s circuit court held its sessions at the state courthouse in Richmond.

Two freeholders were appointed on order of the county court to procession or review the bounds of farms or tracts of land in each precinct in order to renew or replace old landmarks. This was originally a function of the church vestry, but was continued by the court after disestablishment. Persons who walked the boundaries were called processioners.

Scope and Content

Henrico County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1795-1823 typically record an area of land processioned with geographical landmarks, roads, property lines noted, the names of the persons present, the date(s) when the processioning occurred, the names of the processioners, and the date that the return was recorded by the local court.

Arrangement

Chronological.

Related Material

Additional Henrico County records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Henrico County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Henrico County Court Records may be found in the "Virginia Lost Records Localities Digital Collection."

Adjunct Descriptive Data