Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Lunenburg County Chancery Causes, 1743-1921, use digital images found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lunenburg County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1743-1921 (bulk 1887-1913). (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). 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 in 2005 under the accession number 41941.

Processing Information

Backstage Library Services generated digital images from microfilm reels of the collection in 2021 funded by the Circuit Court Records Preservation program.

The majority of Lunenburg County Chancery Causes were processed in the locality by field processors pre-2000. Additional chancery causes found in other court records were processed by Library of Virginia staff in 2008. The records were indexed and added onto the end of the end of the existing series, but not interfiled.

Historical Information

Context of Record type: 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; however, the judge is basing the decision on findings compiled and documented by Commissioners. Chancery causes 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. Chancery causes document the lived experiences of free and enslaved individuals; women; children; people living with physical disabilities or mental health struggles; people living in poverty; defunct institutions and corporate entities; or those that may not have otherwise left traditional written histories.

Locality History: Lunenburg County was named for King George II, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a German possession of England's Hanoverian kings. It was formed from Brunswick County by an act that took effect on 1 May 1746. Part of Lunenburg County was added in 1777. The county seat is Lunenburg.

Scope and Content

Lunenburg County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1743-1921, consists of cases concerning issues of equity brought largely by residents of the county and filed in the circuit court. These cases often involve the following actions: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, disputes regarding contracts, debt, divorce, and business disputes. Other less prevalent issues include freedom suits, permissions to sell property, and disputes concerning trespass. Predominant documents found in these chancery causes include bills (documents the plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, plats, wills, records involving enslaved individuals, business records or vital statistics.

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 Lunenburg 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 also: "A Guide to the Lunenburg County (Va.) Beasley Jones and Wood Slave Trade Account Book, 1835-1851." An exhibit in the Lunenburg Chancery Cause 1860-026.

Adjunct Descriptive Data