King William County (Va.) Circuit Court.

King William County was named for King William III and was formed from King and Queen County by an act passed in 1701 to take effect 11 April 1702. The county seat is King William.

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) List of pensioners, 1918, 1919, 1923, (The Library of Virginia)

King William County was named for William III and was formed from King and Queen County in 1701.

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) Tax Collection Book of Benjamin Spiller, 1782-1786, (The Library of Virginia)

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) Tax and Fiscal Records, 1942-1964, (The Library of Virginia)

King William County was named for William III and was formed from King and Queen County in 1701.

Most records were destroyed by a courthouse fire on 17 January 1885. Only a few order books and deed books exist.

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) Tax Collection Book of William Moore, 1819-1830, (The Library of Virginia)

Chancery Causes are cases of equity. According to Black's Law Dictionary they are "administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law." A judge, not a jury, determines the outcome of the case.

King William County was named for William III and was formed from King and Queen County in 1701. Its area is 285.7 square miles, and the county seat is King William.

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1868-1913, (The Library of Virginia)

King William County was formed in 1701 from King and Queen County.

Most records were destroyed by a courthouse fire on 17 January 1885. Only a few order books and deed books exist.

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) Chancery Decree, 1862, (The Library of Virginia)

King William County was formed from King and Queen County by an act passed in 1701 to take effect 11 April 1702. The county was named for King William III.

Hanover County was named for George I, who at the time of his ascent to the English throne was elector of Hanover in Germany. The county was formed from New Kent in 1720.

Chancery Causes are cases of equity. According to Black's Law Dictionary they are "administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law." A judge, not a jury, determines the outcome of the case.

According to the Service Records of Virginia Soldiers in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, Reel 78, William McGeorge was a private in the 5th and 7th Virginia Regiments during the war. He enlisted in King William County on February 14, 1778 and was discharged on February 16, 1779. Regimental records indicate that he was sick for most of his enlistment. However, he managed to fight in the Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778 in New Jersey--the last major battle in the northern theater and the largest one-day battle of the war. There is no existing information on where he was born or who his parents were.

According to additional records found at the Library of Virginia, he was awarded a federal pension on October 26, 1819 (S38201) and was 63 years old. He was removed from the pension rolls in 1820 when he failed to provide a schedule of his estate and income as demanded by an Act of Congress. In 1844, his wife was attempting to collect his pension. According to a sworn deposition filed by late ensign, Thomas Lipscomb on March 5, 1814 in King William County, William McGeorge served three years during the Revolutionary War and was therefore entitled to Bounty Land. On April 4, 1814, he was issued a certificate by the Land Office. He immediately turned the property over to an assignee, David L Smith.

The will, as part of a chancery cause, was originally filed in the County Court.

Most Hanover County county court records, particularly deeds, wills, and marriage records, were destroyed by fire in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. The Hanover County circuit court records were not moved to Richmond and were relatively unscathed. Consequently, there is a strong run of common law papers and chancery papers after 1831 that were generated by the circuit superior court of law and chancery and its successor, the circuit court.

Most King William County court records were destroyed by a courthouse fire on 17 January 1885. Only a few order books and deed books exist.

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) Will of William McGeorge, 1822 Nov. 25, (The Library of Virginia)

King William County was named for William III and was formed from King and Queen County in 1701

The office of the clerk of the court of King William County was burned in 1885 and the records almost altogether were destroyed. Charred and fragments of sheets from the various books whose bindings had been burned off were thrown together without regard to date or subject matter and bound into seventeen volumes. These have all been photostated. Before binding the prints the effort was made to arrange them in proper order.

From the guide to the King William County (Va.) County Court Records, 1701-1884, (The Library of Virginia)