A Guide to the Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1924 Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1924

A Guide to the Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1924

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Chancery Records Index: Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes


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© 2018 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Processed by: Field Processors and Louise Jones

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Chancery Records Index
Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes
Title
Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1924
Physical Characteristics
Digital images; 38.2 cubic feet (76 boxes)
Collector
Greensville County (Va.) Circuit Court
Location
Library of Virginia
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1912 digital images found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1913-1924 are indexed but not scanned. Contact the Greensville County Clerk for availability.

Use Restrictions

No restrictions on use.

Preferred Citation

Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1924. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, Greensville County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These materials came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Greensville County in 2009 under accession number 44478.

Processing Information

Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes were first field processed in the locality and then reprocessed by Library of Virginia staff in 2011.

Digital images were generated by Backstage Library Works in 2018, for records dated between 1782-1899, and in 2023, for records dated between 1900-1912, through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.

Chancery Causes between 1913 and 1924 were indexed for access purposes and are available on the Chancery Records Index. These post 1912 records were not scanned. Remaining original post-1912 documents are retained in the locality at the request of the county clerk.

Encoded by G. Crawford: 2018; updated by J. Taylor: April 2023.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: Chancery Causes are cases of equity. According to Black's Law Dictionary they are "administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law." A judge, not a jury, determines the outcome of the case; however, the judge is basing the decision on findings compiled and documented by Commissioners. Chancery causes are 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 document the lived experiences of free and enslaved individuals; women; children; people living with physical disabilities or mental health struggles; people living in poverty; defunct institutions and corporate entities; or those that may not have otherwise left traditional written histories.

Locality History: Greensville County was named either for Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene, commanding general of the Continental army in the South during part of the Revolutionary War, or for Sir Richard Grenville, leader of the Roanoke Island settlement of 1585. The county was formed from Brunswick County on 28 November 1780. The county court first met on 22 February 1781. Subsequent additions were made from Brunswick (1787) and Sussex (1802) Counties. The county courthouse is in the city of Emporia.

Scope and Content

Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1782-1924, consists of cases concerning issues of equity brought largely by residents of the county and filed in the circuit court. These cases often involve the following actions: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, disputes regarding contracts, debt, divorce, and business disputes. Other less prevalent issues include freedom suits, permissions to sell property, and disputes concerning trespass. Predominant documents found in these chancery causes include bills (documents the plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, plats, wills, records involving enslaved individuals, business records or vital statistics.

Chancery causes before 1870 contain a large amount of estate suits concerning enslaved Black men, women, and children. While there are several suits concerning the freedom of enslaved individuals, these cases largely represent the perspective of white enslavers and their disputes involving the sale, hiring, financial responsibilities, and legality of ownership of Black individuals.

Chancery causes from the years between 1860-1867 contain a substantial number of instances where enslaved people fled to the Union Army. There are a few cases which reference the successful escape of enslaved individuals, but the majority of cases were brought to court after their capture. The cases are largely concerned with the perspective of the fears of white enslavers, they also provide information about the effect the Civil War had upon the everyday lives of enslaved people.

Chancery causes from the 1830s-1850s contain several instances of disputes over military pensions and bounty land warrants. As veterans of the early wars of the United States began to pass, their families sought the chancery court for either an equitable division or the rights to the pensions and land warrants given to their deceased ancestors.

Arrangement

Organized by case, of which each is assigned a unique index number comprised of the latest year found in case and a sequentially increasing 3-digit number assigned by the processor as cases for that year are found. Arranged chronologically.

Arrangement of documents within each folder are as follows: Bill, Answer, and Final Decree (if found.)

Related Material

Additional Greensville County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. See A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm

Location of Originals

Greensville County (Va.) Chancery Causes post-1912 are retained in the locality. Contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court for access.


Selected Causes of Interest

Causes of Interest are identified by local records archivists during processing and indexing. These causes are generally selected based upon guiding principles of having historical, genealogical or sensational significance; however, determining what is "of interest" is subjective, and the individual perspective and experience of the describing archivist will affect the material identified.

