Richmond (Va.) Ended Causes, 1782-1951 (bulk 1900-1951)

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

Background

Scope and content:

Richmond (Va.) Ended Causes, 1782-1951, consists of records generated from the activities of the Richmond Husting Court, Richmond Husting Court I, and Richmond Law and Equity II. Ended Causes are loose court papers used by clerk of the court to describe legal records generated by the locality during a specific court session (month/year). Typically, these records are tri-folded and wrapped in bundles with no attempt made by the clerk to differentiate among the various record types within a bundle. These records remain largely unprocessed so it is difficult to definitively describe the record types included.

A bundle of Ended Causes could include civil suits, chancery causes, criminal papers, records involving free and enslaved individuals, road petitions, land processioner's reports, coroner's inquests, grand jury lists, officials' bonds, tax records, and administrators' bonds. The bundled records are largely filed chronologically by the month and year that the legal records were recorded in an order book.

Biographical / historical:

Types of Courts: Richmond (Va.) Hustings court created by the General Assembly in 1782 at the time Richmond was granted it's charter. The court was created to handle all criminal cases, civil law cases, probate of wills, fiduciary accounts, deed recordings, all licenses (business, marriage, etc.), citizenship applications, etc.. Also included the Mayor Court.

Richmond (Va.) Hustings Court Part I was approved April 5, 1910 under agreement of consolidation between the City of Richmond and the City of Manchester and their corporation/ Hustings Court.

Richmond (Va.) Law and Equity Court II was created by appointment of a second judge by the Governor to handle additional law and equity cases due to increase in volume of Law and Equity Court.

Locality History Note: The City of Richmond was named by William Byrd (1674-1744), who envisioned the development of a city at the falls of the James River and with the help of William Mayo laid out the town in 1737. The name probably came from the English borough of Richmond upon Thames, which Byrd visited on several occasions. Richmond was established in 1742 and in 1779 was designated the capital of Virginia effective 30 April 1780. It was incorporated as a town, although "stiled the city of Richmond," in 1782 and was incorporated as a city in 1842. It served as the capital of the Confederacy from mid-1861 to April 1865. Richmond was enlarged by the annexation of Manchester (or South Richmond) in 1910, and by the addition of Barton Heights, Fairmount, and Highland Park in 1914. Further annexations from Chesterfield County occurred in 1942 and 1970.

Lost Locality Note: During the burning of Richmond on April 3, 1865, during the Civil War, Richmond circuit court judge John A. Meredith led efforts to save the circuit court records found at the State Court House. Rescuers successfully removed all the papers that were necessary to pending suits and many of the order books, but all of the wills and deed books were lost. Records of the superior court and circuit superior court of law and chancery were also destroyed. Most of the pre-Civil War Hustings Court records exist.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in 1968 a transfer of court papers from the city of Richmond under accession number 26922 and in undated accessions.
Arrangement:

Unprocessed

Physical location:
Library of Virginia; State Records Center
Physical description:
509 boxes