Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

York County (Va.) Chancery Cause, Kate Nelson vs. Martha Bryan, 1885. York County (Va.) Chancery Cause 1885-003. Local government records collection, York County 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 York County.

Historical Information

York County was originally named Charles River County, for Charles I, and was one of the eight shires formed in 1634. The present name was given in 1643, probably in honor of James, duke of York, the second son of Charles I.

The Nelson House was constructed around 1730 in Yorktown by the grandfather of Thomas Nelson, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Virginia from June through October of 1781. It remained in the Nelson family until 1908 when it was bought by Captain and Mrs. George P. Blow. The National Park Service acquired the house in 1968 and exhibits it as part of the Colonial National Historical Park. The house is one of the finest examples of early Georgian architecture still standing in Virginia. A cannonball from a bombardment during the seige of Yorktown in 1781 is still lodged in its brick walls.

Scope and Content

York County (Va.) Chancery Cause, Kate Nelson vs. Martha Bryan, 1885. This cause concerns a dispute over the ownership of the Nelson House in Yorktown, VA. Plaintiff Kate Nelson was the daughter of William Nelson the Elder (died 1849) and had inherited the house at the death of her brother William Nelson the Younger in 1877. The defendant in the case was the widow of William Nelson the Elder who had subsequently married George W. Bryan. Martha Bryan had a life right to live in the house which was then sold by her second husband to her son William Nelson the Younger. Various other court suits over the house are mentioned.

Related Material

Additional York County 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

Family Names:

• Nelson family.

Corporate Names:

• York County (Va.). Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Historic buildings. -- Virginia -- York County.

Geographical Names:

• York County (Va.) -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Chancery causes -- Virginia -- York County.
• Judicial records -- Virginia -- York County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- York County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data