Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Northampton County is on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. It was named for Northamptonshire, England.

County Courthouse
Northampton County Courthouse 5229 The Hornes Eastville, VA 23347 Phone: 757-678-0466 Northampton County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has birth, and death records from 1865-1888, marriage, divorce, probate court and land records from 1865

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring County


 * Accomack

Bible Records

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Family Bible Pages at Ghotes of Virginia

Business, Commerce, and Occupations
Philip Alexander Bruce's book Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century (Vol. II, 1896, p. 334 footnote 1) includes a list of early English merchants in Northampton County.

Cemeteries

 * Many cemetery records are available online at Eastern Shore Stuff.
 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Tombstone Transcription Project Northampton County - cemetery transcriptions - USGenWeb

Census Records
1790 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation. 1800 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation. 1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1890 Union Veterans' Census
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890.   Online at: Ancestry ($).   Includes residents of this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist Early Baptist churches (with years constituted): Northampton County fell within the bounds of the Accomac Association.
 * 1) Hungo's (1783)
 * 2) Lower Northampton (1778)
 * 3) Machipongo (1807)

Church of England See also Hungars Parish See also Lower Parish  See also Northampton Parish  See also Occohannock Parish  See also Upper Parish
 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet & Shepperson, 1945. Available at ; digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.

Methodist
 * Stevenson, Arthur Linwood. Native Methodist Preachers of the Eastern Shore of Virginia: With Supplements Concerning Methodist Preachers and Methodist Preachers' Children Who Have Married on the Shore and a Few Others. [Va.?]: A.L. Stevenson, 1970. Available at.

Quaker Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):
 * Magothy Bay Monthly Meeting (1705-1732)
 * Nassawaddox Monthly Meeting, near Franktown, Va. (1656-1716)
 * Onancock or Occahannock Monthly Meeting (1678-1699)

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Miscellaneous Court Records at GHOTES

Chancery Court
 * Indexed images of Northampton County, Virginia Chancery Records 1721-1912 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

County Court
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.
 * Houston, William Robert Montgomery and Jean M. Mihalyka. Colonial Residents of Virginia's Eastern Shore: Whose Ages Were Proved Before Court Officials of Accomack and Northampton Counties. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985. Three copies available at . [Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.]

Minute Books
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.

Emigration and Immigration

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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American In 1790, Northampton County had one of the largest free colored populations in the state (464 persons). The original Northampton County Register of Free Negroes, 1853-1861 are kept at the County Courthouse. LoV microfilmed these records in 1973. Copy:.
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Latimer, Francis Bibbins. The Register of Free Negroes Northampton County, Virginia, 1853 to 1861. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1992..
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Northampton County.

Native Americans
 * Berkeley, William. "The Indians of Northampton County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Oct. 1896):82-83. Digital version at JSTOR - free.
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Genealogies
Compiled Genealogies by Surname A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 * See Northampton County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of published books and articles, or jump to a surname using the alphabet bar.
 * Eastern Shore Family Data Files at GHOTES
 * Family Journals at GHOTES
 * The Ghotes Common Ancestor Linkage Project at GHOTES
 * 100s of Families from the Eastern Shore, from Charlemagne to the early 1900s at Miles Files

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * For earliest colonists: McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2007..
 * Carey, Mary Frances, Barry W. Miles and Moody K. Miles. Colonial Families of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 3 vols. Lewes, De.: Colonial Roots, c2004-2007. . Contents: v. 1. Descendants of James Bonnewell, Richard Bundick, William Mason, Edward Thornton, Henry Trader, and Henry Wright -- v. 2. Descendants of Edward Bayly, Richard Bayly, Edward Byrd, Edward Ker, John Lewis, Samuel Marshall, and Roger Miles -- v. 3. Descendants of Thomas Elliott (Northampton County), Thomas Elliott (Onley, Accomack County), Thomas Elliott (Wachapreague, Accomack), John Fisher, John Mapp, and Bartholowmew Mears.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Deeds
 * Houston, William Robert Montgomery and Jean M. Mihalyka. Colonial Residents of Virginia's Eastern Shore: Whose Ages Were Proved Before Court Officials of Accomack and Northampton Counties. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985. Three copies available at . (Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.)

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 ; digital version at Ancestry ($). (Includes Northampton County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.)

Quit Rent
 * 1704 Virginia Pioneers ($)

Local Histories
Hog Island
 * Histories and lists of Hog Islands Residences available at GHOTES

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Northampton County Maps at GHOTES of Virginia
 * Virginia Eastern Shore Maps and Gazetteers at GHOTS
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1978):121-130. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Northampton County's 1787-1790 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:269-70; 1786 Delinquent Lists appear on 22:122-123.]

Military Records
French and Indian War Revolutionary War
 * 1651-1776 Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). Identifies some County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.
 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . Identifies some Northampton County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.
 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at ; online at Internet Archive. Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch (French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War) with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Northampton County, see p. 95-96.
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: . See Virginia, Eastern District, Northampton County on page 132.

