The Library of Virginia (LVA) is pleased to announce that processing and
indexing of the Lynchburg County chancery causes housed at the Library
of Virginia is now complete.  The index has been added to the Library's
on-line Chancery Records Index
<http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/local/chancery/index.htm>  and is
now available for searching through the LVA website.  The Lynchburg
County chancery collection covers the years 1807 through 1945 and totals
over 300 cubic feet of records.  Lynchburg County joins the growing list
of localities whose chancery causes have been preserved and made
available through the Library's innovative Circuit Court Records
Preservation Program, which seeks to preserve the historic records of
Virginia's Circuit Courts.  Please see the Chancery Records Index for a
listing of additional locality chancery collections that are available.
Additionally, information on the extent of this collection can be found
in the Library's online Archives and Manuscript Catalog
<http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/>  (search = Lynchburg chancery).

 

Chancery causes are cases that are decided on the basis of equity and
fairness as opposed to the strictly formulated rules of common law
cases.  Chancery cases are especially 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 often contain correspondence; property lists, including
slaves; lists of heirs; and vital statistics, along with many other
records.  Some of the more common types of chancery causes involve
divisions of the estate of a person who died intestate (without a will);
divorces; settlements of dissolved business partnerships; and
resolutions of land disputes.

 

The Lynchburg County records are currently available in their original
format in the Library of Virginia's manuscript room.  Though no firm
timetable is currently available, future plans include the digital
reformatting of these records and making them accessible through the
Chancery Records Index.

 
Vincent T. Brooks
Senior Local Records Archivist
The Library of Virginia
800 E. Broad St.
Richmond, VA  23219
804/225-4452 (voice)
804/692-2277 (fax)
http://www.lva.lib.va.us