Smyth County, Virginia Order Book 15, 1875-1880

This work is a combination of light abstractions, summaries and, especially in the latter half of this work, full verbatim transcriptions of Order Book 15, Smyth County, Virginia which begins 17 May 1875 with the enumeration of deeds and other writings admitted to record since last court term and ends on page 528, at court, Tuesday, 16 November 1880 with the allowance of $10 to Dr. James F. Pendleton for the postmortem examination of Andrew Bowers. There are a few pages either blank or shortened by transcription.

The varied contents of this OB follows the same as those reiterated in the introductions of the previous 1-14 Order Books for Smyth County. The book is rich in information on county residents and government for the period. Especially valuable is the reiterating of deeds and other documents such as power of attorney, Lis Pendens, agreements, etc. admitted to record for each court period which will allow the reader to access easily the appropriate deed or other book to find the full document text. Other information includes appraisals of estate, granting of letters of administration, recordings of last will and testament, road orders, appointment of guardians, permission of ministers to perform marriages and attorneys to practice in the county court, appointments of officials and taking of bonds, a plethora of indictments and trials for many causes, the administering of oaths, payments by Commonwealth and County for various services and much more.

Jack Hockett and Donald Helton

2025, every-name index, 357 pp.

107-SMOB15