AC dBooks

So
they copied the English county and made it their chief organ of local
government. The principal governing body was the _county court_,
composed of justices appointed at first by the governor of the colony.
The court had both legislative and judicial functions. It managed such
matters as roads, licenses, and taxation; it also tried civil and
criminal cases. Other county officers were the sheriff and the
lieutenant, the latter being commander of the militia.
The Parish and the Vestry.--That part of the Virginia local
government which corresponded to the New England town was the _parish_;
but it is apparent that few functions remained to be exercised in this,
their smallest political organization. The counties were generally
composed of several parishes. The governing body of each was the vestry;
it had charge of church affairs and of poor relief. The members of the
vestry and also the justices of the county court were not elected by the
people, as the town officers were in New England.


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