5 - Indictment

Summary

St. George Tucker convened a grand jury in John Crane’s case on September 1, 1791 – the opening day of the fall session of the Winchester District Court. The men on Crane’s grand jury came from a variety of backgrounds, but all exercised substantial power in post-Revolutionary Virginia. Some had been Revolutionary heroes, others came from patrician Virginia roots. They had served in a variety of capacities in courts and government, including serving as sheriffs and justices of the peace. Although Virginia’s new court reforms had created state district courts and had, in some ways, reduced the importance of the county courts, in the Valley these courts had put power back in the hands of the types of wealthy, powerful men who had wielded it during the colonial period. Current county justices and sheriffs also frequently participated in district court activities, demonstrating that county and state power densely overlapped. After deliberation, the grand jury indicted John Crane, and also – surprisingly – identified him as a “yeoman,” despite his elite background, demonstrating the fluidity and complexity of class in post-Revolutionary Virginia.