Norfolk was first created as a town by Nicholas Wise's deed for 50 acres, on August 16, 1682. In 1736 it was changed to the "Borough of Norfolk". It was named Norfolk after the county in which it was situated, then a part of what was called Lower Norfolk County, which comprised the present Norfolk County aka the City of Chesapeake, and Princess Anne County aka the City of Virginia Beach. Upper Norfolk County was later changed to Nansemond County aka Suffolk County. In 1845 it became the City of Norfolk, which lies at the mouth of the James and Elizabeth Rivers and Chesapeake Bay.

The author transcribed the court orders in this series from the original court order books. Each entry provides the full name of the plaintiff, defendant, jurors, and other persons listed, a brief description of the case, verdict, and penalty. A full-name index, which refers to the page number from the original court order book, completes this work.