A Guide to the Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-1912 Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-1912 Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-001-1912-013

A Guide to the Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-1912

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Chancery Records Index: Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-001-1912-013


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Processed by: LVA staff

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Chancery Records Index
Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-001-1912-013
Title
Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-1912
Physical Characteristics
Digital images
Collector
Warren County (Va.) Circuit Court
Location
Library of Virginia
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Patrons are to use digital images of Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Preferred Citation

Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-1912. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, Warren County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Digital images were generated by Backstage Library Works through the Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.

Historical Information

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.

Warren County was named for Joseph Warren, of Massachusetts, the Revolutionary patriot who sent Paul Revere and William Dawes on their famous rides and who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The county was formed from Shenandoah and Frederick Counties in 1836. The county seat is Front Royal.

Scope and Content

Warren County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1837-1912, are indexed into the Chancery Records Index . Cases are identified by style of suit consisting of plaintiff and defendant names. Surnames of others involved in a suit, including secondary plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, deponents and affiants, and family members with surnames different from the plaintiff or defendant are indexed. Chancery causes often involved the following: divisions of estates or land, division of enslaved people, freedom suits, disputes over wills, divorces, debt, and business disputes. Predominant documents found in chancery causes include bills (plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, wills, business records or vital statistics, among other items. Plats, if present, are noted, as are wills from localities with an incomplete record of wills or localities other than the one being indexed.

Chancery cases 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.

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

See the Chancery Records Index found on the Library of Virginia web site for the chancery records of other Virginia localities.

Selected Causes of Interest

1837-001: William Hansbrough vs. Peter Hansbrough, etc.:

Dispute among members of the Hansbrough family over the control of enslaved people. Dispute originated in 1789 with the sale of 13 year old enslaved girl named Nan. Cause lists the names of her descendants who were at the center of the dispute almost 50 years after the sale of Nan. The cause references the migration of Hansbrough family members to Kentucky.

1841-006: Presly Hansbrough vs. James Sinclair:

Cause includes receipt for medical services rendered to enslaved people owned by Sinclair. Services included extracting teeth, bleeding, and an abortion.

1845-006: John J. Johnston vs. William A. Mitchell, etc.:

Plaintiff accused one of the defendants, James C. Mitchell, of secretly carrying enslaved people from Fauquier County to Washington, D.C. in the cover of night and sold them to renowned slave trader Joseph Bruin. Mitchell did so in order to avoid repaying a debt owed to Johnston.

1846-010: Admr. of William Hopewell vs. David, an enslaved person, etc.:

The deceased William Hopewell wrote in his will that his enslaved people were to be emancipated, hired out, and the wages they received to fund their transportation to Liberia. However, several enslaved people wanted to remain in the Virginia and keep the wages they earned from being hired out. The enslaved peoples' desires made it difficult for the administrator to carry out Hopewell's will. He wanted the court's assistance in the matter.

1850-001: Duskin, an enslaved person vs. Admr. of Henry Self, etc.:

Duskin, an enslaved person, was emancipated by the will of Henry Self. In the will, Self left a legacy worth $3000 to Duskin to assist in purchasing property in Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois where he would reside. Duskin had yet to receive his legacy. He sued to recover it. The will records additional names of enslaved people who were to be freed and removed to Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois.

1850-007: Gdn. of James R. Ash vs. James R. Ash, etc.:

At the center of the cause is an enslaved man named Tom who fled from his enslaver. He was captured in Bedford, Pennsylvania and jailed in Winchester, Virginia. The plaintiff wanted to recover his expenses expended to recover and sale the enslaved person. The suit includes exhibits related to the recovery and sale of Tom.

1855-002: Virginia V. Hicks by etc. vs. Thomas K. Hicks:

Divorce cause. Husband had an ongoing affair with a mulatto enslaved woman he hired from James Ash. Hicks had a child by her.

1859-003: John R.C. Reed vs. Admr. of Mary Shambaugh, etc.:

Reed, a free person, sued to receive portion of Shambaugh's estate left to him and his children (Jacob, Jonas, and Sarah Reed) in Shambaugh's will. He needed it in order to purchase property in a free state for his family to live on. According to Virginia law, Reed had to leave the commonwealth within one year of his emancipation. A copy of Reed's free registration included in cause as an exhibit. See also Warren County chancery causes 1839-006 and 1880-007.

1861-003: Sarah F. Jennings, etc. vs. Exrs. of William Lewin, etc.:

In his will, William Lewin offers a free person named David Mitchell to purchase his wife Nancy and youngest child, both enslaved, at an appraised value of 500 dollars.

1866-001: George Nave vs. Sarah Nave:

Divorce cause. Defendant had an affair while plaintiff served in the Confederate army.

