County of norfolk virginia land records

However, there are no surviving records of the proceedings. In , monthly courts were formed, and the president and council only heard appeals from those courts and major cases. In , this court became the General Court. During this time, the high court of chancery and the district courts were established. General Court judges also presided over district courts established in , which heard appeals from common law cases in the county.

Virginia County History and Listings

The General Court was abolished by the state constitution, and its functions were transferred to the state supreme court of appeals. There has been no other court of final appeals since the abolishment of the General Court in Since the state supreme court of appeals was created in , it has had final jurisdiction in all civil cases. The Superior Courts of Chancery replaced this court in In , three more districts were formed: Wythe County, Winchester, and Clarksburg. Greenbrier County and Lynchburg were established in The district courts were held in the same location two times per year.

In, the superior courts of law replaced the district courts. A general court judge rode a circuit throughout his district to hold court, so it was also known as the circuit court. The circuit superior courts of law and chancery took over this role in They assumed the roles of the superior courts of law and the superior courts of chancery.

Norfolk va land records

These courts were abolished by the state constitution in and replaced by the circuit courts. Since when county court provisions were eliminated, the Circuit Courts have been the only court of record in Virginia. The Library of Virginia keeps original court records. The state library and the Virginia FHL both hold microfilmed copies of records before Many abstracts of early court records are being published. Original documents are always the most reliable, but they are not always in the best condition.

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In the case of lost or damaged originals, printed transcripts can be helpful, as long as the researcher recognizes the limitations of such sources. The largest collections of printed manuscripts are at the FHL and Library of Virginia, but other libraries have smaller collections. The original charter given to the Virginia Company included provisions for land grants. These grants were given to planters settlers and adventurers investors. In , revisions were made, specifying that all lands were to be held in common for seven years.

After that time period, planters received 50 acres and investors received acres. By , planters who were especially industrious were rewarded with three acre plots. The success of tobacco led many planters to include it in their fields. When the charter was reorganized in , four boroughs were established with designated public land in each. Land within each borough could be granted by the governor and council. One copy of each patent was retained for company records, and another copy was made and given as proof of title to the grantee. In , when Virginia became a royal colony, it was governed by crown-appointed governors.

It took many years for the Privy Council to give him the power to do so, but in grants totaling millions of acres were made. This right was usually claimed the person who paid for the travel. However, these headrights could be bought or sold. Some sold their headrights for money to get established in the new world.


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There is a record generated for most of the steps of the patenting process. This served as proof of the number of headrights claimed. Each right was taken to the county surveyor to create a plat. All of these papers were then returned to the secretary. The secretary made one copy of the patent to retain for records. A second copy was made to be signed by the governor, sealed, and delivered to the patentee. A patentee was given three years from the date of issue to seat and plant the land.

The requirement to plant could be met by cultivating one acre or building a house and keeping livestock.

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If a patent was given to an orphan, he was given until three years passed the age of majority to possess and plant it. Sometimes an extension on this three year period would be granted if the widow petitioned the county court. The need to incentivize immigration subsided by the end of the seventeenth century. The treasury right was created to allow purchase of land by native Virginians. Anyone could purchase a land right to fifty acres for five shillings.

The treasury right was the primary method of land patent by See also The Virginia Land Office online at. If you are researching grants and deeds, you will find the following information easily: original patents and land grants from —; survey plats from —; Northern Neck the area between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers land grants from — ; Northern Neck surveys from — and —; land warrants from —; and miscellaneous land records from — The Library of Virginia keeps original land office records. You can search an online index of land patents through the Library of Virginia for land patents issued prior to ; land grants issued by the Virginia Land Office after ; grants issued in the Northern Neck from —; and original and recorded Northern Neck surveys — These grants are listed chronologically.

Abstracts of many patents have been published. County, town, or independent city deed books were used to record land purchase transactions.

Norfolk, Virginia - Wikipedia

However, many people are excluded from these books because they rented or leased their land. Most of these books have individual indexes, with general indexes existing for grantees and grantors in each city or county. County clerks have deed copies, but most records from before are at the Library of Virginia and the FHL on microfilm. See Also Guide to U. Land Records Research. Civil courts on the county level handle estate records in Virginia, unless it is an independent city, where the circuit court hears probate cases.

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These records can include wills, administrations, guardianships, inventories, appraisals, and settlements. In colonial times, the written and common laws of England also applied in Virginia. There were two laws that related to probate matters: primogeniture and the right of dower. Under primogeniture, entire estates were kept whole, especially if it was land, and it would be passed from eldest son to eldest son.

Sometimes that portion would be split equally with the surviving children. By August, several people were dying per day, and a third of the city's population had fled in the hopes of escaping the epidemic. No one understood how the disease was transmitted. With both Norfolk and Portsmouth being infected, New York banned all traffic from those sites. Neighboring cities also banned residents from Norfolk.

The epidemic spread through the city via mosquitoes and poor sanitation, affecting every family and causing widespread panic. The number of infected reached 5, in September, and by the second week, 1, had died in Norfolk and Portsmouth. In early , Norfolk voters instructed their delegate to vote for secession. Virginia voted to secede from the Union. The battle ended in a stalemate, but changed the course of naval warfare; from then on, warships were fortified with metal. Wool and his forces.

They held the city under martial law for the duration of the Civil War. Thousands of slaves from the region escaped to Union lines to gain freedom; they quickly set up schools in Norfolk to start learning how to read and write, years before the end of the war. The large Naval Review at the Exposition demonstrated the peninsula's favorable location and laid the groundwork for the world's largest naval base. Southern Democrats in Congress gained its location here.

Commemorating the tricentennial anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the exposition featured many prominent officials, including President Theodore Roosevelt , members of Congress , and diplomats from twenty-one countries. In the first half of the twentieth century, the city of Norfolk expanded its borders through annexation. In , the city annexed the incorporated town of Berkley , making the city cross the Elizabeth River.

A series of bridges and tunnels, constructed during fifteen years, linked Norfolk with the Peninsula , Portsmouth , and Virginia Beach. In , the Downtown Tunnel opened to connect Norfolk with the city of Portsmouth. The highways also stimulated the development of new housing suburbs, leading to the population spreading out.

In the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated public schools were unconstitutional , as the public system was supported by all taxpayers. It ordered integration , but Virginia pursued a policy of " massive resistance ". At this time, most black citizens were still disfranchised under the state's turn-of-the-century constitution and discriminatory practices related to voter registration and elections.

The Virginia General Assembly prohibited state funding for integrated public schools.


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In , United States district courts in Virginia ordered schools to open for the first time on a racially integrated basis. The Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals declared the state law to be in conflict with the state constitution and ordered all public schools to be funded, whether integrated or not. About ten days later, Almond capitulated and asked the General Assembly to rescind several "massive resistance" laws.