The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images for
Franklin County chancery causes, 1787-1912, are now available on the
Chancery Records Index
<http://www.virginiamemory.com/collections/chancery/> .  Digital images
are available for the years 1787-1912. The complete index covers the
years 1787-1929, and original records 1913-1929 are available at The
Library of Virginia. Additional post-1913 records are available at the
Franklin County Circuit Court Clerk's Office. Following are a few suits
of interest found in this collection. 

 

Franklin County chancery cause 1873-050
<http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1873-050>
includes a detailed report on the division of slaves (image# 10-12),
including the ages of the slaves.  There are suits such as 1836-009
<http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1836-009>
and 1885-027
<http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1885-027>
that involve Franklin County native son and Confederate General, Jubal
A. Early, who practiced law in Franklin County before and after the
Civil War.  Chancery cause 1867-005
<http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1867-005>
is a sad but scandalous divorce suit between James C. Smith and Lucy F.
Smith.  James Smith returned home from fighting in the Civil War only to
learn that his wife had been unfaithful while he was away (image# 2-3).
The suit includes depositions given by Mrs. Smith's paramours describing
their secret getaways. Chancery cause 1870-006
<http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=067-1870-006>
gives details on the many difficulties women encountered while managing
estates.  The plaintiff, Nancy B. Ferguson, entrusted the defendant, her
nephew Thomas B. Ferguson, with running the day to day affairs of her
estate which included numerous slaves.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Ferguson had
a weakness for strong drink.  Her nephew took advantage of her condition
to defraud her of much of her property, especially slaves.

 

These localities join fifty counties and cities whose chancery causes
have been digitally reformatted 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.  

To date, The Library of Virginia has posted over 5.7 million digital
chancery images. Additional localities are presently being scanned and
will be posted in the coming months. However, because of reductions to
the Library of Virginia's budget in recent years, the pace of the
agency's digital chancery projects will necessarily proceed more slowly.
Please know these projects remain a very high priority for the agency
and it is hoped that the initiative can be resumed in full when the
economy and the agency's budget situation improve. Please see the
Chancery Records Index for a listing of the available chancery
collections <http://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/available.asp> . 

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]

 

 

Vincent T. Brooks

Senior Local Records Archivist

The Library of Virginia: Archives of the Commonwealth

800 E. Broad St.

Richmond, VA  23219

804/225-4452 (voice)

804/692-2277 (fax)

Website: http://www.lva.virginia.gov
<blocked::http://www.lva.virginia.gov/>  

Blog: Out of the Box
<http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/> 

[log in to unmask] 

 

 


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