I'm new to Virginia (transplanted from S. Calif. 2 yrs ago at age 50) and am still a little shocked to find the county government is in the middle of "nowhere". In S. Calif, it's in the biggest city of the county. Isle of Wight Courthouse is a place here, not just a building name. That's hard to get into my head. But knowing that makes reading the records easier. The small size of counties also surprises me. Los Angeles Co. takes 2-3 hours to drive across -- at freeway speeds. Here I can completely cross three or four counties in an hour (if there's a freeway). On country roads it takes much longer and reminds me they divided into small counties so everyone could get to the courthouse and home again in one day -- by horse. It also makes sense of the justices being sent out to take testimony from wives giving up dower right instead of requiring them to come to the courthouse. Imagine old women riding 3-4 hrs each way to the courthouse over rough trails. Unfortunately for those of us who live at a distance, there's no substitute for actually seeing the place. Otherwise we assume it's like what we're used to and don't even realize we're assuming. One of the my goals for this year is to visit several of the counties where my people lived. Meanwhile, thanks to all of you who give us glimpses of county geography and terrain. Lynne Hundley ---------- > From: Norma Lewis > > This explains a lot of things we didn't understand about Chalkley's... > The baby days of our court system.