A Guide to the Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-1912 Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-1912 Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-001-1912-050

A Guide to the Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-1912

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Chancery Records Index: Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-001-1912-050


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Processed by: Library of Virginia staff

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Chancery Records Index
Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-001-1912-050
Title
Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-1912
Physical Characteristics
Digital images
Collector
Roanoke County (Va.) Circuit Court
Location
Library of Virginia
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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

Preferred Citation

Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-1912. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local Government Records Collection, Roanoke 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.

Roanoke County was named for the Roanoke River, which in turn was derived from the English colonists' misunderstanding of the Indian word for the shell beads worn as personal adornment or used for trade. The county was formed from Botetourt County in 1838, and part of Montgomery County was added in 1849. The county courthouse is in the city of Salem, and the administrative offices are in the county.

Scope and Content

Roanoke County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1839-1912, 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.

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 Roanoke County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

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

Index Terms

    Corporate Names:

  • Roanoke County (Va.) Circuit Court.
  • Subjects:

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

  • Roanoke County(Va.)--Genealogy.
  • Roanoke County(Va.)--History.
  • Genre and Form Terms:

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

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

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

Selected Suits of Interest

1880-044: Fanny R. Johnston, etc. vs. Exr. of Nathaniel Burwell, etc.:

Burwell was accused of selling or hiring out his wife Lucy's slaves she inherited from her father Charles Carter of Shirley Plantation for his (Burwell's) own benefit which was to buy land in Roanoke County. According to the marriage contract, any profits from sale of Lucy's slaves were to remain with her dower. There is a reference to a pamphlet written by Nimrod Hughes who claimed the world was going to end in 1812. It created quite a stir in southwest Virginia. Hughes claimed the prophecy had not entirely failed. On June 4, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain and Napoleon invaded Russia. The prophecy did some good. Burwell's brother testified that he became a Christian because of the prophecy. The prophecy was used to date when Nathaniel Burwell travelled to Richmond from Roanoke to get money to purchase the Dropmore estate. Fanny Johnston was the daughter of Frederick and Nancy C. Johnston who was daughter of Nathaniel and Lucy Burwell.

1890-019: N.B. Dillard, etc. vs. John B. Baskerville and wife:

Suit involved a dispute over a cemetery.

1901-002: R.B. Griggs vs. Town of Vinton, etc.:

An eminent domain suit. The town of Vinton took a portion of Grigg's property to build a smallpox hospital without Vinton's permission.

1903-012: Andrew Willis etc vs. Robert L Hopkins:

Hopkins was accused of desecrating land set aside as a colored cemetery and forbade people to use it.