The database presented here is properly called the “Re-created Spotsylvania Grantor/Grantee Index, 1722-1921. The indexed records of Deeds, Wills, and other forms of conveyance were compiled under the director of Judge Alvin T Embrey. The first index created indexed the deeds found in surviving deed books, as well as transfers found in the surviving Court minute books and order books of Spotsylvania County from 1722 to 1917. The original index was extended to include deeds from 1918 to 1921 by providing updates on separate addendum pages. The Clerk of the Spotsylvania Court also augmented the original index with line item entries. These additional deeds and corrections have been included in this digital index. In the original index Judge Embrey created a separate record for deeds of properties that have by tradition been known by the property name, not necessarily the owners’ name. Thus a particular deed may appear twice in a search of the index once for the grantor and once for the name of the property. The physical structure of the database includes:
- Original index pages;
- 1918-1921 update pages (page numbers provided on Addendum pages.
- Addendum pages
The physical location of the Indexes
The original Spotsylvania Grantor/Grantee Index covering the period 1722-1917 is maintained at the Fredericksburg Circuit Court.
A copy of the original index is the basis for the 1722-1921 index used by the Spotsylvania Circuit Court.
The copy of the original index was augmented by additional pages added by the Clerk of the Spotsylvania Circuit Court for the period 1918-1921.
The composite 1722-1921 index copy was further augmented by the Clerk of the Spotsylvania Circuit Court through line item entries on selected pages of the copy.
The re-created index is comprised of the original 1722-1917 index plus the 1918-1921 page additions plus the line item entries.
In order to preserve the original format of the 1722-1917 index line item entries are provided in this re-created index at the end of each index volume rather than making the entries on the original pages.
The Addendum pages also provide the numbers of the pages inserted to extend the original index from 1722-1917 to 1722-1921.
Use of the re-created index requires review of the three separate components of each index volume:
The Spotsylvania Grantor/Grantee Index 1722-1921 was re-created under sponsorship of the Virginia Circuit Court Records Grants Program. Assistance in compiling the index for re-creation and in preparing the index for microfilming was provided by the Records Conservation Project, May 1993.