Virginia Genealogy
This guide contains a sample of The Newberry's resources on this topic. To locate additional resources, please check our catalog or consult a reference librarian.
Guide
McGinnis, Carol. Virginia Genealogy: Sources and Resources. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. Call No. Local History Ref Z1345 .M38 1993 (2nd floor open shelf).
Vital Records
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. Virginia Marriage Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1984. Call No. Local History Ref F225.V883 1984 (2nd floor open shelf).
Hogg, Anne. Virginia Cemeteries: A Guide to Resources. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1986. Call No. Local History Ref F225. V837 1986 (2nd floor open shelf).
McGhan, Judith. Virginia Vital Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .V93 1982 (2nd floor open shelf).
Torrence, Clayton. Virginia Wills and Administrations, 1632-1800: An Index of Wills Recorded in Local Courts of Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1990. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .T85 1990 (2nd floor open shelf).
Land and Tax Records
Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800. Richmond, VA: Press of the Dietz Print Company, 1999. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .N842 1934 (2nd floor open shelf).
Parks, Gary. Virginia Land Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .V875 1982 (2nd floor open shelf).
Parks, Gary. Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .V887 1983 (2nd floor open shelf).
Ward, Roger G. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners. Athens, GA: Iberian Publishing Company, 1997. Call No. folio F225 .W37 1997
Apprentices
Gill, Harold B. Apprentices of Virginia, 1623-1800. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1989. Call No. F229 .G49 1989. A listing of Virginia apprentices from 1623-1800. Entries include name, sex, age, and race of apprentice; name of parent; dates and county of indenture; name and occupation of master; and source of information.
Military Records
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. Virginia Military Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983. Call No. Local History Ref F225. V876 (2nd floor open shelf).
Bockstuck, Lloyd D. Virginia’s Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .B63 (2nd floor open shelf).
Dorman, John Frederick. Virginia Revolutionary Pension Applications. Washington, D.C: D.F. Dorman, 1958-1994. Call No. Local History Ref E206 .D85 (2nd floor open shelf).
Gwathmey, John H. Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution. Richmond, VA: Dietz Press, 1938. Call No. Local History Ref E263 .V8 G9 1938(2nd floor open shelf).
Hopkins, William L. Virginia Revolutionary War Land Grant Claims, 1783-1850. Richmond, VA: W.L. Hopkins, 1988. Call No. F225 .H68 1988
McAllister, J.T. Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War. Hot Springs, VA: McAllister Publishing Company, 1913. Call No. Local History Ref E263 .V8 M13 1913 (2nd floor open shelf).
Wallace, Lee. A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865. Lynchburg, VA: H. E. Howard, Inc., c1986. Call No. Local History Ref E 581 .W35 (2nd floor open shelf).
Genealogies and Biographies
Genealogies of Virginia Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982. Call No. Local History Ref F225. G46 (2nd floor open shelf).
Dorman, John Frederick. Adventurers of Purse and Person: Virginia 1607-1624/5. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004-2005. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .A7 2004 (2nd floor open shelf).
The census of Virginia from 1624/5 and the genealogies of these original colonists to an additional three generations.
Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1998. Call No. F225 .E53 1998.
Gazetteers
Martin, Joseph. New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of Virginia, 1835. Charlottesville, VA: J. Martin, 1835. Call No. G 863 .55
Virginia Business Directory and Gazetteer, 1917. Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co., 1917. Call No. F 863 .9445. Contains lists of residents for smaller towns.
Indexes
Headley, Robert K. Genealogical abstracts from 18th Century Virginia Newspapers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987. Call No. Local History Ref F225 .H43 1987 (2nd floor open shelf). Index of 7100 issues of eighty 18th-century Virginia newspapers, including marriage and death notices, estate sales, court cases, and notices of runaway slaves, apprentices, and military deserters.
Wardell, Patrick G. Timesaving Aid to Virginia-West Virginia Ancestors. Athens, GA: Iberian Press, 1985. Call No. F225 .W33 1985. An index of family names that appear in published family and local histories, many in the Newberry’s collection. Includes publication name and page numbers.
Wardell, Patrick G. Virginians and West Virginians, 1607-1870. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1986. Call No. F225 .W34 1986. A name index to two un-indexed Virginia sources in Newberry collection: History of Virginia (Call No. F 863 .41) and Virginia: Rebirth of the Old Dominion. (Call No. F 863 .1242)
State and Colonial Censuses
For the muster, or census, of Virginia in 1624/25, see Adventurers of Purse and Persons, listed above in Genealogies.
The following reconstructions are based on primary records and include only alphabetical lists of residents, county of residence, and original source of information.
Virginia in 1720: A Reconstructed Census Call No.F225 .V8725 1998
Virginia in 1740: A Reconstructed Census Call No. folio F225 .V873 1992
Virginia in 1760: A Reconstructed Census Call No. folio F225 .V874 1996
The 1787 Census of Virginia Local History Ref F225 .Y36 1987 (2nd floor open shelf).
Federal Censuses
Neither the 1790 nor the 1800 federal census returns for Virginia survive. A substitute 1790 census for thirty-nine of the commonwealth’s then-eighty counties was compiled from the 1782785 state enumerations and published in Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790, Call No. Local History Ref F225 .C45 1908 a. (2nd floor open shelf). All other years available on-line at public access computers, ask at 2nd floor reference desk. Printed indexes to the 1810, 1820, 1830, 1850, and 1870 census in Newberry catalog.
Periodical Index
Swem, E.G. Virginia Historical Index. Call No. Local History Ref F221. S93 1934 (2nd floor open shelf).
An index to genealogical articles from the following periodicals: The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography; the William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine; Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine; Virginia Historical Register; the Lower Norfolk County Virginia Antiquary; Hening’s Statues at Large; Calendar of Virginia State Papers. Years indexed vary by title, see Vol. 1 for details.
Periodicals
Tyler’s Quarterly and Historical Genealogical Magazine. 1919-1952. Local History Ref F221.T95
Virginia Genealogist. 1956-2006. Local History Ref F221.V79. Index to this periodical can be found at same call number.
Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.1893-. Local History Ref F221 V91
William and Mary College Quarterly. 1894-. Local History Ref F221.W71
Online Resources
See the website of the Virginia Genealogical Society, for a comprehensive collection of links to genealogical resources, including the collections at the Library of Virginia; court documents; county genealogical websites; and online databases and indexes.
The Virtual Jamestown website, has primary source documents from 16th and 17th century Virginia, including court records, labor contracts, and census records.