Norfolk County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Norfolk County

History


The county was named after the English county of Norfolk.

Parent County
1691--Norfolk County was created in 1691 from Lower Norfolk. It was changed to Chesapeake City 1 January 1963. County seat: Norfolk

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Norfolk County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1791," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Census
1890 Union Veterans


 * Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website. [Includes residents of this county.]

Church
Church of England


 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. [Includes Norfolk County.]

Quaker


 * Putnam, Martha A. Quaker Records of Southeast Virginia. Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1996. Available at FHL. [Includes records about Quakers in Dinwiddie, Isle of Wight, Nansemond, Norfolk, Prince George, Southampton counties and Suffolk City from 1600s and 1700s (Blackwater Montly Meeting, Chuckatuck Monthly Meeting, Pagan Creek Meeting, Western Branch Monthly Meeting, and Somerton Monthly Meeting.)]

Court
County Court


 * Walter, Alice Granbery. Lower Norfolk County, Virginia Court Records: Book "A" 1637-1646 and Book "B" 1646-1651/2. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Directories

 * Norfolk City Directory, 1888. Norfolk, VA: J. H. Chataigne and Co., 1888. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Norfolk City Directory, 1889. Norfolk, VA: J. H. Chataigne and Co., 1889. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Norfolk City Directory, 1890-91. Norfolk, VA: J. H. Chataigne and Co., 1891. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Family Histories

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

Bibliography


 * [Bachelor] Williams, Lyle Keith. The Batchelor Family: Batchelor in Virginia; Batchelor in North Carolina; Bachelor/Batchelor in Tennessee, Missouri and Texas; Batchler in Texas; and Bachlor in Oklahoma and California. Fort Worth, Texas: L.K. Williams, 1991. Available at FHL.
 * [Burle] Russell, Donna Valley. "Robert Burle of Severn River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 74, No. 4 (Oct. 1999):263-274. [Burle resided in Lower Norfolk County, Virginia before being exiled to Maryland.]
 * [Butterfield] See Delaymos.
 * [Delaymos] Russell, George Ely. "Portuguese and Spanish Colonists in Seventeenth-Century Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 76, No. 1 (January 2001):50-60; Vol. 77, No. 1 (Apr. 2001):138-147.
 * [Dorsey] Dorsey, Maxwell J., Nannie Ball Nimmo, and Jean Muir Dorsey. The Dorsey Family: Descendants of Edward Darcy-Dorsey of Virginia and Maryland for Five Generations; and Allied Families. [Urbana, Illinois?]: M.J. &amp; J.M. Dorsey &amp; N.B. Nimmo, 1947. Available at FHL. [Dorseys relocated to Anne Arundel County, Maryland during English Commonwealth Period.]
 * [Freeman] Mosher, Merrill Hill. John Freeman of Norfolk County, Virginia, His Descendants in North Carolina and Virginia and Other Colonial North Carolina Freeman Families: and Other Colonial Families. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Hancock] Childs, J. Rives. "Hancock Family of Lower Norfolk, Henrico and Bedford Counties," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct. 1924):413-416. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Jolliffe] Jolliffe, William. Historical, Genealogical and Biographical Account of the Jolliffe Family of Virginia, 1652 to 1693. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1893. FHL US/CAN Film 1036357 Item 19; digital versions at Ancestry ($), Google Books, and Internet Archive.
 * [Moseley] "Families of Lower Norfolk and Princess Anne Counties," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jan. 1898):327-334. Available at JSTOR ($). 
 * [Page] Page, Richard Channing Moore. Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia. Also a Condensed Account of the Nelson, Walker, Pendleton and Randolph Families, With References to the Bland, Burwell, Byrd, Carter, Cary, Duke, Gilmer, Harrison, Rives, Thornton, Wellford, Washington, and Other Distinguished Families in Virginia. New York: Press of the Publishers' Printing Co., 1893. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view).
 * [Rigglesworth] Jolliffe, William. Historical, Genealogical and Biographical Account of the Jolliffe Family of Virginia, 1652 to 1693. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1893, pp. 139-141. FHL US/CAN Film 1036357 Item 19; digital versions at Ancestry ($), Google Books, and Internet Archive.
 * [Rose] Rose, Christine. Abstracts of Early Virginia Rose Estates: Wills, Inventories, Accounts and Administrator's Bonds before 1850. San Jose, Calif.: Rose Family Bulletin, 1972. FHL US/CAN Book 975.5 A1 no. 56; digital version at Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * [Sweny] Henkel, Steve. "Murder in the Family: Identifying the Parents and Siblings of George Wythe Sweny, Murderer of His Great-Uncle, George Wythe, Chancellor of Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 78, No. 2 (April 2003):87-94.
 * [Walke] "Families of Lower Norfolk and Princess Anne Counties," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Oct. 1897):139-153. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Wrigglesworth] See Jolliffe, pp. 139-141.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America 1777-1811," The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2001):53-74. [Overseas correspondence of residents of Norfolk with the following surnames: Donaldson, Proudfitt, and Sutton (?).]
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Elizabeth River, Gosport, Lower Norfolk County, Norfolk County, and Portsmouth proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * [http://immigrantservants.com/search/advancedResults.php?surname=&givenName=&varientSurnameSpellings=&gender=&dateOfBirthDay=&dateOfBirthMonth=&dateOfBirthQuantifier=&dateOfBirthYear=&placeOfBirthParish=&placeOfBirthTown=&placeOfBirthCity=&placeOfBirthCounty=&placeOfBirthColony=&placeOfBirthNation=&occupations=&religions=&orphan=&familyPosition=&immigrationYearQualifier=&immigrationYear=&portOfDepartureTown=&portOfDepartureCity=&portOfDepartureCounty=&portOfDepartureNation=&placeOfArrivalTown=&placeOfArrivalCounty=&placeOfArrivalColony=&shipName=&convict=&yearOfIndentureQualifier=&yearOfIndenture=&lengthOfIndentureYears=&lengthOfIndentureMonths=&yearOfFreedomQualifier=&yearOfFreedom=&placeOfIndentureTown=&placeOfIndentureCity=&placeOfIndentureCounty=Norfolk&placeOfIndentureColony=Virginia&agentSurname=&agentGivenName=&agentTitle=&masterSurname=&masterGivenName=&masterTitle=&residenceParish=&residenceTown=&residenceCity=&residenceCounty=&residenceColony=&residenceNation=&landowner=&literate=&spouseSurname=&spouseGivenName=&spouseMarriageDateDay=&spouseMarriageDateMonth=&spouseMarriageDateQualifier=&spouseMarriageDateYear=&spouseMarriageLocationParish=&spouseMarriageLocationCounty=&spouseMarriageLocationColony=&spouseMarriageLocationNation=&deathDateDay=&deathDateMonth=&deathDateQualifier=&deathDateYear=&deathLocality=&deathCounty=&deathColony=&deathState=&testate=&proofServantStatus=&proofConvictStatus=&headright=&preServitudeSources=&postServitudeSources=&comments=&family=&sourceCitations=&interestedResearchers= List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Colonial Lower Norfolk and Norfolk Counties, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Deeds


