Chancery Records Index Project Information
CHANCERY RECORDS PROJECT OVERVIEW
A few years after the creation of the Circuit Court Records Preservation (CCRP) program in March 1990, staff members identified chancery causes as a priority record group for processing and reformatting given their extensive historical value. The team developed an indexing and organizational scheme focused on surnames of the primary parties. In this early phase of the project, the collections were flat-filed, indexed, and microfilmed for public access at the Library of Virginia, the circuit court clerk’s offices, and through nationwide interlibrary loan.
The Chancery Records Index (CRI) went live in late 2000 giving anyone with access to an internet connection the ability to search the database. Technology and its cost continued to improve over the subsequent years, so that by January 2004, Library staff made the decision to transition from microfilming to digitizing chancery causes in order to make the records more accessible to researchers.
By October 2010, the CRI contained 5 million chancery images for 47 localities. The digital project continued apace despite fluctuations in the real estate market that impacted the $1.50 fee on land transactions which funds the CCRP.
With input from Virginia Circuit Court Clerks Association (VCCCA), in July 2020, the Virginia General Assembly amended the Code of Virginia to increase the circuit court recording fees for land records to $3.50. A portion of these increased funds have kept the digital chancery project growing so that, to date, the CRI contains over 13 million images from 100 localities.
THE RECORDS
Chancery Causes
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a chancery cause is a case of equity where “Justice is administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law.” In layman’s terms, a chancery case was one that could not be readily decided by existing written laws. A judge, not a jury, determines the outcome of the case. Cases in chancery often address estate and business disputes, debt, the resolution of land disputes, and divorce.
CHANCERY PROCESS
As a legal tool, chancery causes follow a general process. The specific document types move the action of the case forward and provide a standard for the type of information found in the records. However, each chancery cause is unique. From simple and straight forward to massive and complicated, each case was influenced by the issues at hand and the parties involved. So while this basic process is the standard progression, be aware that cases may have their own quirks.
Records found in a Chancery Cause
The three fundamental pieces of a chancery cause are:
Bill
Sometimes called a Bill of Complaint or a Bill of Injunction.
This first step in instituting a chancery cause outlines the complaint of the plaintiff (also referred to as the complainant or the orator/oratrix) against the defendant.
Example language:
To the worshipful court of (name of locality) sitting in Chancery: humbly complaining show to the court your orator...
Answer
An answer may also be called a Demurrer.
The answer is the defendant’s response to the complaint in the Bill; it may deny all of the allegations, take exceptions to some, or otherwise explain the actions of the defendant.
The defendant can choose not to file an answer, in which case the Bill is "taken for confessed."
Example language:
The answer of ____________ to a Bill in Chancery exhibited against himself by …
Final Decree
The final decree it the judge’s final decision on the case. This usually marks the last direction for acitivity in the case. Some cases may be reopened after the final decree.
Example of language :
This cause came on this day to be finally heard...
final decree
... it is ordered that this case be stricken from the docket.
Additional records that may be contained in a chancery cause are:
Proceedings
The proceedings, sometimes referred to as the docket or docketing information, lists the plaintiff’s and defendant’s names (commonly referred to as style of suit), and the dates of court actions including the filing of the bill, answer and final decree.
The proceedings sheet may be used as a wrapper for the other documents in the case. In some cases, the proceedings are written on the back of the bill and then that document is wrapped around the others.
Decrees
Decrees are regular decisions made by judge during the life of the chancery suit. These decisions generally direct further proceedings in the case.
Example of language:
This cause came on this day to be heard...
Deposition
A deposition is the testimony of a subpoenaed witness given upon questioning, but not in open court.
Example of language:
taken before me _______, [commissioner, justice of the peace, etc.] in chancery of the Circuit Court for ....
To be read as evidence on behalf of_______ in a certain suit
The witness ______ being dully sworn
Affidavit
A voluntary statement of facts given by a subpoenaed witness without questioning.
Example Language:
...do certify that _______ personally appeared before me in my county and state and made oath...
Affiant also states...
...prepared to make affidavit
Plat
A plat is a map drawing of a specific area showing its features, including lots, boundaries, and roads.
Wills
A document created by an individual to direct who will receive their property (objects or land) following their death
Example Language:
...my last will and testament
I leave and bequeath...
Commissioner’s Report
The findings and recommendations of the commissioners, which can be filed before or after the final decree.
Usually contains accounting and other financial information including balances, payments, divisions of the estate, and assessments of value.
Subpoena
An order for an individual to appear at a certain time and place to give testimony.
