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Official Records - County Records - Accomack County

Accomack County is the northernmost county on Virginia's Eastern Shore. As one of the original counties established in 1634, Accomack has a large collection of records dating back to the earliest years of local government in colonial Virginia. In the first federal census of 1790, Accomack contained 4,262 slaves, or 31 percent of the total population of 13,959. The county also contained a large population of free blacks, and interactions between black and white Virginians in Accomack reveal much of the complexity of Virginia's society. You may read excerpts from county order books for the following years.

Another case of a mixed race illegitimate child, January 1768.
Charges for these offenses against moral codes were sometimes brought by the church wardens, a committee of elders for each parish church, and occasionally preferred by the grand jury.

Trial of Nan, June 1768.
Nan was accused of felony theft, but convicted only of a misdemeanor. By convicting of the lesser offense, the court was perhaps protecting the property of owner James.

Hampton jailed for threatening his master, August 1768.
It is interesting that Hampton's security would have to be posted by his master, the man whom he was accused of threatening.

William Pettit insults Isaac Smith, the county's leading justice, September 1768.
Pettit had sued Smith in Chancery Court (an equity court that usually dealt with cases of disputed inheritance and property) but died before the case came to trial. Smith owned a number of slaves, and placed an ad for several runaways in 1777. See the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, July 27, 1777. Generally, as in this case, white men convicted of disturbing the peace or causing a public disorder were required to give a bond for their good behavior for a specified period of time, one month in this case, but sometimes an entire year. If the amount of the bond was too much or if, as in this case, the defendant refused to post sufficient security, he was jailed.

Grand Jury presentments, November 1768.
The grand jury comprised ordinary property holders of the county. They were empanelled from time to time to determine transgressions of the peace and offenses against morals. Presentments here include a charge against a free black woman, Jemima Harman, for not listing her tithable, that is a male or female older than sixteen years who lived with her and for whom she owed tax. Note also that carriages were also taxed.