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Local History and Genealogical Research in the University Libraries: F. Government Records

This guide includes resources available in Special Collections, Newman Library, and online that can aid in local genealogy research.

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1. County Records

County Records include wills and appraisals, marriage bonds, land records-deeds, mortgages, plat books, surveyor’s records, tax lists, powers of attorney, naturalization papers (after 1900 in federal court records-for Western District of Virginia in Abingdon; for Eastern District of Virginia in National Archives.). etc. See library catalogs under subjects: County name or marriage, births, wills, etc. – county name.

  • Allen, Deaths in Court Records of Montgomery County Virginia: 1853-1871 Call No.: F232 M7 A4 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor
  • Bell, Virginia Genealogies and County Records Call No.: F225 B455 Newman 3rd floor
  • Burton, Montgomery County, Virginia – 1850 Census Call No.: F232 M7 B97 Special Collections
  • Crozier, Early Virginia Marriages v. 4, (listed by county) Call No.: F221 V75 v.4 Newman 3rd floor
  • Douthat, Montgomery County VA Will Book 1 1786-1809 Call No.: F232 M7 D68 1986 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor
  • A Guide to County Court Records Call No.: CD3567 A1 V57 1991 Newman Microfilm
  • Hathaway, Inventory of County Records of Kentucky Call No.: CD3257 A1 H37 1978 Newman 2nd floor
  • Historical Records Survey, Virginia Inventory of the County Archives of Virginia (Amelia, Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Isle of Wright, Middlesex, Powhatan, Prince George, Southampton counties) Call No.: CD3560 H5 Newman 2nd floor
  • Jackson, Early American Series: Early Virginia v. 1 1600-1819 Call No.: F230 E33 Newman 3rd floor
  • Lucas, Births in Court Records of Montgomery County, Virginia: 1853-1871 Call No.: F232 M7 B53 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor
  • Montgomery County (VA), Commissioner of Revenue, Land Tax Books: 1782-1850 Call No.: HJ9012 V8 M7 Newman Microfilm
  • Ray, A Preliminary Guide to pre-1904 County Records in the Archives Branch, Virginia State Library and Archives Call No.: CD3564 R39 1994 Special Collections
  • Torrence, Virginia Wills and Administrations: An Index of Wills Recorded in Local Courts of Virginia 1632-1800 Call No.: F225 T85 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor
  • Virginia Circuit Court (Montgomery County) Montgomery County Records (Deeds, wills, order books, marriages, plots) Call No.: KFV2916 M6 A7 1773 Newman Microfilm (52 rolls)
  • Virginia County Records v. 1-10 (1905-1912) Call No.: F221 V75 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor
  • Virginia State Library, Lists of the Court Records of the Virginia Counties on Microfilm in the Archives Division, Virginia State Library Call No.: KFV2915 A1 L53 Newman Microfilm
  • Worrell, A Brief of Wills and Marriages in Montgomery County: 1733-1831 Call No.: F232 M7 W8 1932, 1959, 1970s, and 1976 editions in Special Collections; 1976 ONLY Newman 3rd floor
  • Yantis, Montgomery County, Virginia Tax Lists: A, B, & C for the Year 1788 Call No.: F232 M7 Y37 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor

2. State Records

State Records include tax lists, land taxes and personal property taxes, military records, Land Office records including military certificates, land patents and grants,state pension, non-military public service claims, muster and payrolls of war of 1812, applications for pensions from Confederate veterans, and vital statistics.

  • Casey, Personal Names in Henings Statutes at Large of Virginia and Shepherd’s Continuation Call No.: F225 V8133 1967 Newman 3rd floor
  • Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States Call No.: Z7554 U5 U63 1948 Newman Census
  • Fothergill, Virginia Tax Payers: 1782-1787, other than those published by the Census Bureau Call No.: F225 F6 1940 edition Special Collections; 1999 edition Newman 3rd floor
  • Gentry, Virginia Land Office Inventory Call No.: CD3566 L36 V57 1981 Newman 2nd floor
  • Hening, Colony Laws of Virginia: 1619-1660 Call No.: KFV2425.2 1809 Newman 3rd floor
  • A Key to Survey Reports and Microfilm of the Virginia Colonial Records Project Call No.: F229 K49 1990 Newman 3rd floor
  • Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants: 1623-1880 v. 1 & 2 Call No.: F225 N842 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor
  • Shepherd, Statutes at Large of Virginia 3 vol. Call No.: KFV2425.2 1792 Newman 3rd floor
  • Virginia Land Records Call No.: F225 V875 1982 Special Collections and Newman 3rd floor
  • Yantis, The 1787 Census of Virginia v. 1-3 Call No.: F225 Y36 1987 Special Collections

3. Federal Records

Federal Records are voluminous. For some understanding of the classification of these records see U.S. National Archives and Record Service, Guide to the National Archives of the United States (Call No.: CD3023 U54 1974 Newman 2nd floor) and A Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives (Call No.: CS68 U54 2000 Newman 2nd floor).

