A Guide to the Cumberland County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1750-1912 (bulk 1830-1912)
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Phone: (804) 692-3888 (Archives Reference)
Fax: (804) 692-3556 (Archives Reference)
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
© 2009 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: G. Crawford, J. Hopewell, and B. Helms
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Cumberland County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1750-1912, 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 on use.
Preferred Citation
Cumberland County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1750-1912 (bulk 1830-1912). (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, Cumberland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
A portion of the collection came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Cumberland County (Va.) in 1942 and 1960 under accession numbers 21981 and 25085, respectively. Additional records were transferred to the library in 2007 under the accession number 43372 and as part of an undated accession.
Processing Information
Chancery Causes 1750-1902 were processed by G. Crawford and J. Hopewell in 2001. Chancery Causes 1852-1912 were processed by B. Helms in 2008.
Digital images were generated by PTFS through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program in 2008.
Encoded by G. Crawford: March 2009; updated by C. Collins: October 2023.
Historical Information
Context for 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: Cumberland County was named for William Augustus, duke of Cumberland, third son of King George II. It was formed from Goochland County in 1749. The county seat is Cumberland.
Scope and Content
Cumberland County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1750-1912, 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.
Commonly found surnames among the plaintiffs and defendants include Allen, Amos, Anderson, Armistead, Austin, Ballow, Barker, Baskerville, Blanton, Boatwright (also spelled Boatright), Booker, Bosher, Bradley, Brown, Bryant, Carrington, Carter, Clarke, Coleman, Cox, Crenshaw, Crowder, Cunningham, Daniel, Davenport, Davis, Deane, Dowdy, Eggleston, Flippen (also spelled Flippin), Ford, Fuqua, Gibson, Gilliam, Glover, Goodman, Gray, Harris, Harrison, Haskins, Hatcher, Hill, Hobson, Holman, Hudgens (also spelled Hudgins), Hughes, Isbell, Johns, Johnson, Jones, Langhorne, Lee, Ligon, Lipscomb (also spelled Lipscombe), Martin, Mayo, McLaurine, Meador, Meredith, Miller, Montague, Page, Palmore, Parker, Parrish, Phillips, Powell, Powers, Price, Raine, Ransone (also spelled Ranson), Reynolds, Richardson, Robertson, Robinson, Sanderson, Scott, Scruggs, Sims, Smith, Spears, Spencer, Stegar (also spelled Steger), Stratton, Swann (also spelled Swan), Talley, Taylor, Thompson, Thornton, Trent, Walker, Walton, Watkins, Wilkinson, Williams, Wilson, Womack, Woodson, and Wright.
These records also contain 1 folder of “Orphan Chancery” which has been processed but not indexed. These records contain parts, often single items, of chancery causes that could not be further identified as belonging to a certain case.
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.
These materials were scanned with the bills, answers, and decrees at the end of the case file.
Related Material
Additional unindexed post-1913 records may be available at the Cumberland County Circuit Court Clerk's Office.
Additional Cumberland County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm.