Nansemond County (Va.) Organization Records, 1891-1931

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:

Nansemond County (Va.) Organization Records, 1891-1931, [series or volume title]. Local government records collection, Suffolk County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

Extent:
0.45 cubic feet (1 box)
Creator:
Suffolk (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Nansemond County (Va.) Organization Records, 1891-1931, [series or volume title]. Local government records collection, Suffolk County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Nansemond County (Va.) Organization Records, 1891-1931 is comprised of various records created by groups in Suffolk/Nansemond County. The records consist of a minute book and unprocessed, loose records.

Includes boxes containing material identified as organization records. These records may be flat fliled or foldered but not fully processed.

Organization records are dated 1891, 1896, 1902, and 1931.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: Organization Records, both volumes and loose records, are in some cases transferred to the Library of Virginia as components of court record transfers. These organization records in some cases were simply stored in the local court building for safe keeping by business owners. In other cases, organization records (particularly ledgers, account books, etc.) may have been filed in a court case as an exhibit. These organization record exhibits appeared both in chancery causes and in judgments, these records serving as exhibits for business dissolution cases, debt suits, and contract disputes.

Locality History:Suffolk was located in Nansemond County, which is now extinct. It was named probably for the county of Suffolk in England. Established as a town in 1742 on the site of John Constant's warehouse, Suffolk was incorporated as a town in 1808 and as a city by court order in 1910. On 1 January 1974 the city was enlarged when it merged with the former county of Nansemond, since 1 July 1972 the city of Nansemond, which then became extinct.

Nansemond County (extinct) was created as Upper Norfolk County by 1640 and in 1642 was renamed Nansemond County for the Nansemond Indians, who lived in the area in the early seventeenth century. The county seat was Suffolk. The county became the independent city of Nansemond on 1 July 1972, and on 1 January 1974 Nansemond merged with the city of Suffolk. The entire area is now known as Suffolk.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Suffolk (Va.) under an undated accession.
Processing information:

Prior to 2025, the various organization records in this collection were originally described as individual records, but they have been consolidated into one large organization record for the locality. Since 2025, these records additionally include identified but not processed records.

Encoded by J. Taylor: January 2026.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into one series:

  • Series I: Nansemond County (Va.) Organization Records, 1891-1931 [UNPROCESSED]

Physical location:
State Record Center-Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.