1870-004: Elizabeth A. Richardson vs. Charles T. Weston and Abraham Forney vs. Charles T. Weston:

Cause originated out of Federal control and destruction of large flour mill in Warren County. Numerous references to Federal occupation and impact on the region. Union troops under Brigadier General James Shields used counterfeit Confederate money to purchase flour. The manager of the mill recognized it as counterfeit and refused to take it. He was forced to take it under threat of violence.

1880-007: Exr. of Margaret Shambaugh vs. William F.N. Houser, etc.:

Several defendants are former enslaved people of sisters Margaret and Mary Shambaugh. In their wills, they left financial legacies to their enslaved people. The plaintiff wanted the court's guidance on how to proceed now that they are no longer enslaved. The enslaved people have following surnames: Reid or Reed, Jackson

1881-006: William S. Morgan and wife, etc. vs. John T. Lovell, etc.:

Mary Ann Morgan, wife of William, and her daughter Elizabeth Gilkinson were the wife and daughter of a free person named Gabriel Gilkinson who died in the mid-1850's. His wife Mary Ann Gilkinson remarried to a man named William Morgan and moved to Iowa. The plaintiffs are seeking to recover their legacy from their deceased husband and father's estate in Virginia. See also Warren County Chancery Cause 1872-003.

1885-016: John N. Buck, etc. vs. Thomas L. Blakemore and wife, etc.:

A business dissolution suit that involves the partners (Ricards, Buck, and Blakemore) who purchased the property for, built, and operated the Mountain House Hotel located at Capon Springs in present-day Hampshire County, West Virginia.

1898-009: S.S. Turner, trst., etc. vs. J.H. Brenaman, etc.:

Cause relates to "boom town" period of 1890's Virginia. One of the deponents, Dr. Stephen Hansburger, was editor of a Front Royal newspaper who heavily promoted "boom town" concept in Front Royal.

1901-026: Richard McCoy and wife, etc. vs. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., etc.:

Plaintiffs purchased a life insurance policy based on the Tontine investment plan. Includes a 1900 map of Alabama.

1901-027: Winchester Telephone Co. vs. Southern Railway Co.:

The defendant challenged the plaintiff's right to string telephone wires across its rail lines near Front Royal. The defendant ripped down the wires and threatened to tear down the telephone poles. The rail company claimed the right of way extended to the air above their rails. The plaintiff challenged this argument saying it had "the same undisputed right to maintain and use them there, and with no more use of any right of the R.R. Co. than the buzzards make, who fly high above the R.R. tracks."

1902-030: Tom Lee vs. Moy Sing Lee:

Plaintiff and defendant are Japanese. Tom Lee purchased a laundry business located in Front Royal from Moy Sing Lee for 350 dollars. The cause includes the agreement written in Japanese.

1906-006: Virginia Bridge and Iron Co. vs. S.J. Bryan, etc.:

Defendant was an agent for a labor union called the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers. The plaintiff accused him of stirring up dissension among the workers preventing them from building a bridge across the Shenandoah River.

1906-007: Nellie S. Cone vs. Raymond J. Cone:

Divorce cause. The plaintiff accused her husband of committing adultery with prostitutes while attending the Peace Jubilee parade in Washington, D.C. The Peace Jubilee was a celebration of the end of the Spanish-American War.

1910-002: C. F. Sumption, etc. vs. Welton W. Beaty and 1911-002: W.W. Beaty vs. C.F. Sumption, etc.:

Dispute over burial property. According to a deed creating a burial plot near Front Royal known as the "Old Grave-yard" recorded in 1857, it was to be used only as cemetery. The defendant Beaty purchased the property and built a warehouse on it in violation of the terms of the original deed. The causes include names of individuals and families buried in the "Old Grave-yard" including Isaac Trout, Dr. George Carter's heirs, Bush Keeler's heirs, Inman H. Thompson, Berryman Jones, and John Bennett, Sr. The causes reference the creation of a second cemetery known as "Prospect Hill" because no more space was available at the "Old Grave-yard." The causes include depositions with detailed testimony concerning the two cemeteries. One deponent was asked if a road currently under construction would go over any graves found in the "Old Grave-yard." His response: "I know it runs over old Mrs. Hope, I know that very well, right in the middle of it. I was there at the burying." He listed the graves of other individuals threatened by the road. It also includes a plat showing where the "Old Grave-yard" was located.

1910-003: Trst(s) of Front Royal School District Number Five vs. William R. Buck, trst., etc.:

Cause involves the sale of a public school building. Four fraternal organizations leased the third floor of the public school building. The purpose of the suit was to protect the interests of the fraternal organizations. A broadside advertising the sale included in suit.