Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

King George County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1802-1922. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, King George County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from King George County under the accession number 41901.

Microfilm reels were generated by Library of Virginia Imaging Services Division 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.

King George County was named in honor of George I of England and was formed from Richmond County in 1720.

Most loose records prior to 1830 are missing. Volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Scope and Content

King George County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1802-1922, 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.

Related Material

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

King George County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional King George County Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Database found at the Library of Virginia web site.

See the Chancery Records Index to find the chancery records of additional Virginia localities.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• King George County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

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

Geographical Names:

• King George County (Va.)--Genealogy.
• King George County (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data

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

King George County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional King George County Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Database found at the Library of Virginia web site.

See the Chancery Records Index to find the chancery records of additional Virginia localities.