Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Floyd County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1828-1916, 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

Floyd County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1828-1916 (bulk 1860-1900). (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, Floyd County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Processing Information

Floyd County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1828-1916, never came to the Library of Virginia. They were processed in the field by field processors between 1990 and 1999, and were sent for digitization from the locality.

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

Encoded by G. Crawford: July 2019; updated by C. Collins: November 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: Floyd County was named for John Floyd, governor of Virginia from 1830 to 1834. It was formed from Montgomery County in 1831, and part of Franklin County was added in 1873. The county seat is Floyd.

Scope and Content

Floyd County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1828-1916, 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 Agnew, Akers, Alderman, Altizer, Basham, Bishop, Booth (also spelled Boothe), Bower, Burnett, Cannaday, Carter, Conner, Cox, Dickerson, Dobyns, Duncan, Epperly, Graham, Gray, Guarrant (also spelled Guerrant), Hall, Harman, Harris, Headen, Helms, Howard, Howell, Huff, Hylton, Jett, Jones, Kitterman, Lawrence, Lester, Martin, McAlexander, Moore, Payne, Phillips, Poff, Quesenberry, Reed, Ross, Scott, Shelor, Shelton, Simmons, Slusher, Smith, Sowder, Sowers, Spangler, Stuart, Sutphin, Swinney, Thomas, Thompson, Underwood, Vest, Wade, Walters, Weddle, Weeks, Williams, Willis, Wilson, and Young.

Howard Willis & Co. is involved in 9 suits between 1880 and 1890; the Peoples Bank of Floyd County is involved in 10 suits between 1901 and 1912; and the New York & Virginia Copper Co. is involved in 19 suits between 1906 and 1913.

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 Floyd 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

Original Floyd County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1828-1916, are retained in the locality. Contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court for access.