Virginia Books

A clearly written and informatively unrivaled piece of work.
An extremely important book in this field.

As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.

Buchanan County was formed in 1858, named for the current United States president, and taken from portions of Russell and Tazewell counties. In 1880 a parcel was taken from Buchanan to form part of newly-created Dickenson County. Buchanan County records have suffered from a series of disasters; first, a fire in 1862 destroyed the courthouse; then, in April, 1885, a second fire destroyed the courthouse again, together with all the records to that time. Finally, many records were damaged or destroyed by the flood which rampaged through the county in 1977. Thus, the Federal Census presents a very complete picture of this late-formed county on the eve of the War Between the States. The records are clear, although the No. 2 pencil with which the census-takers recorded their data on the sheets require careful reading in faint areas. The author has also incorporated valuable non-census information in this work, including data on births, deaths, marriages, and parents of many of the families enumerated. This helps to present a more complete picture of the persons in the list rather than the bare bones presented in the census. It also points up important inter-family relationships which existed throughout the county and area.

The order of the data is: Identification Number/Family Number; Name (Last, First, Middle)(Maiden Name); Age; Sex; Husband, Wife, Daughter, Son; Occupation; Value of Real Estate owned; Value of Personal Property owned; State of Birth; County of Birth; Marriage Date; Marriage Place; Parents of the couple being enumerated; Widow/widower, if applicable; Date of birth; Date of death; Notes.

So many wonderful photos of Buckinghamites, some that brought back memories of people my mother and grandparents knew. I grew up in NYC in the '50s-'60s but spent summers in Buckingham with my grandparents, Jesse and Gertrude Kyle. All of my best childhood memories hail from those summers, particularly memories of the annual revival meetings/family reunions held the weekend of the second Sunday in August - huge family breakfasts, Grandma preparing enormous quantities of food to take to church for the feast that always followed the morning service, everyone scrambling to get ready for church in the meantime, travelers' clothing and suitcases scattered about in the bedrooms upstairs. Lena Kyle Somerville, my aunt, was thrilled to see photos of her old school, Buckingham County Training School. I wish that my mother, Doris Kyle Jones, had lived long enough to enjoy this book. There was only one disappointment - no mention was made of any member of the Kyle and Spencer families or the place where they worshiped, St. Joy Baptist Church. The Kyles and Spencers were and continue to be strong thread in the fabric of Buckingham and deserved to at least have one person recognized from each of the two families. Barring those omissions, I highly recommend this book to those who love Buckingham.

As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.

Records of this county were burned in 1869. This census lists all persons, both black and white, living in each household, giving name and age, race and sex, occupation of males over 16, value of real estate & personal property, and state or country (and sometimes county) of birth, and age of children born within the census year. Also included is personal information on the individual educational level (read/write, deaf/dumb, attending school, etc.)

This is volume one of Ms. Stinson's magnificent research series, "Historical Records of Buckingham County, Virginia." She utilizes the poll lists for contested federal or state elections to locate residents of this burned county in space (voting district) and time.

This book contains an abstract of the minutes taken at the Board of Supervisor's meetings containing a chronological history of the rebuilding of the Court house and other facilities at the Court House Square. The Poorhouse accounts and the County Treasury Accounts are also included. Lists include jurors, persons dealing with the poorhouse, premiums paid for "scalps" and election officials.

This is volume two of Ms. Stinson's magnificent research effort into the records of Buckingham County. She utilizes the almost forgotten file boxes of undetermined chancery suits (many of which give evidence predating the 1869 fire) to elucidate the lives of many Buckingham residents who came in contact with the court system.

The author, who has numerous titles on this "burned county", fills in the period just prior to the courthouse fire by transcribing the county clerk's death records from the surviving copy held by the state auditor of public accounts in Richmond. In addition, she has searched contemporary newspapers from the area as well as secondary published sources (including the W.P.A. records) to produce the most thorough death record of this county to date.