Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Accomack County (Va.) Deeds, 1701-1838 (bulk 1737-1820). Local Government Records Collection, Accomack 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 Accomack County.

Historical Information

Accomack County was named for the Accomac Indians, who lived on the eastern Shore at the time of the first English settlement in Virginia. One of the original eight shires established in 1634, Accomac County (spelled without a k) became Northampton County in 1643. The present county was formed from Northampton in 1663. In 1940 the General Assembly adopted the county's present spelling.

Scope and Content

Accomack County (Va.) Deeds, 1701-1838 (bulk 1737-1820) predominantly consist of deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, and deeds of trust. 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.

The collection also includes deeds of emancipation and manumission, bills of sale related to transactions of enslaved people, certificates of importation of enslaved people, and apprenticeship indentures involving free people of color.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

Deed Books and Indices to Deeds for Accomack County can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm

Additional Accomack County Land Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm

Digital images for deeds of emancipation and manumission, bills of sale related to transactions of enslaved people, certificates of importation of enslaved people, and apprenticeship indentures involving free people of color are available on the Virginia Untold: the African American Narrative web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Accomack County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• African American--History
• Land subdivision--Virginia-Accomack County
• Slaveholders--Virginia--Accomack County
• Slavery--Virginia--Accomack County
• Slaves--Virginia--Accomack County

Geographical Names:

• Accomack County (Va.)--History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Deeds--Virginia--Accomack County
• Land records--Virginia--Accomack County
• Local government records--Virginia--Accomack County
• Mortgage deeds--Virginia--Accomack County

Adjunct Descriptive Data