Oh would they ever!!! Tex, I'm certain the situation is just as you've imagined it. If only I could wiggle my nose & transport to VA and then from courthouse to courthouse!!! Don't know about anyone else, but I've printed out your email to tuck in with my reference material. This info is fascinating. Thanks much! Lisa lisafranklin2004@earthlink.net >From our home, Belle Grove, in Louisiana > [Original Message] > From: Edwin \"Tex\" Irvin <edwirvin@yahoo.com> > To: <vabedfor@rootsweb.com> > Cc: <vacampbe@rootsweb.com> > Date: 5/12/2008 12:39:31 PM > Subject: [VABEDFOR] Russell Parish Records > > After the Revolution, the Church of England was no longer the established church in Virginia. It's "disestablishment" was accomplished through three acts passed between 1779 and 1802. The first act in 1779 cancelled all parish levies for the support of the church and clergy. Among the provisions of an act passed in 1784 were the appointment of overseers to care for the poor in place of the Vestry, and the allowance of marriages to be performed by any minister of the Gospel. The Act of 1802 provided for the seizure and sale of all church properties. At that time, the church records, both vestry books and registers, were confiscated by the State. They were ordered to be turned over to the Clerk of Court in the county where the individual churches were located. > I have searched much for the Vestry books and Registers of very early Russell Parish, to no avail. UVA does not have them. I have even tried the Episcopal Archives in England. Finding these books (if they still exist) would be a treasure trove for researchers in Bedford/Campbell. I keep thinking they are laying in a cardboard box in some musty old courthouse basement, just waiting to be discovered. Or in some unmarked folder in one of the historical museums. They would be sizeable records. They would hold the titheables, the poor and orphan records, the roads processioning, vestry trials, etc. They would be priceless. If these ever turned up, many brick walls might crumble. Edwin > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > To post to the list, email: VABEDFOR@rootsweb.com > To contact the list admin, email: VABEDFOR-admin@rootsweb.com > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to VABEDFOR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message