Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Chancery Causes 1883-1913 use digital images found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.

Two chancery causes that ended in 1914 and 1921 are unprocessed. Two chancery causes that ended in 1925 and 1931 are processed, but indexed information and digital images are not available at this time. Contact Archives Research Services for availability.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on use.

Preferred Citation

Dickenson County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1883-1931 (bulk 1900-1913). (Cite style of suit [and chancery index no. if available]). Local government records collection, Dickenson County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Dickenson County (Va.) in 2016 under the accession number 51739.

Processing Information

Chancery Causes 1883-1913 were processed by V. Brooks and completed in 2017. Currently, there are no plans to fully process and index the 1914-1931 records.

Digital images were generated by Backstage Library Works through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program in 2018.

Encoded by G. Crawford: April 2019; 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: Dickenson County was named for William J. Dickenson, delegate to the General Assembly from Russell County in 1880 when Dickenson County was formed from Russell, Wise, and Buchanan Counties. The county seat is Clintwood.

Scope and Content

Dickenson County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1883-1931, 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.

The chancery causes are mostly comprised of debt suits, many of which ended between 1890 and 1910, and divorce suits, which primarily ended between 1890 and 1912. Frequently occurring topics of interest include property, women, and social conventions.

Commonly found surnames among the plaintiffs and defendants include Anderson, Colley, Counts, Damron, Davis, Dotson, Fleming, Hall, Hawkins, Hill, Kiser, Mullins, Owens, Phipps, Powers, Rasnick, Rose, Smith, Stanley, Sutherland, Vanover, Viers, and Wright. Between 1905 and 1911, the Clinchfield Coal Company was the plaintiff in eight chancery causes and the primary defendant in three chancery causes.

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.)

Two chancery causes that ended in 1914 and 1921 are unprocessed. Contact Archives Research Services for availability.

Related Material

Additional Dickenson 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.

Adjunct Descriptive Data