I’m still not certain what was meant by “not of this country” in an 1830 legal notice from a Lynchburg, Virginia, newspaper. But I know more than I did and have an additional idea on the “not of this country” phrase.

Knowing more about the court that heard this case is necessary to locate the records, to understand why and how these records were created, to interpret them correctly, and to determine if additional records may be available.

The Library of Virginia website has a page (“Superior Courts of Chancery Information”) with some information on the Superior Courts of Chancery. According to this page, the Lynchburg Superior Court of Chancery heard cases between 1814 and 1831 and included the counties of:

Amherst, Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Henry, Patrick, and Pittsylvania and the City of Lynchburg

The court was not a county court at all. “Out of country” may refer to outside the jurisdiction of the court hearing the case. That’s good because some of the individuals mentioned in the legal notice as apparently “living in the country” (since living in “out of country” was not mentioned for them) appear to have  been living in Amherst or Bedford Counties during the 1830 time frame.

Now to access the records.