Hardy County, West Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Hardy County, West Virginia ancestry, family history and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth, marriage, death and burials from 1853 Probate and Land records from 1786 Court Records from 1860 and Divorce Records

History

 * The history of Hardy County : 1786-1986

Parent County
1785--Hardy County was created 17 October 1785 from Hampshire County. County seat: Moorefield

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating West Virginia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation West Virginia County Boundary Maps" (1617-1995) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1810

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Hardy County Personal Property Tax List, 1786-1819," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Cemeteries

 * Random Acts WV Cemetery Records Research Guide

Census
Join us in indexing the 1940 Census

1790 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1810 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Lunie's Creek (1777)

Court

 * Chancery order book, 1873-1880 For these cases the court sat in chancery which meant it acted as a court of equity. Equity law is a body of legal and procedural rules and doctrines which supplement or override common and statute law to protect rights and enforce duties defined or fixed by substantive law. The court usually dealt with cases which did not need a jury, such as divorces or foreclosures. Orders are judgments based on those laws.
 * Court proceedings, 1821-1827 Contains pleas and other proceedings brought before the court. Each plea might contain exhibits of documents, such as court orders for administration and inventory of estates, deed and dower acknowledgments, bills of sale, deeds, powers of attorney, appointments of militia officers, etc

Genealogy
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]

General
Compiled genealogies that treat multiple Hardy County families include:


 * Cartmell, T. K. Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants: A History of Frederick County, Virginia (Illustrated) from Its Formation in 1738 to 1908, Compiled Mainly from Original Records of Old Frederick County, Now Hampshire, Berkeley, Shenandoah, Jefferson, Hardy, Clarke, Warren, Morgan and Frederick. n.p.: n.p., c1909. Available at ; ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]
 * O'Dell, Cecil. Pioneers of Old Frederick County, Virginia. Marceline, Mo.: Walsworth Pub. Co., 1995. . One of the most impressively researched one-place studies in the United States. In a review, Dorman stated "Comprehensive studies such as this appear only rarely. This volume should be in every Virginia genealogical collection."

Land

 * Homestead records, 1877-1909
 * Land entries, 1843-1861
 * List of real estate, 1869-1932 The county recorder existed from 1863 to 1872 and handled many of the legal documents that the clerk of the county court managed before and after this.

Contains lists of real estate being sold for the non-payment of taxes, 1869, 1879-1932, and liens or mechanic liens 1870, 1876-1893.

Grants and Patents


 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800. Vol. III. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Hardy County.]

Local Histories

 * Cartmell, T. K. Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants: A History of Frederick County, Virginia (Illustrated) from Its Formation in 1738 to 1908, Compiled Mainly from Original Records of Old Frederick County, Now Hampshire, Berkeley, Shenandoah, Jefferson, Hardy, Clarke, Warren, Morgan and Frederick. n.p.: n.p., c1909. Available at ; ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]

Maps

 * Maps of West Virginia (1617-1995)
 * Map of 1850 Virginia and West Virginia

Revolutionary War

 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Western District, Hardy County on page 134.]

War of 1812
Hardy County men served in the 14th Regiment.

Civil War

 * - 7th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Ashby's) (Confederate). Company F (Hampshire Riflemen aka New Creek Riflemen).
 * - 11th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry. Company B (The Hardy Rangers).
 * - 18th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Companies B, E, and H.
 * - 25th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Heck's) (Confederate). Company H (Hardy Blues) and Company K (South Branch Riflemen).
 * - 62nd Regiment, Virginia Mounted Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Hardy Blues).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * West Virginia, Civil War Service
 * 1861 - 1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861 - 1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Hardy County:


 * August 7, 1864 = Moorefield, also known as Oldfields


 * Map showing Civil War battles in West Virginia.

Naturalization

 * 1814 - 1991 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Naturalization records, 1913-1916 These can be viewed online.

Probate
Online Probate Records

Hardy County, West Virginia Will Books 1786-1970
 * 1724 - 1978 West Virginia Wills and Probate Records 1724-1978 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1756 - 1971 at [https:/familysearch.org/ FamilySearch] — index and images

West Virginia Will Books

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * 1786 Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Online at FamilySearch - free; . 1786 personal property tax list of Hardy County.
 * 1786 - 1819 Heinegg, Paul. "Hardy County Personal Property Tax List, 1786-1819," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
 * 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 . The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Hardy County is included in Vol. 2.
 * 1789 Indexed images of the 1789 Personal Property Tax List of Hardy County, Virginia (now West Virginia) are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * 1799 Images of the 1799 Personal Property Tax List of Hardy County, Virginia (now West Virginia) are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * 1810 Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. Available at . [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Hardy County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * 1815 Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at . The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Hardy County is included in Vol. 6.

Online West Virginia Tax site

West Virginia real and personal property tax records are managed by the County Assessor in each county. Land and land improvements are considered real property while mobile property is classified as personal property.

Many County Assessors offer an online searchable database, where assessment record searches can be performed by name, account number, year, or mp/parcel number. Where online records are not available, requests for records can be made to the Assessment Office in person, by phone, or in writing.

The search for tax information can start here

Vital Records

 * . Includes marriages 1792, 1795-1796, 1799, 1801-1842, 1844-1847, 1849-1851, 1853-1970 - free.

Societies and Libraries
See also a List of West Virginia Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Hardy County Genealogical-Historical Society Moorefield, West Virginia 26836

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Petersburg West Virginia Family History Center

Websites

 * Hardy County, WV History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * West Virginia Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * West Virginia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Cyndi's List for West Virginia
 * Cyndi's List for West Virginia

Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites

Hardy County, West Virginia Microfilms at the Library of Virginia