Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Chancery causes 1822-068-1824-049 are closed for conservation. The rest of the collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Lynchburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1807-1945. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, Lynchburg Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Acquisition Information

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

Historical Information

Lynchburg was named for John Lynch, the owner of the original town site. It was established in 1786, was incorporated as a town in 1805, and became a city in 1852. Parts of Campbell and Bedford Counties were annexed to the city in 1976.

Scope and Content

Lynchburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1807-1945, 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, disputes over wills, divorces, debt, and business disputes. Predominant documents found in chancery causes include bills (plaintiff complaint), answers (defendant response), decrees (court decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, wills, slave records, 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.

The collection includes chancery causes heard in the Superior Court of Chancery for the Lynchburg District seated in the city of Lynchburg between 1814 and 1831. The district consisted of the following localities: Amherst County, Bedford County, Campbell County, Franklin County, Henry County, Patrick County, Pittsylvania County, and the city of Lynchburg. Suits that originated in these localities are found in this collection.

The Superior Courts of Chancery were created in 1802 to expedite the hearing of chancery suits. Each court heard cases from the localities which constituted its chancery district. The court met at one location in the district and its records were kept in that one location. The Superior Courts of Chancery were abolished in 1831.

The Superior Court of Chancery for the Lynchburg District existed between 1814 and 1831. The district consisted of the following localities: Amherst County, Bedford County, Campbell County, Franklin County, Henry County, Patrick County, Pittsylvania County, and the city of Lynchburg.

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.

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 is as follows: Bill, Answer, and Final Decree (if found.)

Related Material

Additional Lynchburg Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm.

See The Chancery Records Index to search for chancery suits of additional Virginia localities.

Additional Lynchburg chancery found in the Robert Alonzo Brock Collection on microfilm at the Library of Virginia.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Lynchburg (Va.). Circuit Court

Subjects:

• African Americans--History
• Business enterprises--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Debt--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Divorce suits--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Equity--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Estates (Law)--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Free African Americans--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Land subdivision--Virginia--Lynchburg.

Geographical Names:

• Lynchburg (Va.)--History
• Lynchburg (Va.)-- Genealogy

Genre and Form Terms:

• Chancery causes--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Deeds--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Judicial records--Virginia-- Lynchburg.
• Land records--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Local government records--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Plats--Virginia--Lynchburg.
• Wills--Virginia--Lynchburg.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Lynchburg (Va.) Superior Court of Chancery

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Additional Lynchburg Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm.

See The Chancery Records Index to search for chancery suits of additional Virginia localities.

Additional Lynchburg chancery found in the Robert Alonzo Brock Collection on microfilm at the Library of Virginia.