1823-004: Overseers of the Poor vs. heirs of Nathaniel Mabry, Sr.

Nathaniel Mabry emancipated Cate, an enslaved Black woman, in his will, which also stated his estate would support her. The Overseers claimed that Nathaniel's heirs failed to comply with the will and sued for repayment of Cate's support. A copy of the bill for Cate's support was included with the cause.

1828-005: Nancy Sturdivant etc. vs. Admr. of Nathaniel Peebles, etc.

George Rives first loaned and then gave Liddia, an enslaved child, to Anne Peebles, his daughter. After Anne died, her daughter Winnifred Shelton was to inherit Liddia. Winnifred had also passed and her children sued for ownership of Liddia and her descendants. The answers and depositions contain information about Liddia and her descendants.

1835-002: Dolley Fielding, widow, etc. vs. Thomas Davis etc.

Ensign Thomas Davis served in the Continental Army during Revolutionary War. He died in 1778. He was entitled to a Bounty Land Warrant for 2666 1/3 acres. The bounty warrant was issued in the name of Thomas and John Davis, the sons of Ensign Thomas Davis' eldest brother. The scrip was sold and the children of Ensign Davis' other siblings sued for their portion of the proceeds of the sale.

1837-001: Exr. of John Avery vs. Ann Avery etc.

John Avery was a co-partner with A.T. Merritt and William H.E. Merritt in a business to buy "blood horses" [horses of good descent] in England. The partners intended to raise horses to compete in races. On one occasion, Avery went to England, bought one horse and three mares and then had them shipped to the United States. He failed to insure the horses completely. Unfortunately, the horses were lost at sea and the business suffered. Avery was a co-partner in other ventures to buy horses in England. The answers of William H. D. Merritt, A. T. B. Merritt, and William and Edward Townes provide information about all the ventures involving John Avery. This suit was an attempt to determine the value of Avery's partnership in these ventures so that the money from his part could be used to pay his bills.

1837-003: John D. Maclin and wife vs. Exr. of Theophilus Field

An account book used as an exhibit in the suit contains an entry dated May 25th, 1829. The entry disclosed that Girffin, Easter, Kenny, and Julia, four enslaved individuals enslaved by the estate of Theophilus Field, had been sold in New Orleans. After the Transatlantic Slave Trade was legally abolished in 1808, New Orleans became a prominent site for the buying and selling of enslaved individuals.

1840-001: William Dunn vs Comt. of James Blanks, etc.

A copy of James Blanks' will, probated in 1829, was included as an exhibit to the case. In the will, James Blanks gives to Molly Wickham, a free woman of color, first choice in furniture from his house, two rooms on his property and the contents of those rooms, and two enslaved individuals named William and China. Blanks also bequeathed a substantial amount of acreage from his plantation to two of Molly Wickham's children and to one of her sons, Blanks gave ownership of his plantation. All of the people enslaved by James Blanks were divided among Molly Wickham's children and their heirs.

1847-020: James Brown vs Laura Brown by etc.

James Brown petitioned the court for permission to sell Patsy, a Black woman, enslaved by his daughter Laura. The reason given for his petition was his belief that Patsy had attempted to poison the family.

1848-003: Gdn(s) of Elizabeth Bailey etc. vs. Elizabeth Baileyand others by etc.

Davy, an enslaved Black man, was emancipated in the will of Nancy Cain with the condition that he, his wife, and eight children to be sent to Africa. It is unclear what occurred to prevent the will from being executed as written, but Davy was not freed and instead the children of Zadoc Bailey became Davy's enslavers. In the suit, Bailey sought the court's permission to sell Davy, on his children's behalf, to the executor of Nancy Cain's estate. The executor was willing to buy Davy and send him and his family to Africa.

1849-012: Admr. of Richard Hill, etc vs. Curator of William Hill, etc.