 * Fleet, Beverley. Lower Norfolk County, 1651-1654. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Grants and Patents


 * Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1666. Vol. I (1934; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1991). Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Lower Norfolk County and Upper Norfolk County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]
 * Walter, Alice Granbery. Virginia Land Patents of the Counties of Norfolk, Princess Anne &amp; Warwick. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Local Histories

 * Burton, H. W. The History of Norfolk, Virginia: A Review of Important Events and Incidents Which Occurred from 1736-1877; Also a Record of Personal Reminiscences and Political, Commercial, and Curious Facts. Norfolk, Va.: Norfolk Virginian Job Print, 1877. Available at FHL; digital versions at Ancestry ($) and BYU Family History Archives.
 * Forrest, William S. Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Norfolk and Vicinity: Including Portsmouth and the Adjacent Counties, During a Period of Two Hundred Years: Also, Sketches of Williamsburg, Hampton, Suffolk, Smithfield, and Other Places, with Descriptions of Some of the Principal Objects of Interest in Eastern Virginia. Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1853. Available at FHL; digital versions at Ancestry ($) and Google Books (full-view).

Military
Colonial Militia


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Lower Norfolk County and Norfolk County militia officers and/or soldiers; see place name index.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Lower Norfolk County and Norfolk County militia officers; see place name index.]

French and Indian War


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Norfolk Borough, Lower Norfolk and Norfolk County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]
 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Norfolk County, see p. 112.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Lower Norfolk and Norfolk County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

Occupations

 * Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. Available at FHL. [Includes a section on Norfolk and Portsmouth silversmiths.]

Probate
Original Wills


 * Fleet, Beverley. Lower Norfolk County, 1651-1654. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * James, Edward W. "Will of Josias Mackie, Presbyterian Minister, Norfolk and Princess Anne Counties, 1716," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Apr. 1900):358-363. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * McIntosh, Charles Fleming. Brief Abstract of Lower Norfolk County and Norfolk County Wills, 1637-1710. 1914; reprint, Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1982. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view).
 * McIntosh, Charles Fleming. Brief Abstracts of Norfolk County Wills, 1710-1753. Richmond, VA, USA: Colonial Dames of America, 1922. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

London Courts


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Elizabeth River, Gosport, Lower Norfolk County, Norfolk County, and Portsmouth proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1704] "Virginia Quit Rent Rolls, 1704," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 28 (1920):207-218, 328-339; Vol. 29 (1921):18-28, 337-343, 402-412; Vol. 30 (1922):21-30, 280-285, 341-347; Vol. 31 (1923):70-75, 153-163, 215-231, 314-318; Vol. 32 (1924):69-75, 144-158, 281-287, 338-343; Vol. 33 (1925):47-50, 359-370; Vol. 34 (1926):113-119, 252-258, 313, 321. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Norfolk County appears in 30:21-30.]
 * [1730-1785] Norfolk County, Virginia Tithables, 1730-1785. Original records, Chesapeake City Courthouse, Chesapeake, Virginia; also available on microfilm at FHL.
 * [1730-1780] Wingo, Elizabeth B. and W. Bruce Wingo. Norfolk County, Virginia Tithables. [1730-1780] 3 vols. Norfolk, Virginia: E.B. Wingo, W.B. Wingo, c1979-1985. Available at FHL.
 * [1730] Tithables, 1730, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan. 1963). Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [1732-1788] Norfolk County - the Colonial Tithe Lists 1732-1788, CD, available for purchase at Binns Genealogy.
 * [1782-1791] Heinegg, Paul. "Norfolk County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1791," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1784] Taxable Property, 1784, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jul. 1894). Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Norfolk County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1790, 1799] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Norfolk County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Tax List of 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Jul. 2000); Vol. 44, No. 4 (Oct. 2000); Vol. 45, No. 1 (Jan. 2001); Vol. 45, No. 2 (Apr. 2001).
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Norfolk County is included in Vol. 3.]

Vital Records

 * Tucker, George Holbert. Abstracts from Norfolk City Marriage Bonds [1797-1850]. [Norfolk, Va.?]: William H. Delaney, 1934. Available at FHL; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog