Scott County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1816-1942 (bulk 1873-1912)

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:

Scott County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1816-1912 digital images can be found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Some post-1912 material has been processed and indexed, other material remains unprocessed. That indexed information can be found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Scott County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1816-1942. (Cite style of suit [and chancery index no. if available]). Local government records collection, Scott County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Scott County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Scott County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1816-1942. (Cite style of suit [and chancery index no. if available]). Local government records collection, Scott County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Scott County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1816-1942, consists of cases concerning issues of equity brought largely by residents of the county and filed in the circuit court. These cases often involve the following actions: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, disputes regarding contracts, debt, divorce, and business disputes. Other less prevalent issues include freedom suits, permissions to sell property, and disputes concerning trespass. Predominant documents found in these chancery causes include bills (documents the plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, plats, wills, records involving enslaved individuals, business records or vital statistics.

These records contain one box of "Orphan Chancery." These records contain parts, often single items, of chancery causes which could not be further identified as belonging to a certain case.

Testimony in this case mentions that four of Joseph Johnson's children were captured and carried off by Indigenous persons during the early settlement of the county by the English.

A witness mentioned the death of an early stettler's wife and two daughters who were killed during a conflict with Indigenous people.

All three cases concern Barabara's, a free African American mother, determined but unsuccessful attempts to free her children from slavery.

Witnesses in this suit described a pro-Union judge who surrounded himself with a group of armed men and consistently ruled against individuals with pro-Confederacy sympathies.

In 1863, Carter was serving as the sheriff of Scott County, and among his other duties, he was responsible for tax collection. However, he and his deputies were prevented from collecting taxes in certain parts of the county due to the residents' violent opposition to Confederate authories.

Kane agreed to sell to Nickels a certain tract of land, but later refused to honor the contract. When Nickels sued to force Kane to comply with their agreement, the defense declared that the contract should be voided because Kane was young, inexperienced in business dealings, and most importantly, because Kane had been drinking heavily when he agreed to sell the land.

In 1892, the Gate City authorities passed an ordinance that created a license tax on certain professionals such as physicians, attorneys, and architects among others. Edmonds, a lawyer, successfully challenged the constitutionality of this statute and had it overturned.

Included as an exhibit in this case is a very detailed plat of Gate City dated 1890.

Testimony in this case reveals that in order to frighten and drive her husband away, Virginia claimed to have brought a ghost into their house.

After members of the church split into two factions over the doctrine of absolute predestination, each group sought to control the church property.

As an infant, Ella B. Flanary was abandoned in a wooded area by her mother. After being found by a passerby who heard Ella's cries, she was taken in by Perkins. Perkins petitioned the court to legally adopt Ella and to change her last name to his own.

The South and Western Railroad Co.[successor to the Charleston, Cincinnati, and Chicago Railroad Co.] obtained a right-of-way to build it's railroad through the lands of Horn and several members of the Mann family, against these land owners' objections. In order to prevent the construction of the railroad, the land owners put up fences accross the road bed and even drove away the company's workers at gun point.

In his bill for divorce, William stated that the, "marriage was not voluntarily and willingly contracted and entered into by him of his own free will and volition. But upon the contrary he alleges and charges that said marriage was entered into on his part solely through fear, intimidation, duress and threats of death, or serious bodily injury, at the hands of the said Hicks Horn, Orbin Horn and Robert Stallard [Belle's relatives], who threatened and told him, if he refused to go with them to Bristol, Tenn., and marry the said defendant, that they would then and there blow his brains out".

Biographical / historical:

Context of Record type: Chancery Causes are cases of equity. According to Black's Law Dictionary they are "administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law." A judge, not a jury, determines the outcome of the case; however, the judge is basing the decision on findings compiled and documented by Commissioners. Chancery causes are useful when researching local history, genealogical information, and land or estate divisions. They are a valuable source of local, state, social, and legal history and serve as a primary source for understanding a locality's history. Chancery causes document the lived experiences of free and enslaved individuals; women; children; people living with physical disabilities or mental health struggles; people living in poverty; defunct institutions and corporate entities; or those that may not have otherwise left traditional written histories.

Locality History:Scott County was named for Winfield Scott, a native of Virginia, in recognition of his victories during the War of 1812; he was later commanding general of the American army during the war with Mexico, 1846–1848. It was formed from Lee, Russell, and Washington Counties by a statute adopted on 24 November 1814. The county court first met on 14 February 1815. The county seat is Gate City.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Scott County (Va.) in 2011 under the accession number 50205 and under an undated accession.
Processing information:

The majority of these records were processed in 1995. There are no current plans to process any additional post-1912 records at this time.

Encoded by G. Crawford: 2009; Updated by E. Swain: 2025

Arrangement:

Organized by case, of which each is assigned a unique index number comprised of the latest year found in case and a sequentially increasing 3-digit number assigned by the processor as cases for that year are found. Arranged chronologically.

Arrangement of documents within each folder are as follows: Bill, Answer, and Final Decree (if found).

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
95.55 cubic feet (207 boxes); Digital images