Chancery Records Index

The Chancery Records Index (CRI) is a digital collection consisting of Chancery Causes from counties and municipalities across the commonwealth of Virginia. A chancery cause is an issue of equity where a judge, not a jury, decides an issue based upon fairness and not necessarily the letter of the law. Chancery causes are useful for all manner of research, including genealogical and local history, because the records rely so heavily on testimony from witnesses. These records therefore offer a unique glimpse into the lives of Virginians from various classes and cultures starting in the early 18th century through the First World War.

Each of Virginia's circuit courts produced chancery records, with the CRI containing scanned images or indexed information from over 100 of the state’s 133 localities. While many localities contain chancery records through the 20^th century, the current focus of the CRI is to capture as complete a record as possible of pre-1913 chancery causes from across the state.