Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-04-29
mrcXLENBuRC's COUNTY COURT
Records Of the First Proceedings Ever
Held There.

4 ! u
The county or Mcckcnburg was formed
IN 1904 from Lun.nburr. The first court
house of ihe latter county was near the
nr.-.ut site az this town. 40 vostige OF
+. n.w remains, but tradition tells you
where the building and ealloWs were To-
,ltl
H.c.ntly. in looking over the county
,...rds. saw the proceedings of the
! tr.t court ever D. .ld in this county There
, .s scarcely now a. person boy the name of
/ fNo men who constituted our first court
! D. appears that after the organization the
] FIRST business transacted was To- regulate
/ .r. uric. off alcoholic drinks. There were
! up piohihitouists in those days. The
| record starts ont by saying.
! est the dwcllng-h0usc Of Richard
| Sw.p..n en- tine 1ith Of March. 1863. a
I comm. sion OF the peace under the hand
/ of Francis Fau4uer, his Majcstys Lieute-
..ut-GDtrruur and Commander-in-Chiaf
uf tire Colony and Dominion Of Viz
rua and fifteen year OF the reign Of
our SOVEREIGN Lord King George. the
| thIrl directed 10 Robert MunlOrd. Rich
arl Wilton. John Spced. Henry Dclony,
Edmund tyler. benjamin Baird, John
Camp. Thomas ErsNne. John Potter.
John Cos. Thomas Anderson, John Speed,
= P
met and took the odths 10 the govern
mont and subscribed 10 the Abjuration
| oath.
CLERK OF THE COUNTY.
"Iohn Tab0 produced "a commission
| ,irl,r the hluI and seal Of Thomas Mel
SIN. Esquire deputy secretary of Nir-
GINA. bearing date "a Of December, l'ti'
appointing him clerk Of the county
"Hicharl Wilton, gent. produced a COM
mission under The head Of Francis tau-
quier Esq. appointing him sheriff Of the
county. and hc took the oath of allegiance
and supremacy and subscribed the test
aul then had the oath Of sheriff admins
tered.
I ",irav Briggs and Philip Tyler produced
Ic.re. o. practice ass attorneys, who took
The oqth- appointed hy act Of Parliament
instead of oa,hs Of allegiance and supre-
macy
"rdmunl Tyler. cont. produced n com
mission from the masters Of William and
Mary college. appointing him surveyor oi
inns county. and took the oaths appointed
by act Of Parliament.
THE PRICES.
Pursuant TO an act of Assembly this
court 10 SGT and rate the following prices
OF liquors. diet. lodging. fodder, proVendtf.
sfahlape. and p4sturdEe. at and for which
~ are To- entertain and sell for the ensu-
'''' IS. d.
West India rum by the gallon...... 10
Madeira wine by the Quart........ {
Peach brandy b. the gallon........
Annie brandy by the gailon..........
Good Virginia cider 10y the quartz.
New England rum by the gallon....
Bristol cider by the Quart.......... .
Strong beer by the quart............ ! 3
| y dinner. Observation-Disclosures. /
\ breakfast OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. ;
com by the eallon...................,.
Oats by the g1llOn.................... 4
| Punch. with white sugar by the
| quart NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. l =
| Punch, with brown sugar. by the
| quart ................... ]
! French brandy by the gallon.........1 0 0
| Portugal French wine by tn" quart. .
| Virginia strong beer by the quart. G
| Lodging. with clean sheets, one
| night ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
| Pasturage FOR a horse twcnty-four
hours Observation-Disclosures. G
! Stablage for a horse one night. e
| Fodder by tn pound.................. :
And all proportiouatcly fer greater OF
| less quantity"
After the above business was trans
! the adoption OF oar-marks for cattle.
hogs, and other animals. The proceed
| ings were signed by Robert Munford,
who was the presiding officer.
THE WRITING
The handwriting Of the records IS
large. perfectly distinct. and written with
u qulll penn There are no lines on the
paper. and the ink. although written ll9
years ago. shows no indication OF fading
The paper is coarse. but the binding 81
the old books IS as good as We have now
in use. There are no gildcd letters on
the outside The pages were numbered
by the clerk, and there are no blotting
or erasures. Nea'ncss WAS apparent on
every page. and there was nothing am
biguOus in the entries Of the proceedings.
From the articles for which prices were
established Il seems that the first set
tiers had Il much finer and more varied
assortment OF drinkabes than we have at
the present day In this country.
Although the names OF the founders of
our first court have disappeared from our
records Of the present day. yet their de-
scendants can be found scattered from
the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans
II. u. J.