A TIME LINE OF EVENTS FROM 1607-1917
|
| 1607 |
The
Virginia Company of London founds the first permanent English settlement in North America
at Jamestown. |
| 1618 |
Probate, orphan, equity, and
minor criminal and civil cases are handled by county courts (also known as monthly courts
or courts of the shire). |
| 1619 |
Headright grants are
given beginning around this date to persons who pay for the passage of themselves and
others. A settler is entitled to 50 acres of land for each person for whom he pays passage
to Virginia. The first Africans are transported to Virginia, to be used as forced laborers
on plantations. |
| 1624 |
The King of England dissolves the
Virginia Company of London and establishes Virginia as a crown colony with an elected
legislature. |
| 1660 |
Beginning in this
year, Virginia couples can marry by either posting a bond with a civil authority, or by
announcing marriage banns in their church. Slavery is established in the colony of
Virginia. |
| 1680 |
Large-scale importation of
African slaves begins around this date. |
| 1700 |
French Huguenots
fleeing persecution in the old country begin arriving around 1700. |
| 1714 |
German workers for the iron
industry in the Piedmont area begin arriving around this date. |
| 1730 |
Large numbers of
persons of German and Ulster Scottish descent begin moving southward from Pennsylvania
into the Shenandoah Valley around this date. |
| 1732 |
The awarding of headright grants
ends around this date. |
| 1754 |
The French and Indian
War begins; it ends by treaty in 1763. |
| 1775 |
The American Revolution begins;
it ends by treaty in 1783. An area south- east of the Ohio River is organized into the
District of West Augusta (much of this area will be ceded to Pennsylvania in 1786). |
| 1776 |
The area which will
later be known as the state of Kentucky is organized as Kentucky County, Virginia. |
| 1779 |
Part of Virginia becomes part of
North Carolina. |
| 1780 |
Ministers are required
to report all marriages they perform to the county clerk. |
| 1782 |
Bounty lands provided by Virginia
to its war veterans are located in what would become the state of Kentucky (1782-1792). |
| 1784 |
Virginia formally
cedes its claims to land north of the Ohio River to the United States government. |
| 1788 |
Virginia ratifies the new
United States constitution. |
| 1792 |
The state of
Kentucky is formed from an area which had been part of Virginia. Bounty lands provided to
Virginia war veterans after this date are located in the area known as the Virginia
Military District of Ohio. |
| 1800 |
Foreign immigration to
Virginia slows to a trickle after this date. |
| 1803 |
Part of what had been
Virginia becomes the state of Ohio and the Indian Territory. |
| 1805 |
Hustings courts provide for
independent cities the same services that county courts provide for counties. |
| 1812 |
Virginia furnishes
troops for the War of 1812; it ends by treaty in 1815. |
| 1816 |
The state of Indiana is formed
from lands which had previously belonged to Virginia. |
| 1818 |
The state of Illinois
is formed from lands which had previously belonged to Virginia. |
| 1850 |
The corporation courts replace
the hustings courts, which have been used to this point by independent cities. |
| 1853 |
There are very few
civil registrations of births prior to this year. Virginia requires civil registration of
births and deaths at the county level from 1853-1896. |
| 1861 |
Civil War begins; Virginia
furnishes troops to the Union and the Confederacy. Many early enlistments are for 90 days
because most persons believe hostilities will be over in 90 days or less. The Battle of
First Manassas occurs in this year. |
| 1863 |
The Battle of
Chancellorsville occurs in this year (Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is mortally
wounded by his own troops at this battle). West Virginia (which was created from part of
Virginia) is admitted as a state. |
| 1864 |
The Battles of the Wilderness and
Cold Harbor occur in this year. |
| 1865 |
The Army of Northern
Virginia under General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox
on April 9th. |
| 1890 |
Special federal census records
Union veterans and their widows living in Virginia and West Virginia in 1890. |
| 1896 |
Registration of births
and deaths is not required from 1896 until June 14, 1912. Some recording of births and
deaths continues in some Virginia cities. |
| 1898 |
Virginia furnishes some troops
for the Spanish-American War. Action occurs primarily in Cuba and the Philippine Islands. |
| 1902 |
Duties which had
previously been handled by county courts (also known as monthly courts or courts of the
shire) are assumed at this time by the circuit courts. Circuit courts also assume the
duties that to this point had been performed for independent cities by corporation courts
(which had in turn replaced hustings courts). |
| 1912 |
Civil registration of births and
deaths is again required as of June 14, 1912. Some delayed registrations will be recorded
at later dates for births which occurred between 1896-1912 but were not recorded at the
time of the event. |
| 1917 |
All Virginia men
born between 1873-1900 are required to register for one of several draft calls in
1917-1918. Persons living in the United States who are not yet citizens and were born in
countries hostile to the United States are required to register with Department of Justice
as enemy aliens. |
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