ACCOMACK COUNTY VIRGINIA COURT ORDER ABSTRACTS VOLUME 2

An original Virginia county Accawmack was formed in 1634 renamed Northampton in 16423 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 newlyformed 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 1700 individualsIndians African Americans indentured servants planters and commissionersare named in these abstracts Besides providing a wealth of names for researchers to work with the court orders reveal valuableand often entertaininginformation concerning the regions 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 pagenumber reference to the original source accompanies each abstract and an everyname plus subject index guides users through this goldmine of data The sessions provided news entertainment and social interaction for the isolated county inhabitantsone 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