Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Smyth County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1833-1913 use digital images found on the Chancery Records Index available electronically at the website of the Library of Virginia. Please use digital images.

Use Restrictions

No restrictions on use.

Preferred Citation

Smyth County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1833-1913. (Cite style of suit and chancery index no.). Local government records collection, Smyth County 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 Smyth County (Va.) in 2004 under the accession number 40994.

Processing Information

Processed by LVA staff prior to 2019.

Encoded by G. Crawford: 2019; updated by E. Swain: July 2024

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: Smyth County was named for Alexander Smyth, a former congressman from Virginia who died in 1830 while efforts were underway to create the county. The county was formed in 1832 from Washington and Wythe Counties The county seat is Marion.

Scope and Content

Smyth County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1833-1913, 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.

Related Material

Additional Smyth County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Adjunct Descriptive Data