Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

New Kent County (Va.) Minute Book, 1836-1860. Local government records collection, New Kent 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 New Kent County.

Historical Information

New Kent County may have been named either for the English county of Kent or for Kent Island, in the upper waters of the Chesapeake Bay. William Claiborne, a native of Kent who had been driven from Kent Island by Lord Baltimore, was a prominent resident of the New Kent area about 1654 when the county was formed from York County. Part of James City County was added in 1767. The county seat is New Kent.

Records were destroyed when John Posey set fire to the courthouse on 15 July 1787. Many records were lost when the courthouse was partially destroyed by fire during Civil War hostilities in 1862. Additional records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War.

Scope and Content

New Kent County (Va.) Minute Book, 1836-1860, record all matters brought before the court on a daily basis when it was in session including but not limited to: civil and criminal suits, appointments of county officers, appointments of guardians and administrators, deed recordings, free negro registrations, naturalization registrations, and court fees. Clerks would transfer information from minute books to appropriate order book, deed book, fiduciary book, free negro register, etc. Collection includes minute book from the Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery and Circuit Court.

Arrangement

Chronological by entry date.

Related Material

Additional New Kent County records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

New Kent is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional New Kent Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localites Database found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• New Kent County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--New Kent County.

Geographical Names:

• New Kent County (Va.)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Judicial records--Virginia--New Kent County.
• Local government records--Virginia--New Kent County.
• Minute books--Virginia--New Kent County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data