Collections

Accomack County (Va.) District Court Papers, 1789-1808, consist of civil suits and commonwealth causes that were heard in the District Court of Accomack and Northampton Counties. The majority of cases in this record series relate to matters of debt. Documents commonly found in civil suits include declarations or narratios that explain the plaintiff's complaint, executions, affidavits, and depositions. Suits may include exhibits such as wills, plats, deeds, indentures, estate inventories, and business records. Names of slaves are commonly found in the District Court papers. Additional types of suits heard by the District Court include land ejectment suits and petitions for freedom made by slaves.

Albemarle County (Va.) Commonwealth Causes, 1749-1922 (bulk 1797-1922) are criminal court cases and consist primarily of warrants, summons, indictments, and verdicts handed down by grand juries and other legal authorities in order to prosecute individuals who violated the penal code. These offenses ranged in severity from murder, rape, assault and battery, and larceny to tax evasion and slander. Criminal offenders and victims who appear in cases prior to the abolition of slavery in Virginia in 1865 included both free and enslaved persons.

Albemarle County (Va.) Wills, 1778-1908, record the deceased's plan for how his or her estate was to be divided among his or her heirs following his or her death. Information commonly recorded in wills include the name of the deceased, also referred as the testator; names of heirs; a listing of real and personal property (including slaves) and how it was to be divided among the heirs; names of individuals who were to be the will's executors; the date will was written; and the date will was recorded at the court house. Additional record types may be found in this collection such as fiduciary records (inventories and accounts.)

Amherst County (Va.) Deeds and processioners' accounts, 1797-1866 consist of unprocessed processioners' accounts and deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, deeds of trust, and deeds of emancipation. On presentation to the court, deeds were proved and recorded. If the deed was not witnessed, the grantor acknowledged the deed in open court. A few of the deeds include plats. Except for a few years early in the eighteenth century, slaves in Virginia were considered personal property and consequently were not usually sold by deed. However, they were often transferred in deeds of gift or were the property listed in mortgages and deeds of trust.