PUBLIC "-//Library of Virginia//TEXT (US::Vi::vi02921::A Guide to the Powhatan County (Va.) Wills, 1777-1903)//EN" "vi02921.xml" A Guide to the Powhatan County (Va.) Wills, 1777-1903 Powhatan County (Va.) Wills, 1777-1903 1199398-1199401, 1199403, 1199406 Greg Crawford Library of Virginia © 2009 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

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Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record, created by Greg Crawford, 24 June 2009 Description is in English 2013-11-21 Converted to schema conforming EAD by dtd2schema.vh.xsl. A Guide to the Powhatan County (Va.) Wills, 1777-1903 A Collection in the Library of Virginia 1199398-1199401, 1199403, 1199406 Greg Crawford

Library of Virginia 2006 Dale Dulaney Library of Virginia Descriptive Summary The Library of Virginia Powhatan County (Va.) Wills, 1777-1903 1199398-1199401, 1199403, 1199406 State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia 2.00 cu. ft. English Powhatan County (Va.) Circuit Court. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Powhatan County (Va.) Wills, 1777-1903. Local government records collection, Powhatan County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Powhatan County.

Historical Information

Powhatan County was named for the paramount chief of the Powhatan Indians in the tidewater of Virginia in the late sixteenth and early years of the seventeenth century. It was formed from Cumberland County in 1777, and part of Chesterfield County was added in 1850.

Individuals dying with a written will died testate. After the death of an individual, his or her will was brought into court, where two of the subscribing witnesses swore that the document was genuine. After the will was proved, the executor was bonded to carry out his or her duties to settle the estate. The court then ordered the will to be recorded.

Scope and Content

Powhatan County (Va.) Wills, 1777-1903, 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. The collection also includes wills not recorded in will books.

Adjunct Descriptive Data Related Material

Powhatan County Will Books can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

 Index Terms Corporate Names: Powhatan County (Va.) Circuit Court. Subjects: African Americans -- History. Estates (Law) -- Virginia -- Powhatan County. Land subdivision -- Virginia -- Powhatan County. Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Powhatan County. Slaves -- Virginia -- Powhatan County. Geographical Names: Powhatan County -- History. Genre and Form Terms: Local government records -- Virginia -- Powhatan County. Wills -- Virginia -- Powhatan County.