Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Lynchburg (Va.) Chancery Cause, Exrs. of Joseph Pettyjohn vs. Exr. of Seth Woodroof, 1904. Lynchburg (Va.) Chancery Cause 1904-065. Local government records collection, Lynchburg (City) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from the City of Lynchburg.

Historical Information

Lynchburg was established in 1786 and incorporated as a town in 1805. It was incorporated as a city in 1852. Parts of Campbell and Bedford Counties were annexed in 1976.

Seth Woodroof was a slave trader in Lynchburg between 1849 and 1861.

Scope and Content

Lynchburg (Va.) Chancery Cause, Exrs. of Joseph Pettyjohn vs. Exr. of Seth Woodroof. The cause concerns a dispute among the heirs of William Pettyjohn, who died in 1822. The case includes testimony given in the 1880s about the price of slaves bought in Virginia in the 1830s, as well as information about the individual slaves inherited by Woodroof.

The deposition of Lewis E. Williams, who was employed by the firm Rowan and Harris to buy slaves when he lived in Campbell County in the 1830s, includes observations about the increasing price of slaves bought in Virginia during the 1830s, laws regulating the sale of slaves and the separation of families, and the value of slaves based on their skills, gender, and whether or not they appeared to be racially mixed.

Also included in testimony from several witnesses is information about the names and family relationships among slaves that were in William Pettyjohn's estate when he died in 1822, and their descendants, including names of slaves emancipated by the war and those who were sold before the war.

Related Material

Additional Lynchburg (City) Court Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Lynchburg (Va.) Circuit Court.
• Rowan and Harris.

Subjects:

• Chancery causes--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Slave trade--Virginia--Campbell County.
• Slave traders--Virginia--Campbell County.
• Slavery--Virginia--Campbell County.
• Slavery--emancipation--Virginia--Campbell County.

Geographical Names:

• Campbell County (Va.)--History--19th century.
• Lynchburg (Va.)--History--19th century.
• Lynchburg (Va.)--History--20th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Depositions--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Judicial records--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Local government records--Virginia--Lynchburg.

Adjunct Descriptive Data