Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Isle of Wight County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1775-1837. Local government records collection, Isle of Wight 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 Isle of Wight County under the accession number 21594.

Historical Information

Isle of Wight County was named probably for the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. It was first known as Warrosquyoake for an Indian tribe living in the area whose name means "swamp in a depression of land," and was one of the original shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. The present name was given in 1637. Parts of Nansemond County were added in 1769 and 1772. The county seat is Isle of Wight.

Isle of Wight County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Most pre–Revolutionary War–era loose records are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist. During the Civil War, the county clerk had his slave Randall Boothe transport the court records to Greensville and Brunswick counties for safekeeping. After the war ended, Boothe returned the records to Isle of Wight and served as courthouse caretaker.

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

Isle of Wight County (Va.) Processioner's Records, 1775-1837 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 Isle of Wight 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."

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data