HOME
FIND YOUR SUSSEX FAMILY
SUSSEX LINKS
VIRGINIA LINKS
SUSSEX BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBMASTER
|
 |
|
 |
| Sussex County's Location in Virginia |
|
Sussex and Surrounding Counties |
A Little Sussex County, Virginia, History
Sussex County was formed in 1753 from the part of Surry County that was south of the Blackwater River.
"Whereas many inconveniencies" attended the inhabitants of the county of Surry, "by reason of the large extent thereof," the General Assembly enacted a law forming Sussex County from the southwestern part of Surry in November 1753. The boundaries of Sussex County followed those of Albemarle Parish established in 1738. Part of Surry County had been added to Brunswick County in 1732. Thus the parish and county were bounded by Surry County on the northeast, by Southampton County on the southeast, Prince George County on the northwest and Brunswick County on the southwest. Brunswick County was divided by an Act of the Assembly in October 1780, forming Greensville County, which now borders Sussex on the southwest.
Sussex, Virginia, is the county seat. The Dillard House, built in 1802, was the repository of the clerk's records until the courthouse was built. The county is named for Sussex County in England.
Sussex County was separated from Surry in 1753. Surry County was cut off from James City in 1652. From 1738 the only Anglican parish in the Sussex County area was Albemarle.
UPDATE! A new comprehensive history of Sussex County, Sussex County, Virginia: A Heritage Recalled By The Land, has been written by Gary M. Williams, Sussex County's Clerk of the Circuit Court. It is the best and most thorough history of the county's land and people ever written. Contact information for Gary M. Williams is at the Sussex County, Virginia, government website.
These counties adjoin Sussex. Check out their
pages!
References:
- Charles Francis Cocke, Parish Lines Diocese
of Southern Virginia (Richmond, 1964) 59, 73,75.
- William Waller Hening, The Statutes at
Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia...
(Reprint Charlottesville, 1969) vol. 6, 384.
|
|
