Mason County, West Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Mason County was named for George Mason. The county is located in the western area of the state.

County Courthouse
Mason County Courthouse 200 6th Street Point Pleasant, WV 25550 Phone: 304-675-1997 Mason County Website County Clerk has birth and death records from 1853; marriage and land records from 1804; military records from 1918. Circuit Court Clerk has divorce and court records.

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:

Cemeteries

 * West Virginia Cemetery Preservation Association, Inc - Mason County

Census Records

 * Mason County Census Records at WVGenWeb

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Churches in Mason County, West Virginia at WVGenWeb
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1786-1875 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1804-1881 (*); County and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1804-1901 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1809-1872 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1817-1844 (*); Militia Court of Inquiry at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1819-1831 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1830-1877 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1831-1929 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1832-1853 (*); Circuit and County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1835-1932 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1850 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1853-1958 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1855-1873 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1860-1880 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1873-1880 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1873-1881 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * (*); Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images

African Americans

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Mason County Personal Property Tax List, 1805-1846," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.

Genealogies

 * Chapman - Machir, Violette S. Some Chapman, Jolly, Rayburn and Smith Families in W.Va. &amp; Ohio. Middleport, Ohio: Quality Print Shop, 1966..
 * Clemens - Bell, Raymond Martin. The Ancestry of Samuel Clemens, Grandfather of Mark Twain. Washington, Pa.: R.M. Bell, 1980. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library;.
 * Henderson - Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Heraldica: Being a Registry of Virginia Gentry Entitled to Coat Armor, With Genealogical Notes of the Families. New York: The Genealogical Association, 1908. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
 * Hornish Hornish family records some of the descendants of Martin B. Hornish and Helena Rupert of Point Pleasant, now West Virginia (ca. 1824), Centreville, Wayne County, Indiana (ca. 1829 to 1856), and Tazewell and Peoria Counties, Illinois (1856- )
 * Jolly - Machir, Violette S. Some Chapman, Jolly, Rayburn and Smith Families in W.Va. &amp; Ohio. Middleport, Ohio: Quality Print Shop, 1966..
 * Lane - Quackenbush, Nancy. "Some Northern Neck Lanes," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Nov. 1986):3-22. Digital version at Ancestry ($);.
 * Somerville A brief biographical sketch of the Somerville family for seven generations written from the reunion at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, July 4, 1904 digital view.

Local Histories

 * Evans, Norma Pontiff. First Families of McDowell County, West Virginia. s.l. Author, 1981; 929.1 M138.
 * Friedl, Joseph. A History of Education in McDowell County, West Virginia, 1858-1976.
 * Parsons, West Virginia, McClain Printing Company, 1975; 370.9754 F911h.
 * Goodykoontz, Wells. Address Delivered by Wells Goodykoontz, Tuesday, June 14, 1927, at the Unveiling of Tablet of Black Wolf, McDowell County, West Virginia . s.l., n.p., 1927. 929.2 H287 Pam.
 * Grisby, Louise Carter. Come Back With Me to Gary, West Virginia. s.l., n.p., n.d. 975.449 G857.
 * Lad, Virginia. Sodom and Gomorrah of Today; or the History of Keystone, West Virginia. s.l., n.p., 1912; 975.449 L153.
 * McDowell County Centennial, 1858-1958. s.l., n.p., 1958. 975.449 M138c.
 * McDowell County, West Virginia, The Nations Coal Bin. s.l., n.p., n.d. 917.5449 M138.
 * Solins, Mrs. Samuel and Jones, Mrs. Paul. McDowell County History; A Pictorial History of McDowell County, West Virginia. Fort Worth, Texas, University Supply and Equipment Company, 1959. 975.449 M138.
 * Sowers, Auburn Daniel. Facts About McDowell County, West Virginia. s.l., n.p., 1912. 975.449 S731 Pam.
 * Welch West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Welch, McDowell County, West Virginia. s.l., n.p., n.d.; 917.5449 W439 Pam.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Maps of West Virginia (1617-1995)
 * Mason County, West Virginia Map

Revolutionary War

 * 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 ($). 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Mason County on page 135.
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.

War of 1812
Mason County men served in the 106th Virginia Regiment.

Civil War
Union


 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 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)


 * - 8th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * Mason County, West Virginia World War II Casualties Army and Air Force

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1814-1991  at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * The Point Pleasant Register 200 Main Street Point Pleasant, WV 25550 Phone: 304-675-1333

Obituaries

 * Mason County Obituaries at WVGenWeb

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1700-1940 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1724-1985 West Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1724-1985 at Ancestry ($) — index & images
 * 1756-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1776-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1804-1881 (*); County and Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1804-1901 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1829-1882 (*); County Court and Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1831-1929 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1832-1882 (*); County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1833-1968 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1835-1932 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1854-1927 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1874-1922 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1880-1906 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

School Records

 * Mason County schools at WVGenWeb

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 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
How can West Virginia tax lists help me?


 * 1805-1846 Heinegg, Paul. "Mason County Personal Property Tax List, 1805-1846," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
 * 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. Mason 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

 * West Virginia Vital Records, 1865-1969 (varies) - Includes birth, death, and marriage.

Birth

 * 1853-1914 West Virginia Birth Index, 1853-1914 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * Mason County, West Virginia Births at WVGenWeb

Marriage

 * 1776-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1780-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1801-1962 West Virginia, United States Marriages at Findmypast; index $
 * Mason County, West Virginia Marriages, 1806-1915 at Ancestry ($)
 * West Virginia Vital Records, 1865-1969 (varies) - Includes birth, death, and marriage.
 * Mason County, West Virginia Marriages at WVGenWeb

Death

 * 1804-1999 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1853-1964 West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Archives
Archives and History Library West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History Culture Center, State Capitol Complex 1900 Kanawha Blvd E Charleston, WV 25305-0300 Phone: 304-558-0230 Website Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Charleston West Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Huntington West Virginia FamilySearch Center

Libraries
Mason County Public Library 508 Viand St Point Pleasant, WV 25550 Phone: 304-675-0894 Email: [mailto:mcpllib@mail.mln.lib.wv.us mcpllib@mail.mln.lib.wv.us] Website Facebook
 * Multiple locations.

Societies
Mason County Historical and Preservation Society Email: [mailto:masonchps@gmail.com masonchps@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Mason County WVGenWeb
 * Mason County USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Cyndi's List West Virginia
 * West Virginia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * - 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