Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Prince George County (Va.) Wills, 1795-1959 (bulk 1868-1959), Local government records collection, Prince George County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Prince George County under the accession number 44500.

Historical Information

Prince George County was named for Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne of England. It was formed from Charles City County in 1702.

Most court records were destroyed in 1782 by British troops during the Revolutionary War and again in 1864 by Union troops during the Civil War. A few volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

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

Prince George County (Va.) Wills, 1795-1959 (bulk 1868-1959), 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.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

Additional Prince George County Will Books can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Prince George County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Prince George County Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection available at Virginia Memory.

For more information and a listing of lost records localities see Lost Records research note .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Prince George County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• African Americans--History
• Estates (Law)--Virginia--Prince George County
• Land subdivision--Virginia--Prince George County
• Slaveholders--Virginia--Prince George County
• Slaves--Virginia--Prince George County

Geographical Names:

• Prince George County--History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Prince George County
• Wills--Virginia--Prince George County

Adjunct Descriptive Data