Stafford County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Stafford County



Parent County
1666--Stafford County was created 5 June 1666 from Westmoreland County. County seat: Stafford

Neighboring Counties

 * Caroline
 * Charles County, Maryland
 * Culpeper
 * Fauquier
 * King George
 * Prince William
 * Spotsylvania

Church
Catholic


 * Downing, Margaret Brent. "The Old Catholic Chapel and Graveyard near Aquia, Stafford County, Va.," The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Jan. 1925):561-563. Available at JSTOR ($).

Church of England


 * "Extracts from the Register of St. Paul's Parish, Stafford (Now King George) County, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Apr. 1901):360-366. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Nicklin, John Bailey Calvert. "Data from the Register of St. Paul's Parish, King George (Formerly Stafford) County, Virginia, 1716-1793," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan. 1933):28-33. Available at JSTOR ($).

Court
General


 * Waterman, Thomas T. "The Old Court House Buildings, Stafford County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Apr. 1936):247. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Waterman, Thomas T. "The Old Buildings at Stafford Court House," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Oct. 1936):587-588. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Happel, Ralph. "Stafford and King George Courthouses and the Fate of Marlborough, Port of Entry," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Apr. 1958):183-194. Available at JSTOR ($).

County Court


 * "Notes from the Records of Stafford County, Virginia, Order Books," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Jul. 1936):191-206; Vol. 44, No. 4 (Oct. 1936):296-311; Vol. 45, No. 1 (Jan. 1937):11-28; Vol. 45, No. 2 (Apr. 1937):171-188; Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul. 1937):243-259; Vol. 45, No. 4 (Oct. 1937):367-382; Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan. 1938):20-33; Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr. 1938):126-134; Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul. 1938):222-230; Vol. 46, No. 4 (Oct. 1938):316-320; Vol. 47, No. 1 (Jan. 1939):22-26; Vol. 47, No. 2 (Apr. 1939):126-132; Vol. 47, No. 3 (Jul. 1939):248-252; Vol. 47, No. 4 (Oct. 1939):335-348. Available at JSTOR ($).

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. In addition to finding a direct ancestor’s surname listed, and watching to see if more recent publications make additions and corrections to earlier works, this list is also useful for determining if genealogists have published accounts, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, for any members of an ancestor’s “FAN Club” [Family, Associates, and Neighbors]. Checking publications about those individuals can lead you to new information about your own ancestry. Be mindful that compiled genealogies may contain errors.

Bibliography


 * [Ball] Hill, Ronald A. "Ball Family Migration: Virginia to Kentucky, 1784," The American Genealogist, Vol. 78, No. 2 (April 2003):103-114.
 * [Brent] Palmer, Lucy Jane Brent. "Charles Brent of Stafford County, Virginia, and Some of His Descendants," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Apr. 1926):180-183; Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul. 1926):280-285; Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct. 1926):378-384.
 * [Combs] Combs, Josiah. "The Ancestry of Joseph Combs, of Stafford," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct. 1946):341-343. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Combs] "Corrections: The Ancestry of Joseph Combs, of Stafford," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Jan. 1947):97. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Dilley] Jones, Thomas W. "Dilley of Northern Virginia and Ohio: A Proposed Solution Hanging on a Single Word," The American Genealogist, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Jul. 2004):220-227.
 * [Fitzhugh] "Will of William Fitzhugh, and Other Extracts from the Records of Stafford County," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jan. 1895):276-280. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Rousseau] Rousseau, Marilyn K. "The Colonial Virginia Ancestry of a Pioneer Florida Family: William H. Rousseau (1818-1870), Florida House of Representatives 1852, Florida State Senate 1865," The American Genealogist, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Jul. 2004):184-198.
 * [Simms] Hall, William K. and Wilma Chappell. The Simms Family of Stafford County, Virginia. St. Louis, Missouri, 1969. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1970):91. Review is available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [Starke] "Starke Family of Stafford County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Apr. 1897):255-256. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Washington] "William Washington of Stafford County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Oct. 1906):132-134. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Withers] "The Withers Family. Of Stafford, Fauquier, &amp;c.," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Jan. 1899):309-313; Vol. 6, No. 4 (Apr. 1899):425-427. Available at JSTOR ($).

Guides

 * King, George H.S. "A Survey of Stafford County Records [1792]," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Jul. 1945):215-218. Available at JSTOR ($).

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Stafford County 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=Stafford&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 Stafford County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Davey. 253 patents dated 1651-1911 in what is now Fairfax, Fauquier, Northumberland, Prince William, Stafford, and Westmoreland Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. [Names of those who received land patents, dates, land descriptions, and references may be viewed free of charge (click "Index" next to the county listing, which is "Nova" in this instance); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.]

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Stafford County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on p. 53.]

Military
Colonial Militia


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Stafford 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 Stafford 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 Stafford County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; 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 Stafford County militia officers; see place name index.]

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette(1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburgwebsite. In addition, Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have created a database of all runaway advertisements for slaves, indentured servants, transported convicts, and ship deserters listed in this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Private Papers

 * King, George Harrison Sanford. "Notes from the Journal of John Mercer, Esquire, (1704/5-1768) of Marlborough, Stafford County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1960):99-110; Vol. 4, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1960):153-162. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Probate
Local Court


 * King, George Harrison Sanford. "Will of Andrew Edwards, Stafford County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1972):307-310. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Nicklen, John Bailey Calvert. "A Missing Will Book of Stafford County and Its Contents," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Jan. 1949):67-75. Available at JSTOR ($).

London Courts


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

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Stafford County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1979):55-57. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Taxation
At first glance, researchers might conclude that Virginia tax lists contain very little family history data, though one soon learns that valuable genealogical conclusions can be drawn from these records, nicknamed "annual censuses," such as: relationships, approximate years of birth, socio-economic status, identification of neighbors, the ability to distinguish between persons of the same name, evidence of land inheritance, years of migration, and years of death.

Virginia began enumerating residents' payments of personal property and land taxes in 1782. These two types of taxation were recorded in separate registers. Personal property tax lists include more names than land tax lists, because they caught more of the population. The Family History Library has an excellent microfilm collection of personal property tax lists from 1782 (or the year the county was organized) well into the late nineteenth century for most counties, but only scattered land tax lists. Microfilm collections at The Library of Virginia include land tax lists for all counties and independent cities for the years 1782 through 1978, as well as personal property tax lists for the years 1782 through 1930 (and every fifth year thereafter). Taxes were not collected in 1808.

Some tax records are available online or in print, though published abstracts often omit useful details found only in the original sources. Statewide indexes can help genealogists identify specific counties where surnames occurred in the past, providing starting points for research.


 * A List of the Rents Belonging to the Estate of Capt. William Brent, Dece[ase]d Virginia, y[ea]rs 1746-1749, in Milnor Ljungstedt, "Some Stafford Records," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jul. 1922):183. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Woodson, Robert F. and Isobel B. Woodson. Virginia Tithables from Burned Record Counties: Buckingham, 1773-1774; Gloucester, 1770-1771, 1774-1775; Hanover, 1763 and 1770; James City, 1768-1769; Stafford, 1768 and 1773. Richmond, Virginia: I.B. Woodson, 1970. Available at FHL.
 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Stafford County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on p. 53.]
 * Images of the 1789 and 1798 Personal Property Tax Lists of Stafford County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * 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 1815 land tax. Stafford County is included in Vol. 4.]

Websites

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