A new Virginia county was formed in 1772 from parts of Frederick and Augusta County and given the name Dunmore. The name was changed to Shenandoah in 1776. At its formation Dumore County included all of present-day Shenandaoh County, most of Page County, which was formed in 1831, and part of Warren County, which was formed in 1836. Thus, the early records of Shenandoah County include not only Shenandoah but also the Massanutten region, which is now Page County as well as the "Fork" district of Warren County.

Under the colonial government of Virginia the local parish of the Anglican Church was responsible for poor relief and orphans. For this reason the county records between 1772 and 1783 refer to the Churchwarden of Beckford Parish as the person responsible for carrying out such duties. These duties included finding guardians for orphans or other children who were considered charges of the parish. The Virginia constitution of 1776 disestablished the church and in 1782 the state legislature provided for the election of an Overseer of the Poor in each county to adminster poor relief.

In 1783 Shenandoah County was divided into two districts, each with an Overseer of the Poor. District One was the territory west of the Massanutten Mountain generally contituting the watershed of the North Fork of the Shenandaoh River. It included all of present-day Shenandoah County and the "Fork" district of Warren County. District Two was the land east of the Massanutten Mountain constituting the watershed of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. This is now Page County and southwestern Warren County.

The binding out or indenturing of a child was done when a child was deemed to be a charge on the parish or county. This usually involved orphans with no property or inheritance and "base born" (illegitimate) children with few means of support. In this way the child was provided a home and training for a trade or business. A male child was usually indentured until the age of 21, though several instances have been found where it was set at 20. A female child was normally indentured until the age of 18. The record of indenture usually included some but no always all of the following information: the name of the chile; one or both parents; the name of the person to serve as guardian; the skill or trde to be taught and the birthdate or age of the child. Occasionally other special privisions for education or compensation were included. The full wording of an indenture in the court minutes generally reads as follows:

Ordered that the Overseer of the Poor for District No. One bind (child) orphan of (parent) to (guardian) , to learn the art and mystery of (trade) , making such covenants as the guardian thinks proper. The said (child) is (age) as of (birth date) .

The drawing up of an orphan's bond involved the appointment or choosing of a guardian and differed from an indenture. The drawing up or an orphan's bond by a guardian was to protect a minor child's property or inheritance and did not involve the Overseer of the Poor.

A minor child, whether an orphan or not, who inherited property needed a guardian to administer it. When a child inherited property from a grandparent or other relative the father usually served as guardian. Any child over fourteen years of age had the right to choose his or her guardian. For children fourteen years and under the court appointed a guardian. Records of guardian bonds did not give as much personal information as records of indenture. A typical records of a guardianship for a child uner 14 reads:

Ordered that (guardian) be appointed guardian to (child or children) orphans of (parents) , under the age of 14 years, who entered into bond with security according to law.

and for a child over 14 years of age:

(Child) , an orphan of (parent) over the age of 14 years, came into Court and made choice of (guardian) , as guardian who gave bond with security according to law.

Some orphan's bonds were recorded in the will booka along with papers of administration but a large number of them can be found only in the Minute Books or Order Books.

The early court clerks kept Minute Books in which a record of all transactions before the Circuit Court were noted. They also kept an Order Book in which specific orders of the Court were recorded. Since indentures and orphan's bonds were in the form of an order they are usually found in both sets of books. After 1809 the Order Books were used to fill in some gaps in teh minutes. The only periods for which no records exist are 1788 to 1791 and 1796 to 1799.

These extractions begin with the first records in 1772 and end with July, 1831 because from that time onward there is a general index to the minute books which can be used to find most if not all guardianships and indentures after that date. A few of the books before 1831 had indices but these are incomplete or damaged to the point of being useless.

The index of these extractions is in two sections. The first section is an index of children and the second part is an index of parents. This seemed necessary because in some cases the parents' names differed from their children's and in the case of some illegitimate children only a parent was named. The entries are indexed according to court date and not by page number. This makes it easier to locate a particular entry here as well as in the original court records.

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