The Courts of Fredericksburg — The Freedman's Bureau — Court Orders and Incidents — First Night Watch — Ministers
Qualify to Perform Marriage Ceremony — First Notary Public— Fixing the Value of Bank Notes — Prison Bounds for Debtors — Public
Buildings, &c.
If every one in this Christian land was a Christian, and was
governed by the rule laid down and inculcated by the Christ, "whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," there would have been but little, if any, use for courts in this country. But all people are not Christians, and all Christians are not governed by that golden rule, therefore courts were necessary to punish crime, settle disputes, protect the weak against the strong, secure the widow and orphan in their rights, enforce provision for the indigent poor, and perform other functions for the benefit of society and the well-being of the country. What courts Fredericksburg had before the Revolutionary war is unknown, as no record seems to have been left of them. In all probability the successors of Major Lawrence Smith were also authorized to execute martial law and hear and determine all questions, as a county court might do, until the town was chartered in 1727 and placed in the hands of trustees. These trustees had certain powers conferred upon them by act of the House of Burgesses, and they were to keep records of their proceedings, but these records cannot now be found and quite likely have long ago been destroyed. It may have been possible that the Colonial Governors appointed magistrates to hear and determine causes within certain limits and to punish petty offences, while causes beyond those limits and felonies were heard and determined by the court sitting at Williamsburg. Of this, however, we are left to conjecture, as no records are at our command. But if this had been the manner of dispensing justice prior to 1781, it furnished a pattern for the Virginia Legislature for many years thereafter with respect to the town, as is referred to elsewhere. The first court established in Fredericksburg, that we now have any records of, was by an act of the General Assembly of Virginia, passed during the session of 1781. At that session Fredericksburg was regularly incorporated and given a Common Council and a hustings court, but the court did not organize until April 15,1782. At its organization the following justices were present:— Charles Mortimer, Wm. McWilliams, James Somerville, Charles Dick, Samuel Roddy and John Julien, "the same being Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen of the town," elected to their respective offices on the 18th day of March, 1782, in the order above named. This continued as the only court of the town until 1788, when nineteen district courts were established in the State by the General Assembly, one of which was located at Fredericksburg. These courts were presided over by two judges of the General Court, located at Richmond, the number of judges of that court having been, by the same act, increased from five to ten judges. This district court was regarded as a very important court, and was attended by some of the ablest lawyers in Virginia and adjoining States. Edmund Randolph, after he was Governor and twice a Cabinet Minister, (Attorney-General and Secretary of the Treasury in Washington's Cabinet.) and also James Monroe, a citizen of this place, after he was Minister to England, France and Spain, were attorneys before and practised in this court. While attending a session of this court, on the 3rd day of May, 1798, Governor Randolph published the following card in the Virginia Herald:— "My business in the Court of Appeals and High Court of Chancery render it impossible for me to attend constantly the district court holden at this place. I have, therefore, come hither, during the present term, with a hope of finishing almost every cause in which I was employed; and have refused all fees, which have been offered to me in any suits, which I may not try before I leave the town. I am apprehensive, however, that I shall not succeed in concluding everything; and I have accordingly, made the following arrangement:— To some of my clients I have personally returned the fees; to all others, where the business has not been absolutely finished, or any step remains to be taken, except to move for the opinion of the court, the fee will be returned on application to John Chew, Esq., clerk of the court, who has been so obliging as to accept from me a list of all my suits, still depending, of the money received, and of their situation.