A Guide to the Petersburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1787-1979 (bulk 1833-1912)
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
© 2012 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: L. Jones and S. Bagley
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Petersburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1787-1912 digital images can be found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.
Some post-1912 material has been processed and indexed. That indexed information can be found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia.
Some post-1912 material remains unprocessed. Contact Archives Research Services for availability.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Petersburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1787-1979. (Cite style of suit [and chancery index no. if available]). Local government records collection, Petersburg Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.
Acquisition Information
These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Petersburg (Va.) in 2008 under the accession number 43614 and under an undated accession.
Digital images were generated by Backstage Library Works through the Library of Virginia's Circuit Court Records Preservation Program and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Processing Information
Records from this collection were processed in two separate groups according to accession information. The first batch, under an undated accession, consisted of Chancery Causes from years, 1787 to 1979. Most records from that batch were processed and indexed. The second batch, under accession number 43614, consisted of Chancery Causes from years, 1791-1914. Only records from years, 1791 to 1912 were processed and indexed.
In 2011, the Library of Virginia received a grant of $155,071 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help fund the digitization of pre-1913 records from this collection.
At this time, there are no plans to digitize the 1913-1979 records or process any additional post-1913 records.
Encoded by G. Crawford: 2012; Updated by E. Swain: January 2025.
Historical Information
Context of 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: Petersburg was formed from parts of Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Chesterfield Counties. A garrison and fur trading post called Fort Henry was established there in 1645 on the site of the Indian town Appamattuck. The present name, suggested in 1733 by William Byrd (1674–1744), honors Peter Jones, Byrd’s companion on expeditions into the Virginia backcountry. Petersburg was established in 1748 and incorporated as a town in 1784. In the latter year the towns of Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft were added to Petersburg. It was incorporated as a city in 1850.
Scope and Content
Petersburg (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1787-1979 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.
These records contain one box of "Orphan Chancery." These records contain parts, often single items, of chancery causes which could not be further identified as belonging to a certain case.
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 Petersburg 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."
Selected Suits of Interest
Causes of Interest are identified by local records archivists during processing and indexing. These causes are generally selected based upon guiding principles of having historical, genealogical or sensational significance; however, determining what is "of interest" is subjective, and the individual perspective and experience of the describing archivist will affect the material identified.
Involves a dispute over Davey, alias Davey Smith, a "runaway" enslaved man. Exhibits found in the suit include a notice published in a local newspaper describing Davey's physical appearance, occupation, and his self-emancipation. The suit also contains letters from Benjamin W. B. Jones of Alabama claiming that he was Davey's enslaver.
Jane, emancipated by Edwin Lanier's will, sues the administrator and heirs of Lanier's estate to receive the property and cash bequeathed to her in Lanier's will [see als: 1840-066].
Lanier's administrator and others successfully sued Jane for debts she owed as a consequence of the property she received from her former enslaver. When Jane could not repay the money owed, she was placed in the Petersburg jail. The case details Jane's efforts to win back the freedom she had enjoyed only briefly. Jane's certificate of freedom, is used as an exhibit in the suit [see also: 1834-015].
The suit was filed in the Superior Court of Chancery, Richmond District, and later removed to the Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery in Petersburg. It includes a transcript of the suit filed the Superior Court, Richmond district. The original was destroyed during the Civil War. The suit involves property located in Manchester and Richmond that John Page won in 1756 as part of Byrd's Lottery. Deed for the property was never recorded by the trustee of Byrd's property, Charles Carter of Shirley plantation. The administrator of John Page and Page's descendants sued Carter's descendants to receive title of the property in Manchester and Richmond. The suit includes exhibits listing the individual names of the parties of the suit, from whom they were descended, and their residence if known.
The suit concerns a dispute between the mule and gravity powered Chesterfield Railroad Company and the steam powered Richmond and Danville Railroad Company over access to the Manchester coal yards on the James River opposite Rocketts Landing. The suit includes depositions from numerous individuals associated with both railroad companies, as well as multiple plats showing the rail lines of both companies between the Midlothian mines and the James River.
The plaintiffs ask the court to take over the floundering Virginia Passenger and Power Company in order to protect their financial stake in the business. The suit contains numerous exhibits including plats, minutes from board of directors, and stockholders' meetings.
The suit stems from the unhappiness of the members of First Baptist Church with their pastor Eli Tartt. The plaintiffs wanted the court to remove Tartt as pastor of the church. The church constitution was used as an exhibit in the suit.
A divorce case in which the plaintiff claimed that his wife was impregnated by a person other than himself. A letter from Mrs. Roberts' paramour, living in Idaho at the time, was referred to in a deposition and used as an exhibit.