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Southampton County, Virginia, situated just above the North Carolina border, was erected from Isle of Wight and Nansemond counties in 1749. These abstracts of Southampton's earliest will books (Books I through V) cover the first 50 years of its existence as an independent county.

The abstracts of wills and administrations are arranged throughout in more or less chronological order by the name of the deceased. The will records give the name of the testator, names of legatees (often showing relationships), summaries of bequests made in the will, date of the will, date of recording, and the page number of the will book wherein the full will is recorded. The administration records generally provide the dates of inventory and appraisal, names of auditors and appraisers, and references concerning the settlement of the estate. The approximately 2,500 wills and administrations in this work refer to approximately 8,000 persons. Many of the wills furnish evidence of North Carolina connections as well.

Clearfield's reprint is a facsimile copy of the 1980 Genealogical Publishing Company reprint in which Mrs. Chapman's original two mimeographed volumes were consolidated and re-indexed.