The new Halifax County Chancery Court record microfilms have been a topic of great interest on this mailing list. This past August I got the opportunity to visit the courthouse and one of my goals was to check out these records. These records are great. Chancery Court dealt with equity issues. Usually families were wrangling over money and/or property. As such, there is lots of good information. First, the logistics. The only person at the courthouse capable of doing the chancery court lookups is ONLY there on Wednesdays. So, make sure you plan your trip accordingly. I was there for more days than Wednesday, and she was kind enough to pull all my records on Wednesday and leave them with the other clerks. That way I was able to view records on Thursday and Friday as well. Before she can pull the films, you will have to look through the Chancery Court Index and find the cases you are interested in. This is a book available there at the courthouse. It is ordered by year and surname (if I remember correctly), so you have to look through almos all of it. Also, the year is the year the case was decided, not the year the case was started. That was something I learned while going through the docuements. Also, most of the records date from around 1820 onward. Records earlier than that are rare. All of the records are on newly created films. They are in great shape. The quality of the originals varies, but the films are great. They have a film viewer machine in the basement, capable of making very clear copies, 25 cents each. As to the contents of the records themselves, it is a genealogist's dream. The cases I looked at contained statements from the plaintiff and the defendant, outlining their various opinions and points on the case. There were also detailed depositions of witnesses. There was one case between an Edward Womack and his estranged wife Sarah. Some of the depositions read like a Jerry Springer show. Messy details, but details you will find nowhere else. Besides depositions there were tables that listed the disposition of assets after the case was decided. For my Edward I learned that he had owned land in NC, something I had no clue about previously. So, if you get the chance, I highly recommend a visit to the Halifax County Courthouse on any given Wednesday. It will be worth your while. Call ahead to make sure they'll be open. Also, the films were created by the LVA, so they might be available via inter library loan. Call the LVA to check on this. I don't know it for certain. Enjoy, -Mark