Description

Books Twelve and Thirteen of the court orders of Accomack County, Virginia, are treated as a single volume in this work because they both contained less than half the number of pages as the previous Accomack County court order books. Book Twelve covers the period from November 1714 through August 1717, while Book Thirteen covers the period from September 1717 through June 1719. News of the death of Queen Anne on August 1, 1714 had only just reached Virginia in November of that year. King George I had ascended to the English throne, an event commemorated by two epithets on the first page of Book Twelve: "God Save the King," and "God Damn the King." The introduction to this volume spotlights a selection of the more interesting, revealing or unfortunate incidents found among the court orders issued during those years covered. These pages comprise a fascinating collection of accounts of assault, fornication and adultery, theft, property disputes and wills. Much can be learned about our Virginia ancestors' values as a society by examining their management of a wide array of public concerns, such as orphans, the elderly and infirm, crime, businesses, religious observance, mills, roads, taxes, public and private property and more. This chronological collection of court orders is attractively presented and includes a full-name plus subject index. "In wills and deeds the genealogist can learn about his ancestors' relatives and possessions; in court orders he can learn about his ancestors."