Regiments. Service men in Northampton County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Northampton County supplied soldiers for the:
 * - 9th Virginia Regiment

Colonial Militia War of 1812 Northampton County men served in the 27th Regiment. Civil War
 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . Identifies some Northampton County militia officers and/or soldiers; see place name index.
 * 1651-1776 Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). Identifies some County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. ; online at Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Northampton County, p. 96. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 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)
 * Eastern Shore of Virginia Register of Loyal Volunteers (Civil War Era) at GHOTES

Regiments. Civil War service men in Northampton County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed here:
 * - 39th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies A, B, C, D, and K.

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. 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.

Other Records
Private Papers
 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Custis Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at ; online at Internet Archive. Includes a chapter titled "Transcript from the Custis (Thompkins) Bible," see pp. 328-329.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * Mis. Court Records at GHOTES
 * 1633-1800 Wills and Estate Records Index at Library of Virginia.Local Court
 * Houston, William Robert Montgomery and Jean M. Mihalyka. Colonial Residents of Virginia's Eastern Shore: Whose Ages Were Proved Before Court Officials of Accomack and Northampton Counties. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985. . Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.

Probate Court
 * Digital Images of Northampton County Wills, 1640 to 1645.See names of Testators. Virginia Pioneers

London Courts
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Hog Island and Northampton County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
 * 1640-1645 Images of Wills and Estates Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1645-1651 Images of Wills and Estates Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1645-1651 Images of Deeds Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1651-1654 Images of Deeds Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1671 Tithables Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Online Images of Wills, Inventories, Orders, Deeds - 1632-1640 No. 1; 1645-1651 No. 3; 1651-1654 No. 4; 1654-1655 No. 5; 1655-1658 Nos. 7 and  8; 1657-1666 No. 6; 1668-1680; 1674-1679 No. 10;  1678-1683 No. 11; 1683-1689 No. 12; 1689-1698 No. 13; 1711-1718; 1718-1725 No. 14; 1717-1725 No. 15; 1725-1733 No. 16; 1733-1740 No. 18; 1764-1774 No. 9; 1772-1777 No. 25' 1777-1783 No. 26; 1783-1788 No. 27; 1788-1792 No. 28; 1792-1795 No. 29; 1795-1798 No. 30; 1799-1802 No. 31 Virginia Pioneers ($)

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records
 * 1922-1936 School Minutes Virginia Pioneers ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1662-1664, 1675-1677] Northampton County, Virginia Tithables, 1662-1664, 1675-1677. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; also available on microfilm at.
 * 1662-1677, 1720-1769] Bell, John B. Northampton County, Virginia, Tithables [1662-1677, 1720-1769] 2 vols. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1993. Available at.
 * 1666 Robertson, T.B. "List of Tithables in Northampton County, Va., August 1666," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 10 (1902/1903):194-196, 258-263. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * 1666 Wise, Jennings Cropper. Ye Kingdome of Accawmacke or the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. 1911; reprint, Baltimore, 1968. [Includes 1666 tithables list for Northampton County.]
 * 1666 List of Tithables in Northampton County, Virginia, August 1666 online at Genealogy Trails - free.
 * 1704 "Virginia Quit Rent Rolls, 1704," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 28 (1920):207-218, 328-339; Vol. 29 (1921):18-28, 337-343, 402-412; Vol. 30 (1922):21-30, 280-285, 341-347; Vol. 31 (1923):70-75, 153-163, 215-231, 314-318; Vol. 32 (1924):69-75, 144-158, 281-287, 338-343; Vol. 33 (1925):47-50, 359-370; Vol. 34 (1926):113-119, 252-258, 313, 321. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Northampton County appears in 34:313-321.]
 * 1704 Quit Rent Rolls, 1704, Heritage Quest, Vol. 35 (Jul. 1991).
 * 1782 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. Available through the FamilySearch Catalog. [1782 personal property tax list of Northampton County.]
 * 1782-1814 Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * 1783 - Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783; index online at Revolutionary War Service website - free.
 * 1786-1790 Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1978):121-130. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Northampton County's 1787-1790 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:269-70; 1786 Delinquent Lists appear on 22:122-123.]
 * 1787 Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Northampton County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * 1788, 1800 Indexed images of the 1788 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Northampton County, Virginia are available online at Binns Genealogy.
 * 1789 Robertson, Thomas B. "Poll Vote of Northampton County, Va., 1789," William and Mary College Quarterly, 1st Series, Vol. 26 (1917):109-110. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * 1800 Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul. 2001); Vol. 45, No 4 (Oct. 2001).
 * 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. Northampton 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. Northampton County is included in Vol. 3.]

Birth

 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index, ($) — index $
 * 1700s-1800s Northampton County, Virginia Marriages at VAGenWeb
 * 1706-1854 Nottingham, Stratton. The Marriage License Bonds of Northampton County, Virginia from 1706 to 1854. Onancock, VA: S. Nottingham, 1929. Available at ; World Vital Records ($).
 * 1706-1858 Bonds and Consents Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1853-1860 Bonds and Consents Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index & images

Family History Centers

 * Gloucester Virginia Family History Center
 * Newport News Virginia Family History Center


 * Eastern Shore Public Library - Northampton Branch - an affiliate library
 * Mathews Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * Eastern Shore Public Library - Cape Charles Memorial Branch - an affiliate library

Websites

 * MilesFiles
 * Northampton County, Virginia USGENWEB
 * Cyndi's List
 * Virginia Pioneers ($)


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.