Henry County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1783-1946 (bulk 1870-1916)

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

Summary

Creator:
Henry County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Henry County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1783-1931 (bulk 1870-1916), 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" which is processed, but not indexed. These records contain parts, often single items, of chancery causes which could not be be further identified as belonging to a certain case.

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:Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, who was the first governor of the commonwealth of Virginia. It was formed from Pittsylvania County in 1776. The county court first met on 20 January 1777. Part of Patrick County was added later in 1858. The county seat was previously in Martinsville but has been moved near Collinsville.

Acquisition information:

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Henry County (Va.) in 2003 under the accession number 40847 and an undated accession.

Chancery cause 1799-017: Thomas W. Ruble vs. John P. Pyrtle came to the Library of Virginia in 2009 as a gift of Paul Matthew Hagans of Pikeville, Kentucky under accession number 44157.

Arrangement:

Organized by case, of which each is assigned a unique index number comprised of the earliest 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; 101.39 cubic feet (218 boxes)