Middlesex County (Va.) Deeds and Surveys, 1679-1831 (bulk 1735-1820) includes six Deed Books in this collection covering the years 1679-1720 and 1740-1785. There is one Survey Book for the years 1735-1807, which includes a plat with most of the surveys. There are two boxes of loose deeds for the dates 1751-1820, 1827, and 1831.

Deed Books contain deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, and deeds of trust. 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.

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.

Surveys give the size and boundaries of a piece of real estate. They often give the names of neighboring property owners, water features, roads, paths, etc. Sometimes they just name the trees, large stones, or some other item used to denote a meeting of two boundary lines. They give the metes and bounds which are using carefully measured distances, angles, and directions, which results in what is called a "legal description" of the land. Many surveys are accompanied by a plat which is a drawing showing the boundary lines, angles, directions and other information given in the survey.