At their monthly meeting, Halifax County commissioners will recognize the service of longtime Register of Deeds Judy Evans-Barbee and swear in Christie Avens which will allow her to begin duties.
Evans-Barbee held the post for 22 years in a succession of registers which dates back to 1866. Avens will become the 23rd person to hold the post.
“I was fascinated by the history in the office,” said Avens, who began working in the office in 2004 after a stint as a 911 dispatcher in 2003. “We’re the keepers of records, deeds of trust, VCC financial statements.”
The register of deeds office is also one of the points of research in the gathering of family trees through birth records, death certificates and marriage records.
Records of land transactions may also hold the keys to genealogical research, Avens said. “We have slave records, records of property being purchased with livestock and people.”
Avens soon found her niche and after 12 years in the office became to heir apparent to the top position after Evans-Barbee last year decided to not seek re-election.
Avens ran unopposed throughout the election process this year and the endorsement of her boss was key. “It was wonderful,” she said in a recent interview. “She said she believed I could really do this job.”
Despite running unopposed, Avens said, “I still got out there and campaigned. I wanted to get out there so people could see me.”
Evans-Barbee was recently honored at a reception for her service, 40 years total in the county with the last 22 as register of deeds.

From left, Bryant, Evans-Barbee and Wray.

In addition to several presentations, Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chairman Vernon Bryant and state Representative Michael Wray presented Evans-Barbee with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
In her final report to county commissioners last month, Evans-Barbee told the board, “The state of the office remains strong and steady with increased revenues this past fiscal year.”
The FY 2015-16 revenue totals were $393,827 and were generated from five sources.
Vital records accounted for $59,540; recording fees accounted for $135,740; revenue stamps accounted for $171,840, which represents $85.920 million in transferred property; marriage licenses accounted for $15,960 and other revenue such as photocopy and notary public oaths accounted for $10,241.
In leaving the office, Evans-Barbee has seen major goals completed and several nearing completion.
“A major goal of mine has been completed with the expansion of available online real estate records,” she told the board. “The latest project was done in two phases.”
Phase 1 was scanning the 1934-75 real estate indexes and Phase 2 involved scanning the hard copy deed books. “This was completed in March,” she said. “All real estate indexes and images are now available online from 1934 to present.”
Restoration work is being done on three older books. Deed book 34 dates back to 1856; Deed book 35 dates back to 1868 and Deed book 174 dates back to 1905.
A new server for the Land Records Management System is due for installation this month. “This is much needed as the old server is out of warranty but currently still functioning.”
Also, Evans-Barbee told the board, “We began electronic recording of real estate documents in 2014. Plans are being made to begin electronic recording of plats. This will probably been done at the first of 2017.”
For Evans-Barbee, the future of the office, which has been a Constitutional office since 1868, is strong. “It has been an honor to serve as Halifax County Register of Deeds for 22 of my 40 years with county government. I never really thought when I first began in 1976 that it would become a lifelong career.
“I’ve enjoyed most days along the way — some better than others. I feel good about the many technology advances that have been made through the years. Also, improvements within the office have always been made with better customer service and more efficient ways of doing business in mind.”
She believes Avens is the right person for the job. “I feel very confident that Christie Avens will do a great job as your next register of deeds. I’ve been working closely with her this year in getting her prepared for the transition. I have a great and very dedicated staff. They will continue to serve along with her and you should feel fortunate for this.”