In his will, Henry Hill left his wife Elizabeth the enslaved people he claimed ownership to at the time, with the order that those enslaved people be emancipated at the time of her death. Crucially, the wording of his will described his wishes for only the enslaved people he was "now in possession of," which left the futures of those enslaved people's descendants uncertain. Henry Hill's heirs fought over the right of legal ownership of those descendants and what followed was a intense deliberation over the legal status (emancipated or enslaved) over the children born of those enslaved by Henry Hill between his death and his wife's death.

1853-011: Gdn. of Edmund M. Vick, etc. vs. Edmund W. Vick and others by etc.

Hubbard Vick was granted a land warrant for his service in the War of 1812. After his death, his land warrant was passed to his minor children, Edmund and Atalanta. Their guardian felt it would be too expensive to go through the process of getting the bounty land, which was located in Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri. As a result, he asked permission of the court to sell the land warrant on behalf of Vick's children.

1857-009: Exr. of Rebecca Hardaway vs. James Johnson and wife, etc.

Rebecca Hardaway was the widow of Captain Littleberry Mason and received a pension for his service in the Revolutionary War. After her death, a suit was filed to determine the share was to be given to her two still living children or shared with her grandchildren from her deceased children.

1862-003: Gdn of John H. Murfee vs. John H. Murfee, by etc.

Cherry, an enslaved girl, fled from Southampton County in an attempt to get to the Union Army in Nansemond County. Cherry was apprehended and jailed in the Greensville County Jail. Elizabeth B. Murfee, on behalf of her infant son John H. Murfee who was Cherry's enslaver, sought the court's permission to sell Cherry in Richmond.

1863-006: Gdn. of James D. F. Brown etc. vs. James D. F. Brown and others by etc.

Dick, an enslaved man, "ran away" multiple times. His enslavers, James and Mary Brown were children and so were appointed a guardian who believed Dick wished to join the Union Army. As a result, their guardian sought the court's permission to sell Dick on their behalf.

1864-001: Rebecca Morriss vs. children of William T. Person, etc.

Rebecca Morriss, the orphan children of William T. Person, and Virginia A. Clarke collectively enslaved George. George had "run away" and nearly escaped to the Union Army before being captured and held in jail. Rebecca Morriss sought the court's permission to sell George.

1867-002: Dorothy Flythe, widow, etc. vs. Admr. of Solomon Flythe

Candis, her small child and Lewis were all enslaved by Dorothy Flythe, the widow of Solomon Flythe, and her children. The three escaped with other enslaved people from the area to North Carolina where they were apprehended and arrested in the possesion of the "public enemy." Candis' young child was accidentally killed at the time of their capture. Dorothy believed it would be unsafe to retain Candis and Lewis so near the Union Army in Greensville County, so she decided they should be sold. Candis was sold for 4500 dollars in Richmond, VA. Lewis was not sold, but retained by the parties.

1886-003: Davenport and Morris vs. Admr. of John H. Weaver, etc.

John H. Weaver and his wife, Sarah J., ran a hotel and house of public entertainment in Hicksford called the "Cato Hotel." The bill of complaint describes the duties of the proprietor of the hotel and house of public entertainment, including the sale of liquor at a bar.

1886-007: Pierce R. Farley vs. Benjamin D. Tillar, etc.

Pierce Farley and Kate, his wife agreed to lease the Cato Hotel in Hicksford from Benjamin D. Tillar. The parties did not have a written lease. The Farleys were sued by Tillar because they refused to pay more rent and he wanted them to move out of the hotel. During the time Pierece Farley rented the hotel, Tillar had an addition built to the existing hotel building. The workmen building the new addition greatly damaged the roof of the existing building and causing leaks. The leaks from the holes in the roof caused damage to the eight rooms used as hotel rooms in the building and the Farley's furniture. In the deposition of W. E. Bailey, he detailed the construction problems of the "Cato Hotel" (which was also called the "Central Hotel."), providing an extensive report of the damage done during the renovation. Copies of the floor plan and the buildings front elevation are exhibits in this suit.