Princess Anne County (Va.) Wills, 1746-1965

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Princess Anne County (Va.) Wills, 1746-1965. Local government records collection, Virginia Beach (City)/Princess Anne County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Virginia Beach (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Princess Anne County (Va.) Wills, 1746-1965. Local government records collection, Virginia Beach (City)/Princess Anne County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Princess Anne County (Va.) Wills, 1746-1965, record the deceased's plan for how his or her estate was to be divided among his or her heirs following his or her death. Information commonly recorded in wills include the name of the deceased, also referred as the testator; names of heirs; a listing of real and personal property (including slaves) and how it was to be divided among the heirs; names of individuals who were to be the will's executors; the date will was written; and the date will was recorded at the court house. Additional record types may be found in this collection such as fiduciary records (inventories and accounts.) Individuals dying with a written will died testate. After the death of an individual, his or her will was brought into court, where two of the subscribing witnesses swore that the document was genuine. After the will was proved, the executor was bonded to carry out his or her duties to settle the estate. The court then ordered the will to be recorded.

Wills for 1963 through 1965 were recorded in Virginia Beach (Va.) Circuit Court.

Biographical / historical:

Princess Anne County (extinct) was named for Anne, daughter of James II, who became queen of England in 1702. The county was formed from Lower Norfolk County in 1691 and became extinct in 1963, after its consolidation with the city of Virginia Beach.

Virginia Beach was in Princess Anne County, which is now extinct. The ocean resort was incorporated as a town in 1906 and as a city by an act of the General Assembly on 14 February 1952. It was greatly enlarged on 1 January 1963 by consolidation with Princess Anne County, which thereby became extinct.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Princess Anne County.
Arrangement:

Chronological

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
28.8 cu. ft (64 boxes)