Fluvanna County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1779-1912 (bulk 1810-1860)

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:

Chancery Causes 1779-1882 use digital images found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

One box of chancery causes that ended between 1800 and 1912 is unprocessed, while one suit that ended in 1811 is processed, but not indexed. Contact Archives Research Services for availability.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions on use.

Preferred citation:

Fluvanna County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1779-1912 (bulk 1810-1860). (Cite style of suit [and chancery index no. if available]). Local government records collection, Fluvanna County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

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

Fluvanna County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1779-1912 (bulk 1810-1860). (Cite style of suit [and chancery index no. if available]). Local government records collection, Fluvanna County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Fluvanna County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1779-1912, 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.

Chancery causes that ended before 1865, as well as some that ended afterwards, may contain information related to free and enslaved Black and multiracial individuals. However, these cases largely represent the perspective of white enslavers and their disputes involving the sale, hiring, financial responsibilities, and legality of ownership of Black individuals. Under the system of chattel slavery, laws permitted enslavers to treat enslaved people as personal possessions in the same manner as livestock, farm equipment, or household items.

Commonly found surnames among the plaintiffs and defendants include Anderson, Appleberry (also spelled Applebury), Flanagan (also spelled Flannagan and Flanergan), Haden, Hughes, Johnson, Kent, Magruder, Martin, Pace, Parrish, Payne, Perkins, Richardson, Shepherd, Stone, Strange, Thomas, Wills, and Woodson.

Biographical / historical:

Context for 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: Fluvanna County takes its name from an eighteenth-century designation of the upper James River. The name, meaning river of Anne, was originally bestowed in honor of Queen Anne of England. The county was formed from Albemarle County in 1777. The county seat is Palmyra.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Fluvanna County (Va.) under an undated accession. Additional chancery causes that ended between 1800 and 1912 were found among Fluvanna County records stored at the Library of Virginia.
Processing information:

The bulk of Fluvanna County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1779-1912, were processed by C. OBrion and completed in 2010. One box of chancery causes that ended between 1800 and 1912 remains unprocessed.

Digital images of Chancery Causes 1779-1882 were generated by Backstage Library Works through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program in 2011.

Encoded by G. Crawford: August 2011; updated by C. Collins: December 2023.

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.

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

One box of chancery causes that ended between 1800 and 1912 is unprocessed. Contact Archives Research Services for availability.

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
Digital images; 11.25 cubic feet (24 boxes)