Description

An original Virginia county, "Accawmack" was formed in 1634; renamed Northampton in 1642/3; and split into Northampton and Accomack Counties in 1663 (the northern part receiving the original name). In April 1663, court sessions were first held in the newly-formed Accomack County. They continued to be held almost every month. In this book, the second volume of court orders (dating from 1666 to 1670) has been abstracted. More than 1,700 individuals-Indians, African Americans, indentured servants, planters and commissioners-are named in these abstracts. Besides providing a wealth of names for researchers to work with, the court orders reveal valuable-and often entertaining-information concerning the region's economy, relations between different segments of the population, construction of highways, justice system, social order and mores. Also included, as recorded in the court books, are tax lists and abstracts of wills and deeds. A page-number reference to the original source accompanies each abstract; and an every-name plus subject index guides users through this goldmine of data. "The sessions provided news, entertainment and social interaction for the isolated [county] inhabitants...one gets glimpses of real people as they break the Sabbath, commit fornication, speak out in their depositions or quote their neighbors. In wills and deeds the genealogist can learn about his ancestors' relatives and possessions; in court orders he can learn about his ancestors."