Additional information
by Kristina DeLuise (Author)
Norfolk was first created as a town by Nicholas Wise's deed for 50 acres, on August 16, 1682. In 1736 it was changed to the "Borough of Norfolk". It was named Norfolk after the county in which it was situated, then a part of what was called Lower Norfolk County, which comprised the present Norfolk County aka the City of Chesapeake, and Princess Anne County aka the City of Virginia Beach. Upper Norfolk County was later changed to Nansemond County aka Suffolk County. In 1845 it became the City of Norfolk, which lies at the mouth of the James and Elizabeth Rivers and Chesapeake Bay.
To make this valuable information available to other researchers, the author hand-copied the contents of the original book, which is housed at the courthouse. The transcribed wills in this volume vary greatly in length. Each entry provides the full name of the deceased, names and relationships of heirs, and names of witnesses. There are over 2487 names in this volume. A full-name index, which refers to the page number from the original will book, completes this work.
