The Library of Virginia (LVA) is pleased to announce the completion of
another digital scanning project. The processing, indexing, and digital
reformatting of the Amherst and Nottoway County chancery causes is now
complete.  The index and images have been added to the newly redesigned
Chancery Records Index <http://beta.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/>  (CRI)
which is now located on the Library's new home for the digital
collections, Virginia Memory <http://www.virginiamemory.com/> .  The
Amherst County chancery collection covers the years 1773 through 1879
(additional pre-1913 cases remain in the courthouse). The chancery
causes from Nottoway County begin in 1818 and continue through 1932.
These localities join the growing list of counties and cities 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. 

 

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.

 

If you have any comments, questions, or corrections regarding the CRI or
scanned images, please contact [log in to unmask]

 

 

 


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