Prince George County (Va.), 1820-1918

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:

Prince George County (Va.) Deeds, 1820-1918. Local government records collection, Prince George County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

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

Prince George County (Va.) Deeds, 1820-1918. Local government records collection, Prince George County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Prince George County (Va.) Deeds, 1820-1918 consist of deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, and deeds of trust. On presentation to the court, deeds were proved and recorded. If the deed was not witnessed, the grantor acknowledged the deed in open court. A few of the deeds include plats. Except for a few years early in the eighteenth century, slaves in Virginia were considered personal property and consequently were not usually sold by deed. However, they were often transferred in deeds of gift or were the property listed in mortgages and deeds of trust.

Deeds of bargain and sale are the most commonly recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.

Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated.

Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.

This collection includes an oversize plat and blueprint of property owned by the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad Company along the James river at City Point, Virginia (now part of the city of Hopewell, Virginia). These drawings also record the lands and names of individuals owning property in the immediate vicinity.

Biographical / historical:

Prince George County was named for Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne of England. It was formed from Charles City County in 1702.

Most court records were destroyed in 1782 by British troops during the Revolutionary War and again in 1864 by Union troops during the Civil War. A few volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Hopewell, in Prince George County, was established as Charles City Point by Sir Thomas Dale in 1613. Hopewell was never incorporated as a town but was incorporated as a city by an act of the General Assembly in 1916. It was enlarged by the annexation of City Point in 1923 and by further annexations from Prince George County in 1952 and 1969.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a shipment of court papers from Prince George County under the accession number 44500.
Arrangement:

Chronological.

Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
9.75 cu. ft. (21 boxes)