Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

Should you wish to quote from or reproduce images of any of the materials, you must write to the Librarian of the Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108, requesting formal permission to do so. Please note that you do not have to obtain permission if you are quoting fewer than fifty words, or if you are only citing the document. Images made with microfilm-reader printers are for research use only and may not be used for publication without permission.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Superior Court of Chancery (Williamsburg District). Records, 1827, Robert Alonzo Brock Collection, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Acquisition Information

The Robert Alonzo Brock Collection was filmed by The Huntington Library in cooperation with The Library of Virginia with funding provided by The Library of Virginia Foundation with the support of The Roller- Bottimore Foundation and The Robins Foundation. Microfilm received 15 April 2004.

Historical Information

The Superior Courts of Chancery were created in 1802 to handle chancery matters initially handled by the High Court of Chancery. The state was divided into three chancery districts and cases from the counties composing the district were tried in a fixed location within each district. The records were kept in that location. Five additional districts were created before the court was supplanted by local Circuit Superior Courts of Law and Chancery in 1831. This court was sometimes called District Court of Chancery

Williamsburg Superior Court of Chancery included: Accomack, Charles City, Elizabeth City, Essex, Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, King and Queen, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Nansemond, New Kent, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland, Princess Anne, Richmond, Southampton, Surry, Sussex, Warwick, Westmoreland, and York Counties.

James City County was recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Williamsburg was founded in 1699 and declared a “city Incorporate” by a royal charter in 1722, although its actual status was that of a borough. Beginning in 1770, the courts of James City County and Williamsburg shared a common courthouse. During the Civil War, the records of both localities were transferred to Richmond for safekeeping, but were destroyed by fire there on April 3, 1865. The records of the superior court of chancery for the Williamsburg district were destroyed by a courthouse fire in April 1911.

Scope and Content

Records, 1827, of the Superior Court of Chancery for the Williamsburg District consist of a copy of the chancery cause, Thomas Morgan and others versus Benjamin W. Ladd and others. Exhibits found in the chancery cause include the will of John Atkinson of Charles City County as well as the inventory and appraisement of his estate.

Related Material

See the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection available at Virginia Memory.

For more information and a listing of lost records localities see Lost Records research note .

Access Terms

Corporate Name

• Virginia. Superior Court of Chancery (Williamsburg District.)

Subject Terms

• Equity--Virginia.
• Public records--Virginia.

Geographic Terms

• Williamsburg (Va.)--History--19th century.

Record Type

• Courts of chancery--Virginia.
• Judicial records--Virginia.

Added Entry - Personal Name

• Brock, R. A. (Robert Alonzo), 1839-1914, collector.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Originals are located at the Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California.