Common Law Orders - No 2 - March 1853 - March 1866
Document Name
Common Law Orders - No 2 - March 1853 - March 1866
Provenience
The Roanoke County Archives
Abstract
The Common Law Orders vary significantly in the records they hold, but they largely include records of court cases including trials of enslaved people and indictments, records of payments for those involved in these court proceedings, the petitions of free people of color proving to the court their free status, as well as other eclectic information such as correspondences between Roanoke County officials and officials of other jurisdictions. Wills and settlements of estates were occasionally also included in the Common Law books. Free people of color had to petition to the Roanoke County court to be able to live in the jurisdiction, have proof of their free status, and had to be examined before the court and their physical appearance recorded into record, including height, skin color, age, and any noticeable scars or disabilities. Court cases ranged from criminal indictments to tax exemptions. In some cases, an enslaver would not be taxed for an enslaved person who was ill, elderly, or disabled, and the record for this exemption would be included. Some court indictments include the charging of white people for selling enslaved people liquor or gathering in groups with enslaved people, which was illegal. In other rare but notable cases, enslaved people were charged with crimes including theft, arson, and assault. Witnesses may have been called, including other enslaved people. In such court cases, the bulk of the court, including both prosecutors and those assigned as defense counsel for the enslaved people, were enslavers themselves. In some cases, the convicted enslaved people would be punished with whippings or death by lynching, while in a few others cases, in place of punishment the enslaved person would be “transported outside the limits of the United States,” presumably to Liberia.
In Common Law Book E, an examining court was held in the case of Tom Newman, who was charged with an attempt to rape Sarah C. Petty, a white girl. He was found guilty of the charge by the court after the examination, and it was ordered that he be remanded to jail to await trial. In Common Law Book 2, Tom was set to be imprisoned in the public jail for twelve years. He was eventually moved from the public jail to the court jail.
Samuel Richardson was listed at 47 years old as being "dark mulatto" and 5 feet 7.5 inches tall, with a scar on his forehead above his right eye. He previously registered at Lynchburg Hustings Court on December 3, 1828. In Common Law Book E, at 61 years old, his appearance was described in the same manner. In Common Law Book 2, there was an indictment against Samuel for "public show."
J. K. Pitzer and Frederick Johnston were listed in Settlement of Estates Book 1 as the administrators of Madison Pitzer’s estate. It was also listed on March 13, 1865 that enslaved people were hired to work at fortifications for $89.00. In the same entry, an enslaved man, Anderson, was listed as having died in service of Confederate States Government: "To cash received for negro man Anderson who died in service of Confederate States Government." $4,700.00 went to J. K. Pitzer, Frederick Johnston, and Madison Pitzer. Later in this same record, $41.33 was received by the estate of Madison Pitzer on January 6, 1864 for the hire of enslaved people who worked on Richmond Defenses.
In Common Law Book 2 was an indictment against J. W. Minor "for housebreaking with the intent to steal and larceny." He pled not guilty but was found guilty, and he was sentenced to one year in the public jail.
In Common Law Book 2 was an indictment against Charles Johnson "for housebreaking with the intent to steal and larceny." He pled not guilty but was found guilty, and he was sentenced to one year in the public jail.