Mecklenburg County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1783-1944 (bulk 1870-1912)

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, 1783-1872 use digital images found electronically on the Chancery Records Index available on the website of the Library of Virginia.

Chancery Causes 1873-1944 are processed and indexed information is available on the Chancery Records Index, but digital images are not available at this time. Contact Archives Reference Services for availability

Terms of access:

No restrictions on use.

Preferred citation:

Mecklenburg County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1783-1944 (1870-1912) (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, Mecklenburg County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Summary

Extent:
155.7 cubic feet (343 boxes); Digital images
Creator:
Mecklenburg County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Mecklenburg County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1783-1944 (1870-1912) (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, Mecklenburg County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Mecklenburg County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1944, 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.

The vast majority of causes represented in these record concern disputes over contracts, issues related to debt, or causes concerning estates.

In the causes pre-1865, there is a substantial amount of information concerning enslaved Black men, women, and children. While there are several suits concerning the freedom of enslaved individuals, these cases largely represent the perspective of white enslavers and their disputes involving the sale, hiring, financial responsibilities, and legality of ownership of Black individuals. Specifically, there are many cases concerning estate disputes involving enslaved individuals.

While not a large number of divorce cases are included in these records, many of those present contain racial components or interracial relationships.

Additionally, there are various courts represented in these causes including causes heard in Superior Chancery and Superior Law and Chancery of the Richmond and Henrico Districts.

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: Mecklenburg County (Va.) was named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of King George III. It was formed from Lunenburg County in 1764. The county court first met on 11 March 1765. The county seat is Boydton.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Mecklenburg Circuit Court in an undated accession.
Processing information:

Mecklenburg County Chancery was originally processed by C. Childs and later reprocessed and indexed by S. Nerney, T. Harter, and V. Brooks.

Digital images were generated by Backstage Library Works through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program in 2022.

The court designations (CSC for Circuit Superior Court, CC for Circuit Court, and no abbreviations indicating County Court) that were used in the initial processing of this locality have been removed. In some instances, this has necessitated changing the index number. In those cases, the old index number has been placed in the Local Case File Number field for reference.

Not all Plaintiff and Defendant First Names were recorded.

Encoded by M. Mason: August 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:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.