Often abbreviated as spa or sub.
Example of Language:
You are hereby commanded to summon....
....to answer a certain bill in chancery exhibited against _______
Petitions
a) A request made by individual(s) to be made a party plaintiff or party defendant to an ongoing chancery suit.
b) A request made to the chancery court by individual(s) to issue a ruling on a matter of equity. Typically there is not a defendant. Also referred to as an ex parte petition.
c) A request made to the chancery court by individual(s) who are not party plaintiffs or defendants to issue a ruling on their behalf in an ongoing chancery suit.
Additional Documents
- Broadsides: sizable sheet of paper printed on one or both sides, typically, in chancery, these advertise an auction or sale
- Contracts: An agreement between two or more partied creating obligations that are legally enforceable
- Agreements
- Bills of sale
- Leases
- mortgages
- Correspondence: Personal or official letters exchanging information
- Deeds: There are various types of deeds. Generally, a deed is a written document that is signed and sealed and conveys some interest in property
- Drawings/ Specifications: Architectural or structural drawings or detailed written descriptions of buildings, dams, bridges, or other infrastructure
- Genealogy Charts: A visual tables, graphs, or diagrams depicting relationships within a family
- Land Patents/ Land Grants: A document conferring title to land but the Crown before 1775 (patent) or by the Governor after 1779 (grant)
- Land Surveys: Description of property that does not include plat/ map
- Marriage Documents: A document that records legal components or agreements as a result of a marriage
- Marriage Licenses
- Marriage Articles
- Marriage Contracts
- Marriage Bonds
- Maps: A more general visual geographic representation than a plat
- Newspapers: For chancery this is generally same clippings concerning notices of action in a cause printed in the newspaper
- Notices: a written or printed announcement
- Photographs: This includes historic mediums such as glass plates and tintypes, in addition to photographic prints
- Receipts: a written acknowledgement that something has been received
Court Information
The earliest extant Virginia court records are those of the county courts. The end of primogeniture in Virginia in 1786 and the creation of general inheritance laws caused an increase in chancery cases; as a result, additional courts were created in which cases could be heard, including District Courts (1789–1808), Superior Courts of Chancery (1802–1831), Circuit Superior Courts of Law and Chancery (1831–1851), and Circuit Courts (1852–present).
Prior to 1832, chancery cases are generally found in the county court and the Superior Court of Chancery. After its formation in 1831, the Superior Court of Law and Chancery heard the majority of the chancery cases, although some were still heard in the county court. With the creation of the Circuit Court in 1852, chancery cases were heard in that court and in the county court up to 1870. After 1870, chancery cases were heard exclusively in the circuit court. For information, consult Thomas J. Headlee, The Virginia State Court System (1969).
THE PROCESS
Processing
The majority of original chancery records come to the Library of Virginia as tri-folded records due to the standard of woodruff drawer storage for much of the 19th and early 20th century. These original records are often in poor condition, so each piece of paper in a case is flattened, fasteners removed, and tares mended to standardize the material and preparing the records for digital reformatting. This laborious process is undertaken so that the best quality images can be captured in one effort. The original records are transferred to secure, climate-controlled storage at the State Records Center, or returned to the locality if desire by the Clerk of the Court.
Indexing
Once a chancery cause is processed, placed in a labeled folder, and returned to it's box, the folder information is entered into Chancery Indexing Project Systems (CHIPS). The data that is entered into this system populates the fields in the public Chancery Records Index.
Conservation
During processing, archivists remove metal fasteners such as staples, pins, and paperclips. Archivists repair tears with heat set tissue in order to stabilize the document. When able, archivists also remove rubber band residue, dirt, coal dust, and other things that may harm the document. More severe conservation issues like mold, water damage, adhesives, and extensive damage are sent to the Library's conservator for professional treatment.
Digitization
The reformatted images—whether digital scans or microfilm—can be viewed at the Library of Virginia, at the circuit court clerk's office, or, in the case of digital images, from any internet connected computer. The indexed but-not-yet-reformatted original records in the Library's care can be viewed in the Archives Research Room prior to reformatting. During reformatting, some or all of the original records may be unavailable for viewing; however, the full index will remain available for research purposes.
Additional Resources
The traditional method of finding chancery cases is through the county or city order or minute books. There is usually an index by plaintiff in the front (but sometimes in the back) of each volume. For some counties, there are cumulative indices to order books. There are no subject indices for chancery causes.
Using order books, the researcher follows the case until the court issued its final decree. With this ended date, the researcher may then search the loose papers for the case, if they survive.