The Library of Virginia (LVA) is pleased to announce the completion of
another digital scanning project. The processing, indexing, and digital
reformatting of the James City County/Williamsburg chancery causes is
now complete.  The index and images have been added to the Library's
on-line Chancery Records Index
<http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/local/chancery/index.htm>  (CRI)
and are now available for searching through the LVA website.  The James
City County/Williamsburg chancery collection covers the years 1799
through 1967, and scanned images are available though 1933.  This
locality joins 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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