Sherri Bagley – The UncommonWealth

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Freedom’s Inherited Rights: A Richmond City Chancery Cause

The chancery cause of Arthur Brown vs. Rachel Goode, et al. (1872-113) was a dispute presented to the Richmond City Hustings Court. The suit revolved…

Sherri BagleyMay 6, 2026

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Location is Everything

Location, location, location. Most people associate the word “location” with real estate based on the common belief that it has a direct influence on a…

Sherri BagleySeptember 3, 2025

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The Wrong Deed

A common refrain in real estate is location, location, location. Sometimes however, the name is just as important, especially if the divine is involved. Such…

Sherri BagleyJuly 10, 2024

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A Deed Undone

If only the dead could talk! This paradoxical statement proved sadly appropriate in the early 19th century. Enslaved people faced undue hardship from those who…

Sherri BagleyJuly 13, 2022

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Out of Character: A Middlesex County Divorce Suit

Inviting a man of the cloth to live in your home seems like it should be a good idea. You might expect a resident clergyman…

Sherri BagleyJuly 24, 2019

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Big Top or Crops?

Traveling circuses, with their daring performers and ferocious animals, drew considerable crowds in the 19th century. The incredible feats of courage exhilarated the minds of…

Sherri BagleyMay 15, 2019

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A Will without a Way: An Amherst County Freedom Suit

Sometimes a will is not worth the paper it’s written on. Too often, people go through the trouble of creating a formal last will and…

Sherri BagleyJune 20, 2018

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Collateral Damage: An Elizabeth City County Debt Case

Debt collateral usually consists of something prized by both parties. As a temporary form of payment, something of value is offered to hold or use…

Sherri BagleyJanuary 31, 2018

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A Modern Day Soap Opera in the 19th Century

Some things in life never change. Seasons, hunger, sleep, and calamity are constants which prove that the world repeats itself. Relationships are no different. For…

Sherri BagleyMarch 16, 2016

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A Disregard of Freedom: Burwell versus Pilson’s Administrators

What does it mean to be free? Some might define freedom as having no obligations to a particular thing or person. A free person cannot…

Sherri BagleyDecember 2, 2015

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If The Dead Could Talk: A Patrick County Estate Dispute

In 1999, the horror film The Sixth Sense introduced the iconic phrase, “I see dead people,” into pop culture. The film followed the progression from a young…

Sherri BagleyOctober 14, 2015

Archives Digital Projects

Education Is A Virtue: Patrick County Chancery Causes

A lack of education and a trusting heart caused many minorities to lose their property in the early 20th century. A perfect example is the case…

Sherri BagleyJuly 15, 2015

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African American Land Ownership and Loss

Prior to the abolishment of slavery, the idea of landownership was an impossible dream for most African Americans, but in the years following the Civil…

Sherri BagleyApril 9, 2014

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Georgia on my Mind

One day in 1898, A.M. Scales definitely did not have Georgia on his mind. While processing the Patrick County chancery records, I discovered a divorce case, Georgia L.…

Sherri BagleySeptember 25, 2013

Archives Digital Projects

Prince George Co. Chancery Now Online!

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images from the Prince George County chancery causes digitization project are now available on the Chancery…

Sherri BagleyFebruary 8, 2013