Surry County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1785-1922 (bulk 1806-1917)

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:

Surry County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1785-1922, digital images can be found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia. Please use digital images.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Surry County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1785-1922. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, Surry County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

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

Surry County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1785-1922. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, Surry County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Surry County(Va.) Chancery Causes, 1806-1922, 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.

Cause was filed in 1796. Origin of the dispute dates back to 1772. John Hay and Company owned a store in the town of Cobham.

An estate settlement suit that includes significant genealogical information.

At the center of the dispute was the sale of Tempe and her children, an enslaved family, that took place in 1835. Testimony details Tempe's family relationships.

A divorce suit. Enna and Joseph were married on Sept. 23, 1862. Joseph served in a cavalry unit attached to the 13th Virginia Regiment. He was on a short furlough at the time of the wedding. His wife accuesed him of deserting her and deserting his unit.

Divorce suit. Peter and Lousia were both enslaved and lived together as a married couple during the Civil War. In 1866, they registered with the federal military authority as husband and wife at the Surry County courthouse. The couple registered as Hemmings in their marriage record.

Divorce suit. Patsy and Tom were both enslaved and lived together as a married couple during the Civil War. In 1866, they registered with the federal military authority as husband and wife at the Surry County courthouse. According to one deponent, Tom joined the Union forces in 1864 and returned home in November 1865.

John E. Burt wrote a letter giving his opinion of the education students receive at the Virginia Military Institute. He wants his sons to attend VMI. The letter is Exhibit B in this cause

Estate dispute. Mrs. Fitchett in her 1863 noted her desire for the individuals she enslaved to be emancipated and sent to Liberia. The instead of leaving for Liberia, the Black indiviuals enslaved by Pitchett remained in Virginia during the Civil War. After the war, Mrs. Fitchett's heirs and those she formerly enslaved sued to receive their legacies from her will. The former enslaved individuals also received their part of the sale of the real estate formerly owned by Mrs. Fitchett.

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: Surry County was named for the county of Surrey in England and was formed from James City County in 1652. The county seat is Surry.

Lost Locality Notes: Order books for 1718–1741 and various other early volumes are fragmentary. Most loose records prior to 1806 are missing. Courthouse fires in 1906 and 1922 did not result in loss of records, however, because at that time records were housed in a separate clerk’s office.

Custodial history:

Records transferred to the Library of Virginia from the Circuit Court of Surry County in 2007 and 2010 for processing and reformatting. Original Records returned to the locality by request of the clerk of the Circuit Court at a later date.

Processing information:

These records were processed in 2008-2009. Digital images were generated by Backstage Library Works in 2010 through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.

Encoded by G. Crawford: 2011; Updated by E. Swain: November 2024.

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:
Digital images.