The Library of Virginia (LVA) is pleased to announce that processing and
indexing of the Lynchburg 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 and is now available for searching
through the LVA website.  The Lynchburg chancery collection covers the
years 1807 through 1945 and totals over 300 cubic feet of records.
Lynchburg 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 (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 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