Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2007 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Library of Virginia staff
There are no restrictions.
Patrons are to use digital images of Shenandoah CountyChancery Causes found on the the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.
Shenandoah County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1772-1927. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no). Local government records collection, Shenandoah County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Digital images were generated by Crowley Micrographics through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program.
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.
Shenandoah County was named for the Shenandoah River, which passed through the county. Shenandoah is an Indian word meaning beautiful daughter of the stars. The county was named Dunmore when it was formed from Frederick County in 1772. The present name was adopted in 1778.
Shenandoah County(Va.) Chancery Causes, 1772-1927, are indexed into the the Chancery Records Index . Cases are identified by style of suit consisting of plaintiff and defendant names. Surnames of others involved in a suit, including secondary plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, deponents and affiants, and family members with surnames different from the plaintiff or defendant are indexed. Chancery causes often involved the following: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, divorces, debt, and business disputes. Predominant documents found in chancery causes include bills (plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, wills, slave records, business records or vital statistics, among other items. Plats, if present, are noted, as are wills from localities with an incomplete record of wills or localities other than the one being indexed.
Chancery cases 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.
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.
Additional Shenandoah 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 the Chancery Records Index to find the chancery records of additional Virginia localities.