In addition to the familiar order books, deed books, and will books,
county court records also include parcels of documents accumulated
during the hearing of a cause, and they are sometimes called Suit
Papers, Loose Papers, Dead Papers, Ended Cases, Chancery Causes,
Commonwealth Causes, and the like, depending on the nature of the case
and the proclivities of the clerks. Great stuff for local and family
history but not always easy to find or to use.

The records of most of the Virginia city and county courts remain in the
custody of the clerks of court, but a few dozen jurisdictions have
deposited their records in the archives at the Library of Virginia.

Although I do not find in the Library of Virginia's online catalog an
entry under Accession no. 23707, I believe that those records have been
deposited in the Library of Virginia in Richmond. Because of the vast
quantity of such records in the Library's collections, it has not yet
been possible for the archivists to enter all the data into the online
catalog.

For all such collections, it is necessary to consult the original
documents in the Library of Virginia in Richmond.

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
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