A Guide to the Powhatan County (Va.) Organization Records, circa 1780-1934,

Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/

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Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Powhatan County(Va.) Organization Records, circa 1780-1934, [series or volume title]. Local government records collection, Powhatan County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Powhatan County in an undated accession.

Processing Information

Prior to 2025, the various organization records in this collection were originally described as individual records, but they have been consolidated into one large organization record for the locality. Since 2025, these records additionally include identified but not processed records.

Encoded by J. Taylor: August 2025.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: Organization Records, both volumes and loose records, are in some cases transferred to the Library of Virginia as components of court record transfers. These organization records in some cases were simply stored in the local court building for safe keeping by business owners. In other cases, organization records (particularly ledgers, account books, etc.) may have been filed in a court case as an exhibit. These organization record exhibits appeared both in chancery causes and in judgments, these records serving as exhibits for business dissolution cases, debt suits, and contract disputes.

Locality History: Powhatan County was named for the paramount chief of the Powhatan Indians in the tidewater of Virginia in the late sixteenth and early years of the seventeenth century. It was formed from Cumberland County in 1777, and part of Chesterfield County was added in 1850. The county seat is Powhatan.

Contents List

Series I: Powhatan Lodge No. 123 Records, 1874-1914

Physical Location: Library of Virginia

1 volume

Historical Information: The Powhatan Lodge No. 123, A.F. & A.M., was organized at Powhatan Courthouse 1874 July 3. The Powhatan Lodge U.D. held its first meeting at Powhatan Courthouse 1874 July 18. The first Masonic Lodge in Virginia was founded in Norfolk probably in 1741, and soon other lodges began in the colony. These lodges were chartered by the various Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Grand Lodge of Virginia, the first independent Grand Lodge in the United States, was established in Williamsburg in 1778 with John Blair (1731-1800) serving as the first Grand Master.

Scope and Content: The records of the Powhatan Lodge No. 123 consist of a minute book. The volume contains minutes and proceedings of the Powhatan Lodge, A. F. & A.M., and the Powhatan Lodge, U.D., 1874-1881; and miscellaneous loose papers, 1880-1914. The minutes begin with a petition to form a lodge and a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and continue with a record of attendance and proceedings of monthly meetings. Loose papers are comprised of copies of court records, including plats, from the eighteenth century, a list of licenses given to merchants, 1880-1881; business letterhead, scattered personal and clerk's correspondence of James A. Tillman, County Clerk, and scattered records (two draft letters and a draft meeting notice, and accounts) of the Ladies Aid Society, Fine Creek Church, 1884.

Barcode Number 1123718: Powhatan Lodge No. 123 Minute Book, 1874-1914

Series II: Powhatan County (Va.) Organization Records, circa 1780-1934 [UNPROCESSED]

Physical Location: Library of Virginia

2 volumes

Includes boxes containing material identified as organization records. These records may be flat filed or foldered but not fully processed.

Powhatan County (Va.) Organization Records, 1780-1925, includes a list of officers with the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People in Virginia, 1902, 1903, 1907, 1909 and 1911, and other organization records which typically consist of appointments of trustees, minutes, and miscellaneous records of religious organizations, fraternal organizations, independent associations, and cooperatives.

Barcode Number 1178743: Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, Fiduciary Records, Organization Records, County Administrative Records, Tax and Fiscal Records, Marriage Records and Vital Statistics, circa 1780-1850
Barcode Number 1186824: Jury Records, circa 1810-1870; Commonwealth Claims; Bonds, Commissions, Oaths; Public Buildings & Grounds Records; Miscellaneous Records; Organizational Records, Clerk's Records; and Fiduciary Records, circa 1810-1934
Barcode Number 1186858: Court Records; Tax and Fiscal Records; Miscellaneous Records; Bonds, Commissions, Oaths; Organizational Records; Treasurer Records, 1823-1925

Includes a list of officers from the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People in Virginia
Barcode Number 1186829: Tax and Fiscal Records, Organization Records, Court Records, School Records, County Administrative Records, Miscelleanous Records, Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, circa 1830-1913
Barcode Number 1186859: Court Records, Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, Tax and Fiscal Records, Fiduciary Records, Organization Records, County Administrative Records, 1895-1911
Barcode Number 1049950: Circuit Court Papers, 1900-1924. Clerk's Records, Bonds, Commissions, Oaths; Jury Records; Miscellaneous Records, and Organizational Records, 1900-1924