Wills and Administrations of Accomack, 1663-1800

In 1634, Virginia was divided into eight counties and the county which included the entire eastern shore peninsula of Virginia was named Accomack, a variation of Accawmacke, the Indian name for this region. “…in 1642 the name was changed to Northampton, but for many years Accomack often appeared in the records for the name of this area. …in 1663, the northern and largest part of the eastern shore peninsula was separated from Northampton County as Accomack, as it remains today. The county court first met at Pungoteague but it was soon moved to Matomkin, later known as Drummondtown, and since 1893, as Accomac[k].” This volume contains abstracts of the will and administration records at the old county court house at Accomack and are remarkably complete, naming beneficiaries of estates, relationships to the testator or intestate, and the nature of the inheritance. Special attention has been given to the orders of probate which often give the names of children and heirs not mentioned in the body of the will. A relatively small number of estates are dated in the 1600s; the majority are from the 1700s. Stratton Nottingham was particularly fitted for this work, having a natural taste for antiquarian research, considerable association with and training in the forms of law, and a marked ability in reading the old script in the original volumes of records. This edition has been completely re-typeset from a copy of the original (1931) mimeographed volume, and will therefore contain any errors or omissions which Mr. Nottingham may have made.