Chancery Causes – Page 2 – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Build a Better Mousetrap, They Say: A Patent Drawing Sparks Curiosity

Many times, in the course of our work processing local government records, we run across something interesting that sends us down the proverbial rabbit hole.…

Vince BrooksMarch 6, 2023

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The “art and mystery of [Black] cabinetmaking”

In 1832, seventeen men were brought to the Richmond City Hustings Court with a unique charge. These men were cabinetmakers. They had united themselves illegally…

Lydia NeurothSeptember 28, 2022

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Syphilis, Steamboats, and Scientific Evidence: A Lancaster County Divorce Suit

When you hear about a case that hinges on “medical evidence,” what is the first image that pops into your head? It’s probably something serious…

McKenzie LongAugust 3, 2022

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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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Updated Page County Chancery, 1831-1867, Available Now in the Chancery Records Index

This northern Shenandoah Valley county is named for John Page, Governor of Virginia from 1802-1805. Land from Rockingham and Shenandoah counties created the county in…

Callie FreedJanuary 19, 2022

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Church Divided Cannot Stand: A Loudoun County Chancery Cause

From its exterior, the Leesburg United Methodist Church, Loudoun County, Virginia, appears to be like any other church building scattered across the country. However, a…

Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemNovember 17, 2021

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What’s Owed Lucy Wilson: A King and Queen County Chancery Cause

Lucy began her life in enslavement. The daughter of her enslaver, Edmund Littlepage, and enslaved mother Sophia Littlepage, Lucy lived on her father’s plantation in…

Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemOctober 6, 2021

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The Last Vestiges of Hope

Several of my colleagues have shared the personal stories of enslaved individuals over the past nine years as we work our way through processing and…

Callie FreedOctober 4, 2021

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A Marriage Divided: The Post-Civil War Divorce of Sarah and George Field

"I hate secession and all its hateful helpers. Cursed be the hand that raised its bloody flag to make desolate homes and wretched women,” wrote…

McKenzie LongSeptember 22, 2021

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“In the way that all slaves were married”: The Legal Legacy of Unjust Laws

To what lengths would you go to prove your identity if you had no documentation? One formerly enslaved woman was able to do so 150…

Tracy HarterAugust 11, 2021

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Short Stories from the Updated Hanover County Chancery Causes, 1831-1868.

For Local Records staff at the Library of Virginia, one of the few positive effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic has been the ability to…

Callie FreedJanuary 20, 2021

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Alien Lands: Land Ownership and Inheritance Laws for Immigrants in Virginia

“Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a colony of aliens who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of Anglify…

Vince BrooksNovember 18, 2020

Archives Digital Projects

Westmoreland County (Va.) Chancery Causes are now available online!

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images for the Westmoreland County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1753-1901, are now available online through the Chancery…

Greg CrawfordMay 20, 2020

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Chancery Causes for Lynchburg and More!

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the addition of the city of Lynchburg Chancery Causes, 1805-1827, to the Chancery Records Index. The collection…

Greg CrawfordOctober 9, 2019

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Money Money Money: Running Up Student Debts in Brunswick County

The start of August brings with it the excitement and anticipation of numerous young men and women as they prepare for their first year in…

Tracy HarterAugust 7, 2019