The suits contains the will of Robert Beverley, Senior of Essex County. Beverly was a Virginian planter and owner of "Blandfield Plantation." In his will, Beverly freed Harry, his enslaved personal attendant after the death of Maria, Beverly's wife. He also directed that if Maria thought it "proper," then Editha, Harry's wife, should also be freed.

The suit is about a contract for substitute militia service and also discusses some generalities about the War of 1812.

William Jarrett was accused of murder by a coroner's inquest and fled the county. The coroner took posseession of Jarrett's property due to Virginia law. James P. Sims initiated the suit after the coroner took possession of Jarrett's property and sued for the title to land he previously purchased from Jarrett.

The suit referenced Mary Clark, who had boarded with William Davis and raised several enslaved youth for him.

Moses and the other plaintiffs were enslaved by John Stockdell. Stockdell's will called for the plaintiffs to be turned over to the American Colonization Society for transport to Liberia, with funds for passage provided by the estate. The executors of the will, however, continued to rent out Moses and the other plaintiffs despite no debts being owed by the estate. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Full list of plantiffs include: Peter, Jack, Harry, Walker, Robin, Simon, Joe, Ben, Thornton, Cesar, William, Braxton, Agga, Fanny, Anna, Barbara, Nelly, Lucinda, Mary, Maria, Frances, Silas, Monroe, Tabby, Edmund, Susan, Ambrose, Winn, John, Lewis, and Sarah

The suit included an extensive genealogical chart describing the familial relationships of the Clark family.

Hill and Taylor were business partners engaged in the slave trade, buying enslaved people in Virginia for the purposes of selling the enslaved people further south, specifically in Mississippi and Louisiana. After the partnership dissolved, Hill sued Taylor to recover his fair share of the profits. Hill asked the court to perform an audit of all the partnership's transactions from the time of its commencement to its dissolution. Included in the suit are lists containing the names of hundreds of enslaved people bought in Virginia and sold down south between 1830 to 1843. The lists record the names of enslaved people, the purchase price in Virginia, the sale price in Mississippi and Louisiana, the date of sale, and the names of the buyers.

The suit concerns the will of Rhoda Carpenter, a woman they believe to be under "fanatical influence of Shakers [sect]" who renounced her inheritance of an enslaved person from Thomas Shirley.

Jacob G. Weast found a substitute for Benjamin Burton in the Confederate Army ca. 1861 and was promised 500 dollars in three payments. Weast collected one payment before Burton died. Weast and Edwin P. Rosson, the co-plaintiff, sued for the remainder. The administrator contended that the debt was invalid because it concerned service for the Confederate States of America, and the only true government of Virginia was the Restored Government now back in place in Richmond. The argument failed; the court ruled in favor of Weast and Rosson.

The suit is concerned with the settlement of Charles Hume's estate. Hume died in 1860 and provided for Charles and Hay Taliaferro, two elderly enslaved men, in his will. Charles died before or shortly after Hume. There was dissent between Hay and Hume's executors as to the contents of an agreement developed between Hay and the executors regarding Hay's care and maintenance. Hay, a petitioner to the suit, claimed to have been duped by the executors into signing an agreement that was not to his benefit. A decree from the Supreme Court of Appeals in the suit seemed to imply that Hay has no standing in the suit since he was freed at the end of the Civil War.

The suit began in 1840's and continued to early 20th century. The suit contained extensive genealogical information about the Shirley family as well as the people enslaved by the family. Also included is a letterhead depicting a political cartoon relative to the 1844 Presidential race.