PUBLIC "-//Library of Virginia//TEXT (US::Vi::vi03945::A Guide to the Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912)//EN" "vi03945.xml" A Guide to the Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912 Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912 Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-001-1912-048 Greg Crawford Library of Virginia © 2013 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Conditions of Use

Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record, created by Greg Crawford, 08 October 2013 Description is in English 2013-11-21 Converted to schema conforming EAD by dtd2schema.vh.xsl. A Guide to the Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912 A Collection in the Library of Virginia Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-001-1912-048 Greg Crawford

Library of Virginia 2013 Sam Walters Library of Virginia Descriptive Summary The Library of Virginia Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912 Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-001-1912-048 Library of Virginia Digital images. English Frederick County (Va.) Circuit Court. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Patrons are to use digital images of Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912, found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia. Pre-1860 Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes are available on microfilm.

Preferred Citation

Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, Frederick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

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

Historical Information

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.

Frederick County was named in honor of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and eldest son of King George II. It was formed from Orange County by a statute of 1738 that stipulated that when the population was large enough the new county government would begin to function. The county court first met on 11 November 1743. Part of Augusta County was added in 1754. The county seat is the city of Winchester.

Scope and Content

Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1860-1912, are indexed into the Chancery Records Index. Cases are identified by style of suit consisting of plaintiff and defendant names. Surnames of others involved in a suit, including secondary plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, deponents and affiants, and family members with surnames different from the plaintiff or defendant are indexed. Chancery causes often involved the following: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, divorces, debt, and business disputes. Predominant documents found in chancery causes include bills (plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, wills, slave records, business records or vital statistics, among other items. Plats, if present, are noted, as are wills from localities with an incomplete record of wills or localities other than the one being indexed.

Chancery cases 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.

Adjunct Descriptive Data Related Material

Frederick County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1745-1859, can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm.

See the Chancery Records Index found on the Library of Virginia web site for the chancery records of the city of Winchester and other Virginia localities.

Index Terms Corporate Names: Frederick County (Va.) Circuit Court. Subjects: African Americans -- History. Business enterprises. -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Debt -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Divorce suits -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Estates (Law) -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Equity -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Land subdivision -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Geographical Names: Frederick County (Va.) -- History. Frederick County (Va.) -- Genealogy. Genre and Form Terms: Chancery causes -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Deeds -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Judicial records -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Land records -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Local government records -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Plats -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Wills -- Virginia -- Frederick County. Selected Suits of Interest 1866-019, Nancy Whets for etc. vs. Exx. of William Carter, etc.:

John Whets bought his wife Nancy out of slavery, but when he died some of their children were sold into slavery to pay his debts - but one child, George, was only to be held in slavery until he turned 28. The suit was brought to prevent George being sold in Richmond and transported to the deep South.

1867-007, Admr. of Hiram Jordan vs. Margaret Swann, etc:

References a slave who was bought by his wife but never technically freed. Also references their son who attempted to buy his wife out of slavery.

1873-034, William Cather vs. Daniel Anderson and wife, etc:

Includes a pamphlet for a girls' school in Winchester that includes course information and prices.

1874-031, George Brown vs. Exr. of Susan Grove, etc.:

Hannah Green, a slave, and her children were freed by the will of Susan Grove and also given money.

1884-012, Petition of Lawrence Register Payne (formerly Lydia Rebecca Payne):

Petition to change name.

1886-026, Joseph S. Carson, etc. vs. Trsts of Methodist Episcopal Church South, etc.:

Includes information on the history of the M. E. Church, South.

1896-044, Heirs of Mary Taylor, etc. vs. Exrs of Elizabeth Drinker, etc.:

The judge, at the request of the plaintiffs, overruled a 1858 will that directed slaves to be emancipated and instead sold them but instructed that the slave families not be split up. Depositions reference Union and Confederate factions in Winchester during the Civil War.

1897-071, Louisa Webb vs. John Tokus, etc.:

Estate settlement of a former slave - reveals information about slave life. Two slaves, William and Rebecca Myers, were owned by separate masters but lived together.

1899-058 Board of Supervisors of the County of Frederick, etc. vs. City of Winchester, etc.:

Dispute over whether the county or the city controlled the courthouse property they both shared. Includes plat that shows layout of courthouse grounds.

1903-001, Adms of Philip Williams vs. Exrs of David W. Barton, etc.:

Includes 1858 will of Nancy Alexander in which she freed slaves and gave them money to move to a free state or Liberia.

1903-010, Albert Baker, etc vs. City of Winchester:

Concerned with how money given to city of Winchester by John Handley is used.

1910-009, Town of Stephens City, etc. vs. S. M. Stickley

Includes details about Stephens City's founding and history.