Chancery order books, 1812-1902

Notes

Some pages may be damaged or missing.

The Superior Court of Chancery for Winchester district was established in 1812. The district covered the counties of Frederick, Hardy, Hampshire, Shenandoah, Berkeley, and Jefferson. The counties of Morgan and Loudoun were added later. In 1831 the court was replaced with the Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery for each county. The records of the Superior Court of Chancery stayed with Frederick County. The Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery was replaced in 1851 by the Circuit Court.

For these cases the courts sat in chancery which meant it acted as a court of equity. Equity law is a body of legal and procedural rules and doctrines which supplement or override common and statute law to protect rights and enforce duties defined or fixed by substantive law. The courts usually dealt with cases which did not need a jury, such as divorces or foreclosures.

Most volumes are individually indexed. Includes a partial general index.

Microfilm of original records at the Frederick County Courthouse in Winchester, Virginia.

Subjects

Locality Subjects

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