Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Nansemond County (Va.) Deeds, 1734-1962 (bulk 1882-1928). Local government records collection, Suffolk (City)/Nansemond 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 the city of Suffolk.

Historical Information

The City of Suffolk was located in Nansemond County, which is now extinct. It probably was named for the county of Suffolk in England. Established in 1742 on the site of John Constant's warehouse, Suffolk was incorporated as a town in 1808 and as a city by court order in 1910. In 1974 the city was enlarged when it merged with the former county of Nansemond.

Nansemond County was named for the Nansemond Indians, who lived in the area in the early seventeenth century. The word nansemond means fishing point or angle. When first established in 1637, the county was known as Upper Norfolk, but the name Nansemond was adopted in 1646. The county seat was Suffolk. The county became the independent city of Nansemond in July 1972, and on 1 January 1974 Nansemond merged with the city of Suffolk.

Nansemond County court records were destroyed in three separate fires: the earliest consumed the house of the court clerk in April 1734 (where the records were kept at that time), the second was set by British troops in 1779, and the last occurred on 7 February 1866.

Scope and Content

Nansemond County (Va.) Deeds, 1734-1962 (bulk 1882-1928) consist of deeds of bargain and sale, deeds of gift, mortgages, deeds of trust, and deeds of emancipation. On presentation to the court, deeds were proved and recorded. If the deed was not witnessed, the grantor acknowledged the deed in open court. A few of the deeds include plats. Except for a few years early in the eighteenth century, slaves in Virginia were considered personal property and consequently were not usually sold by deed. However, they were often transferred in deeds of gift or were the property listed in mortgages and deeds of trust.

Deeds of bargain and sale are the most commonly recorded deed in which one individual sells property, usually land, but occasionally personal property, to another individual. Such deeds show the names of the grantor and grantee, the residence of both parties, a description of what is being sold, the consideration (or price), the location of the tract of land, the tract's boundaries, and any limitations on the property being sold. The deed was signed by the grantor, and possibly his wife or anyone else having a claim to the property, and by at least two witnesses. Appended to the deed may be a memorandum of livery of seisin, stating that the property has changed hands and that peaceful possession has taken place.

Deeds of gift are often found transferring property, either real or personal, from one individual to another "for love and affection." The degree of kinship, if any, between the grantor and grantee is sometimes stated.

Mortgages and deeds of trust were deeds where one party is indebted to another and transfers or mortgages property to a third party to secure the debt.

The collection may include additional record types that were recorded in deed books such as officials' bonds, fiduciary records, marriage records, road and bridge records, and bills of sale of property including slaves.

Arrangement

Chronological

Related Material

Deed Books and Indices to Deeds for Nansemond County can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Additional Nansemond County Land Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Nansemond County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Nansemond 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:

• Suffolk (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• African Americans -- History
• Land subdivision -- Virginia -- Nansemond County
• Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Nansemond County
• Slavery -- Virginia -- Nansemond County
• Slaves -- Virginia -- Nansemond County

Geographical Names:

• Nansemond County (Va.) -- History
• Suffolk (Va.) -- History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Deeds -- Virginia -- Nansemond County
• Land records -- Virginia -- Nansemond County
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Nansemond County
• Mortgage deeds -- Virginia -- Nansemond County

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Nansemond County (Va.) Circuit Court

Adjunct Descriptive Data