Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lunenburg County (Va.) Wills, 1743-1928. Local government records collection, Lunenburg County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in transfer of court papers from Lunenburg County under the accession number 42852.

Historical Information

Lunenburg County was formed in 1745 from Brunswick County. Part of Charlotte County was added in 1777.

Individuals dying with a written will died testate. After the death of an individual, his or her will was brought into court, where two of the subscribing witnesses swore that the document was genuine. After the will was proved, the executor was bonded to carry out his or her duties to settle the estate. The court then ordered the will to be recorded.

Scope and Content

Lunenburg County (Va.) Wills, 1743-1928, record the deceased's plan for how his or her estate was to be divided among his or her heirs following his or her death. Information commonly recorded in wills include the name of the deceased, also referred as the testator; names of heirs; a listing of real and personal property (including slaves) and how it was to be divided among the heirs; names of individuals who were to be the will's executors; the date will was written; and the date will was recorded at the court house.

Additional record types found in this collection include fiduciary records (inventories and accounts) and marriage lists. They were recorded in the Lunenburg County will books from 1760 to 1851. The collection also includes wills not recorded in will books.

Arrangement

Organized by date recorded in will books.

Related Material

Lunenburg County Will Books can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Lunenburg County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans -- History.
• Estates (Law) -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Land subdivision -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Slaves -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.

Geographical Names:

• Lunenburg County -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Estate inventories -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Fiduciary records -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Marriage records -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Probate accounts -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.
• Wills -- Virginia -- Lunenburg County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data