Court. This court was composed of the Governor and his Council of State. It met semi-annually, 15 April and 15 October, each term lasting at least eighteen days. The Governor presided at these sessions. The presence of five members was necessary for the transaction of business. The Minutes of the Council and General Court are extant for the years 1622-1632 and abstracts for the years 1670-1676. They were published in one volume by the Virginia State Library in 1924 and are helpful in acquiring a general picture of life in the colony in the seventeenth century.

The General Assembly was also a judicial body with power to render decisions. At its afternoon session the 22nd day of September 1674, a cause came before the Council and General Court which had originated in Accomack County. The Court made no decision but ordered it "referred to the Assembly by reason it very much concern the country." From that one would infer that causes involving general principles were deemed proper for discussion and decision by the Burgesses who represented the entire colony, since all would be affected by the decision.

The Court of Admiralty, the last dispenser of justice in the colony, seems to have been established about 1697 under the governorship of Sir Edmund Andros. Previously such matters as would come within the province of this court had been handled by other judicial procedures, as they were later. The instances of piracy were not numerous enough to justify the maintenance of a Court of Admiralty in Virginia. No records of this court survive.

It may seem we have wandered far from the formation of counties, but since the accessibility of justice for all was a prime consideration in their creation, it would appear well to examine the means by which the average citizen could have his grievances heard and decided. The importance of the county monthly court in his life cannot be overestimated. While on business at court, he had opportunity to see his friends, play cards, gamble, race horses, fight, drink, "swap" horses and other livestock, attend the muster of county militia to which he belonged, and see the newest articles imported from England. The county court and his parish church services were his chief contacts with the world that lay beyond his plantation.

"Justice Accessible to All." County Divisions Begin

Scarcely had the eight original counties begun to function before the expansion of population forced the erection of a new one. In 1636 that part of Elizabeth City County lying on the south side of Hampton Roads became a separate entity under the name of New Norfolk, a name probably derived from the English shire. No court records of this year survive. The next year 1637, New Norfolk itself was divided into Lower Norfolk and Upper Norfolk counties.

Also in 1637, Warrosquyoake County lost its Indian name, becoming Isle of Wight. By Act of Assembly passed in January 1639/40, the bounds between these three counties were set as follows: Isle of Wight to begin at Lawne's Creek, thence down the main river to Richard Hays's, formerly John Seaward's, including the said plantation and families and from thence from the main river into the woods southerly to the plantation of William Nowell and Mr. Robert Pitt, with the said plantation and families, and thence south as aforesaid. The Upper County of New Norfolk to begin at the aforesaid plantation of Richard Hays, from thence southerly into the woods as aforesaid, and by the main river, from thence to extend down by the main river unto the creek near the plantation of Francis Bullock being the first creek to the westward of Crany Point including the plantation of the said Francis Bullock and no ways intrenching upon the Western Branch of Elizabeth River nor the creek thereof which do belong to the county of Lower Norfolk. The parishes in these counties were ordered to be coterminous with the bounds of the counties. Upper Norfolk County kept its name only a few years; in March 1645/46, the Assembly directed it should "be from henceforth nominated and called county of Nansemun."

Indian District Chickacoan Becomes Northumberland

Whether because of the Puritan element in Nansemond or because of Quakers resident there, who on account of their aversion to war were of no aid against the Indians, settlement for the first time turned away from Tidewater to the area lying between the Rappahannock and the Potomac Rivers. Because of its fertile soil, easy transportation and healthful climate, the colonists patented land in this favored region in increasing numbers. By 1645 the county of Northumberland had been formed and organized. Although we have no Act of Assembly to establish the date of its formation, an item from a volume of Maryland Archives under date of 1645 referring to Lieutenant Colonel John Trussell of the county of Northumberland shows the county was then functioning.

The area from which Northumberland was formed had borne the Indian name of Chickacoan. It was a border settlement with no stable government and in need of law and order. Northumberland extended from the Potomac to and across the Rappahannock River and from the tip of "Northern Neck," as the territory lying between the two rivers was called, indefinitely westward. The name derives from the English shire, Northumberland.

Population of the colony is estimated to have been about 15,000 in 1649, 500 of whom were negroes, and in 1654, 21,600 persons. This rapid growth was due largely to the Civil War in England which made Virginia a haven of refuge for many.

Northumberland Divided

In 1651, that portion of Northumberland lying on both sides of the Rappahannock River was divided and a new county, called Lancaster from the English shire of that name, was formed.

Colonists were moving westward in Northumberland and the distance to its courthouse made attendance at court difficult. In 1653, the new county of Westmoreland was set up from the western end of Northumberland to take care of these new residents. Its boundaries were "from Machoatoke River where Mr. Cole lives and so upwards to the falls of the great river of Potomac above the Necostins Town." It did not extend across the Rappahannock River. The "Mr. Cole" referred to is probably the Richard Cole, who in his will, directed that an elaborate tombstone be ordered for him carrying the following inscription:

"Here lies Dick Cole a grievous sinner
Who died shortly before dinner
Yet hopes in Heaven to find a place
To satiate his soul with grace."

Westmoreland, destined to share with Charles City County the distinction of being the birthplace of two Presidents of the United States, is a beautifully situated area with famous estates on its fertile lands. Among these should be mentioned "Stratford," the birthplace of two Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee, and of General Robert E. Lee.

New Tidewater Counties

Leaving the rapidly growing Northern Neck of Virginia, we return to the Tidewater area to see the developments there. Just as the 1622 Massacre had retarded settlements on the south bank of the York River, so the 1644 Massacre had delayed expansion on the north side of the York. Although in 1648 a petition was presented to the Assembly reciting "the great and clamorous necessities of divers of the inhabitants occasioned and brought upon them through the mean produce of their labours upon barren and over-wrought grounds" and praying leave to settle on the north side of Charles (York) and Rappahannock