Joann Riley McKey

Accomack County, Virginia Court Order Abstracts, Volume 5: 1676-1678 Joann Riley McKey

Beginning in April 1676, and ending in May 1678, the fifth book of court orders documents Accomack County's involvement in Bacon's Rebellion (in which Nathaniel Bacon of Suffolk County took up arms and killed about 70 Indians after they had killed some Englishmen) and furthers our understanding of everyday concerns in the 1670s. The Accomack County Court generally met ten times a year, and remained in session two to three days but sometimes as many as five days. The sessions provided news, entertainment and social interaction for the isolated county inhabitants. Punishment was most often in the form of a fine levied in pounds of tobacco, although sometimes offenders received lashes or were put in the stocks. These abstracts provide information about types of offenses which occurred (theft, defamation, unpaid debt, assault, adultery, etc.) and also about churches, schools, clothing, economy, children, health and nutrition, household items, food, animals, Indians, occupations, servants and taxes. "In wills and deeds the genealogist can learn about his ancestors' relatives and possessions; in court orders he can learn about his ancestors." The everyname index contains about 900 individuals.