Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Charlottesville (Va.) Deeds, 1888-1917 (Bulk 1888-1916). Local government records collection, Charlottesville (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Charlottesville (Va.) Circuit Court, accession number 43885.

Historical Information

Charlottesville, in Albemarle County, was named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III, and was established in 1762. The county seat of Albemarle County, Charlottesville was incorporated as a town in 1801 and as a city in 1888.

Jefferson Monroe Levy (April 16, 1852 - March 6, 1924) was a New York Congressman and real estate speculator who bought Thomas Jefferson's Monticello near Charlottesville, Va. in 1879. He restored and improved the ailing house and sold it to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation in 1923.

Scope and Content

Charlottesville (Va.) Deeds, 1888-1917 (bulk 1888-1916) consist of deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, deeds of trust, and deeds of emancipation, professional certificates, indentures, bills of sale, meeting minutes, insurance policies, powers of attorney and wills. On presentation to the court, deeds were proved and recorded. If the deed was not witnessed, the grantor acknowledged the deed in open court. A few of the deeds include plats.

Deeds of bargain and sale are the most commonly recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.

Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated.

Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.

Charlottesville (Va.) Deeds, 1888-1917 (bulk 1888-1916) also contain deeds relating to Jefferson Monroe Levy of Monticello.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year, then alphabetically by surname.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Charlottesville (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Estates (Law)--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Land Division--Virginia--Charlottesville

Geographical Names:

• Charlottesville (Va.)--History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Affidavits--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Court Records--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Deeds--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Estate Inventories--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Fiduciary Records--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Land Records--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Local Government Records--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Minutes
• Mortgage Deeds--Virginia--Charlottesville
• Plats
• Wills--Virginia--Charlottesville

Added Entry - Personal Name:

• Levy, Jefferson M. (Jefferson Monroe)