Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Patrons are to use digital images of Wise County (Va.) Chancery Causes found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Preferred Citation

Wise County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1855-1912 (bulk 1857-1912). (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, Wise County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Digital images were generated by Backstage Library Works 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.

Wise County was named for Henry Alexander Wise, governor of Virginia from 1856 to 1860. It was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties.

Scope and Content

Wise County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1855-1912 (bulk 1857-1912), 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'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 cases 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.

Related Material

See the Chancery Records Index found on the Library of Virginia web site for the chancery records of other Virginia localities.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Wise County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

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

Geographical Names:

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

Genre and Form Terms:

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data