There are no restrictions.
There are no restrictions.
Elizabeth City County (Va.) Deeds, 1817-1945 (bulk 1942-1945). Local government records collection, Hampton (City)/Elizabeth City County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from the city of Hampton.
Hampton was located in Elizabeth City County, which is now extinct. It takes its name from the Hampton Creek, earlier called Southampton River in honor of the earl of Southampton, an important figure in the Virginia Company of London. An Indian village stood on the site in 1607, when John Smith visited the area. The English established a village there in 1610 and a trading post in 1630. Hampton was established by an act of assembly in 1680 and was designated as a port in 1708. It was first incorporated as a town in 1849, then it was incorporated again in 1852, but the act of incorporation was repealed in 1860. The General Assembly again incorporated the town of Hampton in 1887, and it became a city by court order in 1908. It was greatly enlarged in 1952 by a merger with Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus; the county and town thereby became extinct.
Elizabeth City County was named for Elizabeth, daughter of James I, and was one of the eight shires established in 1634. It was incorporated into the City of Hampton in 1952 and became extinct.
Records were burned or destroyed during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Additional records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. A few pre-Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, and order books exist.
Elizabeth City County (Va.) Deeds, 1817-1945 (bulk 1942-1945) consist of 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.
Deeds of bargain and sale are the most commonly recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.
Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated.
Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.
The collection may include additional record types that were recorded in deed books such as officials' bonds, fiduciary records, marriage records, road and bridge records, and bills of sale of property including slaves.
Chronological
Deed Books and Indices to Deeds for Elizabeth City County can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult
Additional Elizabeth City County Land Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult
See the
For more information and a listing of lost records localities see