Botetourt County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Court.....Minutes, County Court November 1774 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 3, 2007, 5:31 pm Source: Annals Of S W Virginia Written: November 1774 At the court house of Botetourt County the 8th day of November, 1774. Richard May, Wm. Madison & James Henderson, three of the persons named in the Commission of the Peace for said County, took the usual oaths to his Majesty's Person & Government, repeated & subscribed the test, took the oaths of Justices of the Peace in the County Court in Chancery and of Justices of Oyer and Terminer, which were severally administered to them by James Trimble, Gent. At a court held for the said County the same day. Present. James Trimble, Wm. Madison, Richard May, James Henderson & Adam Smyth, Gentlemen Justicez. [sic] Ordered that Wm. McClelan, Thomas Rowland, Mathew Ralston and Solomon Simpson, or any three of them, being first sworn, do view the several ways from the to Wm. McClelan's and make report of the conveniences & inconveniences of the same to the next court. Ord. that Mary Bryan, a servant woman of Richard Morris, do serve her said Master one year after the expiration of the time of her indenture to reimburse him for having a bastard child during the time of her service. Ordered that Edward Curvin, Moses Higgenbethan, John Henley, Henry Smith and Solomon Tirpen, or any three of them, being first sworn, do view the several ways from Robert Caldwell's on Craig's Creek Mountain, Potts Creek Mountain to the Sweet Springs and report the conveniences & inconveniences of the same to the next court. A Grand Jury was called and sworn, towit: John Neelly, Isaiah Vansandt, Josiah Phipps, John Looney, Andrew Armstrong, William Adams, James Leatherdale, Alxr. Legget, James Scott, Joseph Looney, Wm. Doherty, Saml. Robinson, Thomas Arnet, William Mills, John Walker, and Andrew McNeelly, after having received their charge went out of court to consider of their presentments. Ord. that William McClenachan, Francis Graham, Muhall Cloyd, Joseph Jenkins and James Robinson or any three of them being first sworn, do view the road from Bedford County line by Mr. Howard's to Mr. Breckenridge's, and also any other way which they think fit or shall be proposed to them from the said County line to the same place, and make report of the conveniences & inconveniences of each respectively to the next court. The Grand Jury rctd. into court & presented the following persons, towit: Nathaniel Evans for unlawfully cohabiting with Jane Campbell. Also Austin Broomley for unlawfully cohabiting with his house keeper. Also Uriah Humphries and Samuel Lawrence as Survoyor of the Road from Pedler Ford to the Reed Hill. Also John McAuffat for unlawfully cohabiting with May, his house keeper. Also Michael Cloyd for turning & fencing up the highway. And the said Grand Jury having nothing further to do, were discharged. Ord. that summonses issue against the several persons presented by the Grand Jury, returnable to the next court. Joseph Pryor produced a commission from his Excellency the Governor appointing him a Lieutenant in the Militia of this County and took the usual oaths to his Majesty's Person & Govt., and repated [sic] and subscribed the test. A writing as the last will & testament of William Kenney and was exhibited in court by Richard Maise and Cornelius McGuire, the executors named, who severally refused to take upon them the execution thereof, and was proved by the said Richard and William Maise, two of the witnesses, and is ordered to be recorded, and administration of said estate is granted to Elizabeth, widow of the said (word missing) and who made oath according to law in the sum of four hundred pounds, with William Dougherty and William Doherty, Junr., her securities. Ord. that the ct. be adjd. till tomorrow morning, six o'clock. The minutes of these proceedings were signed by James Trimble At a court contd. A held for Botetourt County the 9th of November, 1774. Present. George Skillern, Wm. McClenachan, Richard May and Adam Smyth, Gent. Justices. Ord. that application be made to the County Court of Augusta to extend the dividing line between this & the said County of Augusta to the Ohio River. A platt of ten acres of land laid off for prison bounds & returned to court and is ordered to be recorded. Ord. that the Sheriff pay Samuel Lewis, Surveyor, one half of his account stated according to law for surveying & running the County line between this County and Fincastle. Ordered that John Howard's, Mathew Amuck's, Thomas Welsh's, James Stewart's, David May's, John May's, Hugh Mills's, William Graham's, John Itruns do work on the road from the said Howard's to the said John Stewart's under John May, the Surveyor of the same when required to keep said road in repair as the law directs. On the petition of Thomas Bowyer leave is granted him to keep an ordinary at his house. Bond entered into with John Shay, his security, and conditioned as the law directs. Upon the petition of William Amendd, this court doth establish a ferry from the land of William Crow over James River to the land of William Anderson & it is ordered that the same fees be allowed the said Anderson as are established by the Act of Assembly appointing the ferry on Crow's land. Israel Christian's account for the collection for 1772 settled & to be recorded, and it is ordered that the Sheriff pay him the ballance due to him from the County, amounting to twenty two pounds, four shillings and one penny, instead of seven hundred and thirteen pounds of tobacco levied for him in the last County levy, and that the said present Sheriff retain the residue of the said sum in their hands, to be applyed to the payment of some other County demands (This is set aside). Ordered that Robert Burdwell, Junr., James Cartmill and Wm. Maxwell, being sworn, do view a way from Henry Cartmill's to Hutcheson's Mill, and make report of the same to the court. Ord. that the ct. be adjd. till court in course. George Skillern Additional Comments: Extracted from: Annals of Southwest Virginia 1769-1800 BY LEWIS PRESTON SUMMERS Member of American Historical Association, Virginia Historical Society; Alumnus University of Virginia and Tulane University (Louisiana); Member American Bar Association, Virginia State Bar Association Author of HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA 1740-1786 WASHINGTON COUNTY VIRGINIA 1777-1870 PUBLISHED BY LEWIS PRESTON SUMMERS ABINGDON, VIRGINIA 1929 COPYRIGHT, 1929, BY LEWIS PRESTON SUMMERS MANUFACTURED COMPLETE BY THE KINGSPORT PRESS KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE United States of America File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/botetourt/court/minutes51gwl.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/vafiles/ File size: 7.3 Kb