Westmoreland County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1753-1958 (bulk 1873-1913)

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:
Westmoreland County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Westmoreland County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1753-1958, 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." These records contain parts, often single items, of chancery causes which could not be further identified as belonging to a certain case.

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:Westmoreland County was named for the English county. It was formed from Northumberland County in 1653. The county seat is Montross.

Lost Locality Notes: Many loose papers were burned during both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Volumes that record deeds, court orders (except for an order book for the period 1764–1776), and wills exist.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Westmoreland County (Va.) in 2013 under the accession number 50772 and under an undated accession.
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 is as follows: Bill, Answer, and Final Decree (if found).

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
36.7 cubic feet (8 boxes); Digital images.