Record groups much used in genealogical research are:
a. Census

(1) SCHEDULES

  •  U.S. Census Office, Population Schedules of the (1st-10th) Census of the United States: 1810-1920, Virginia Call No.: HA682 A45 “date” Newman Microfilm
  •  U.S. National Archives, Federal Population Censuses: 1790-1890, A Catalog of Microfilm Copies of the Schedule Call No.: HA37 U548 1975
  • U.S. National Archives, 14th Census of Population, 1920, Virginia and Index Call No.: HA681.5 1920 Newman M Microfilm

(2) INDEXES

  • 1790 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790 Call No.: F230 U5 1966 Newman Microform Reference (41 counties not in this are listed in Fothergill, below) 
  • 1790 Fothergill, Virginia Tax Payers: 1782-1787, other than those published by the Census Bureau Call No.: F225 F6 Newman 3rd floor
  • 1800 All Virginia schedules are missing
  • 1810 Bentley, Index to the 1810 Census of Virginia Call No.: F225 B45 Newman Microform Reference
  • 1810 Yantis, A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the County for Which the Census in Missing Call No.: F230 Y35 Newman 3rd floor
  • 1820 Felldin, Index to the 1820 Census of Virginia Call No.: F225 F4 Newman Microform Reference
  • 1830 Jackson, Virginia 1830 Census Index Call No.: F225 V54 Newman Microform Reference
  • 1840 Jackson, Virginia 1840 Census Index Call No.: F225 J332 Newman Microform Reference
  • 1850 Jackson, Virginia 1850 Census Index Call No.: F225 V52 Special Collections and Newman Microform Reference
  • 1860 Jackson, Virginia 1860 Federal Census: Excluding Present Day West Virginia Call No.: F225 J334 1988 Special Collections and Newman Microform Reference
  • 1870 Stewart, Virginia 1870 Census Index Call No.: F225 V8352 1989 Newman Microform Reference
  • 1880 Index Soundex Call No.: HA682 A45 1880 (82 rolls) Newman Microform Reference
  • 1890 All Virginia schedules are missing
  • 1890 Virginia Census Index of Civil War Veterans or Their Widows Call No.: E494 D59 1986 Newman Census
  • 1900 Index Soundex Call No.: HA682 A45 1900 (164 rolls) Newman Microfilm
  • 1910 Index Soundex Call No.: HA681.5 1910 INDEX (183 rolls) Newman Microfilm
  • 1920 Index Soundex Call No.: HA681.5 1920 INDEX Newman Microfilm

(3) RESEARCH AIDS

  • Age Search Information Call No.: HB1545 S73 1981 Newman 3rd floor
  • Age Search Information Call No.: HB1545 U54 1979a Newman 3rd floor
  • Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States Call No.: Z7554 U5 U63 1948 Newman Census
  • Jackson, Encyclopedia of Local History and Genealogy: Census Encyclopedia Call No.: CS49 C46 1979 Newman 2nd floor
  • Parker, City, County, Town and Township Index tot the 1850 Federal Census Schedules Call No.: CS65 P37 Newman 2nd floor
  • Stemmons, The United States Census Compendium Call No.: CS49 S77 Newman 2nd floor
  • U.S. Bureau of Census, A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth: 1790-1900 (Known as the “Analysis of the Census of 1790”, includes maps, boundary lines, variant spelling of names) Call No.: HA195 A5 1967 Newman Census

b. Military

  • U.S. Census Office, 6th Census, 1840, A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Service with Their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence Under the Acts from the Taking of the Sixth Census (arranged by state, county, town) Call No.: E255 U56 Newman 3rd floor
  • U.S. War Dept. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia Call No.: E581.4 C65 Newman Microfilm (1075 reels. Last 60 reels are indexes by soldier’s name giving regiment in which he served. For reel number which includes the regiment and the records of soldiers init, see the guide “Pamphet Accompanying Microcopy No. 324” Call No.: E581.4 C65 Guide available in Newman Microform Reference, Newman Reference, and Special Collections) Indexes but not the records, are also available for MD, KY, FL, MS, MO, NC, SC, and TX 
  • U.S. War Dept. (Official Records; O.R.) or War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Call No.: E464 U6 Special Collections, Newman 3rd floor and Remote Storage (requires notice for retrieval)
  • U.S. War Dept., Atlas to Accompany … Call No.: E464 U6 Atlas Special Collections

c. Land Records

  • Smith, Federal Land Series Call No.: KF5675 A73 S6 Newman 3rd floor

4. Miscellanrous Records

  • Kemp, International Vital Records Handbook Call No.: CS42.7 K46 1994 Newman 2nd floor
  • Potter, Passports of Southeastern Pioneers, 1770-1823 Call No.: F208 P65 1990 Newman 3rd floor