A Guide to the Clarke County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1836-1935
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Barcode number 0007804187
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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
© 2023 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Mary Ann Mason
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open to research.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Clarke County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1836-1935. Local Government Records Collection, Clarke County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Clarke County under the accession number 53404
Processing Information
Encoded by M. Mason: 2023
Historical Information
Context for Record Type: A carry over from the British system, the separate office of coroner appeared in Virginia about 1660. The judicial duty of the office was to hold inquisitions in cases when persons met a sudden, violent, unnatural or suspicious death, or death without medical attendance. The law did not encourage the Coroner to be a medical professional until the 20th century, and only stipulated that the local court be responsible for the appointment. Although not reliant on profession, this system of affluent white men making the decisions largely ensured that only other white men served in this position for much of its history
Prior to the Civil War, the coroner would summon a jury of twelve white men, usually prominent citizens of that locality, to assist him in determining cause of death. The jury viewed the body of the deceased and heard the testimony of witnesses which did include both white and Black perspectives. This witness testimony was recorded and after seeing and hearing the evidence, and unlike other judicial proceedings, enslaved people could provide depositions in coroner's inquisitions, but still, an all-white jury delivered in writing to the coroner their conclusion concerning cause of death referred to as the inquisition. These causes of death would be determined by a white perspective and Black individuals were only consulted; they were never in a position to make decisions. After the Civil War, the process remained the same but the racial distinctions stipulating jury eligibility no longer remained. However, as appointments still continued and juror eligibility reserved for those "entitled to vote and hold office," the authority and influence in the hands of white citizens remained throughout the late 19th and early 20th century.
In 1877, an act of the General Assembly changed the number of jurors to six, and by 1926, only the coroner determined cause of death but they could require physicians to assist them with determining cause of death. Then in 1946, the General Assembly abolished the Coroner's office/ office of Coroner's Physician altogether, appointed instead a Chief Medical Examiner, and by 1950 transitioned to a statewide Office of the Chief Medical Examiner which now lives within the Department of Health.
If a criminal act was determined to be the cause of death, the coroner delivered the guilty person to the sheriff and the inquests would be used as evidence in the criminal trial. In this case, coroner's inquisitions were filed with the trial papers. If there was not a trial, coroner's inquisitions were filed separately and are more likely to appear in this collection as a standalone set of documents.
Locality History: Clarke County was named for Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark, who commanded the Virginia forces that secured control of the Northwest Territory for Virginia during the Revolution. He spelled his name without the terminal e. The county was formed from Frederick County in 1836.
Scope and Content
Materials in the Library of Virginia's collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.
Coroners' Inquisitions contain graphic and in some cases violent or otherwise disturbing descriptions of death.
Clarke County (Va.) Coroners' Inquisitions, 1836-1935, contains investigations into the deaths of individuals who died by a sudden, violent, unnatural or suspicious manner, or died without medical attendance. Causes of death found in these records include murder, infanticide, suicide, domestic violence, exposure to elements, drownings, train accidents, automobile accidents, and natural causes, or as commonly referred to in the 19th century, "visitation by God."
Documents commonly found in coroners' inquisitions include the inquisition, depositions, and summons. Some inquisitions contain other documents such as exhibits (drawings, photographs, items found with the body. etc) and autopsies. Information found in the inquisition include the name of the coroner, the names of the jurors, the name and age of the deceased if known, gender and race of the deceased, and when, how, and by what means the deceased came to his or her death. If the coroner knew the deceased person to be Black or multiracial, the inquest should identify the person as enslaved; a "free Negro"; a "person of color"; or a "mulatto." If the coroner knew the deceased person to be enslaved, the inquest should include their name, their enslaver and the enslaver's residence. Information found in the depositions include the name of the deponent and his or her account of the circumstances that led to the death of the deceased.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronological by date coroner filed inquisition in the court.
Related Material
Additional Clarke County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult: A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm.
Selected Inquests of Interest
Inquests of Interest are identified by local records archivists during processing and indexing. These inquests are generally selected based upon guiding principles of being historical, genealogical or sensational significant; however, determining what is "of interest" is subjective, and the individual perspective and experience of the describing archivist will affect the material identified.
In this inquisitions Lewis, an enslaved man, was believed to have come to his death "by hanging, which was effected by the position he was left in after flogging and the exhaustion produced by its violence." The jury found that it was James Castleman, the enslaver of Lewis, who flogged Lewis so severely. Magistrates preformed this inquisition for James Castleman was himself the Coroner of Clarke County at the time. James and his son Stephen Castleman were ultimately charged with the murder of Lewis but found not guilty as the whipping was not the cause of death. Instead, the jury filed that when Lewis passed out from exhaustion, the rope left around his neck strangled him.
John W. Bird, a white enslaver, was found deceased in close proximity to the homes of the people enslaved on Bird's property. The inquisition rules that Bird came to his death by a gun or pistol ball from the hands of some unknown person. The depositions are all given by enslaved individuals and include enslaved genealogical information and discuss the enslaved experience. Enslaved individuals include Mark Banks, Parker Strange, Alfred Brown, John, Francis, Sam Butler, Clay Butler, Nancy Strange, App Reynolds, Molly Green, and Joe.
After disrupting a church gathering, James Hill, a Black man, later went to home of John Elwell, a white man, and attempted to enter the dwelling. Elwell recounts that he gave multiple warnings to Hill to leave, and requested multiple times to state his name, but after the persistent pounding and attempts to enter, Elwell fired a shot that resulted in Hill's death. Depositions indicate that James Hill may have been suffering from a mental health crisis.
The inquisition states that Louise F. Harrison died by using a gun to shoot herself. The depositions indicate that Louise recently gave birth to a child and her mental health was suffering, with several statements indicating that she suffered from depression.
Annie Smallwood died accidently when James Smallwood, her husband, while taking his gun off the wall discharged the gun. The depositions describe the remorse of James Smallwood after the incident and the depth of his inconsolable grief.
Erma Lee died from a hemorrhage from a tear in her uterus as the result of an operation preformed by Dr. Strother of Brunswick, Md., to produce an abortion. The deposition given by Milton Lee, Erma's husband, details the covert nature of the process in arriving at the appointment, detailed account of the procedure, and the horrifying attempt to save his wife after the procedure went wrong. The deposition also discusses abortion laws at the time and the unlawfulness of the act.