James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1799-1967

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:

Chancery Causes 1799-1933 use digital images found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Chancery Causes 1934-1967 are indexed but not scanned. Contact Archives Research Services for availability.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1799-1967. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, James City County/Williamsburg Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Creator:
James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1799-1967. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, James City County/Williamsburg Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1799-1967, 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.

Biographical / historical:

Context for 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:James City County was named for King James I. It was one of the eight shires, or counties, enumerated in 1634. Williamsburg was founded in 1699 and declared a "city Incorporate" by a royal charter in 1722, although its actual status was that of a borough. Beginning in 1770, the courts of James City County and Williamsburg shared a common courthouse. During the Civil War, the records of both localities were transferred to Richmond for safekeeping, but were destroyed by fire there on April 3, 1865.

Lost Locality Notes: James City County was recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Williamsburg was founded in 1699 and declared a “city Incorporate” by a royal charter in 1722, although its actual status was that of a borough. Beginning in 1770, the courts of James City County and Williamsburg shared a common courthouse. During the Civil War, the records of both localities were transferred to Richmond for safekeeping, but were destroyed by fire there on April 3, 1865. The records of the superior court of chancery for the Williamsburg district were destroyed by a courthouse fire in April 1911.

Acquisition information:
These materials came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from James City County/Williamsburg in 2007 under the accession number 43503.
Processing information:

Digital images were generated by Crowley Micrographics in 2009 through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.

Chancery Causes 1934-1967 have been indexed but not digitally scanned. At this time, there are no plans to digitize these records.

Post-1933 records were previously described separately under the title James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1934-1967. Records are now described together.

Chancery Causes were initially processed in the locality by field processors and reprocessed by Library of Virginia staff in 2008.

Encoded by G. Crawford: 2009; updated by J. Taylor: December 2023.

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.

of documents within each folder are as follows: Bill, Answer, and Final Decree (if found.)

Physical location:
State Records Center
Physical description:
Digital images; 71.85 cubic feet (154 boxes).