Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Use microfilm copies, Orange County (Va.) Reels 573-723.

Preferred Citation

Orange County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1736-1952. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, Orange County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Microfilm reels were generated by Applied Image, Inc., and OCLC through the Library of Virginia's 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.

Orange County was formed in 1734 from Spotsylvania County.

Scope and Content

Orange County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1736-1952, 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. Entries also include the reel number and image number of where each chancery suit can be found on microfilm. 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's complaint), answers (defendant's response), decrees (court's 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.

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

Related Material

Additional Orange 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 to search for chancery suits of additional Virginia localities.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Orange County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

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

Geographical Names:

• Orange County (Va.)--Genealogy.
• Orange County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Additional Orange 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 to search for chancery suits of additional Virginia localities.