Shenandoah County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Shenandoah County

Virginia county in the Shenandoah Valley region.





Parent County
1772--Prior to January 12, 1778, Shenandoah County was originally called Dunmore County. Dunmore County was created 24 March 1772 from Frederick County. County seat: Woodstock

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Shenandoah County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1978):210-213. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Good, Rebecca H. and Rebecca A. Ebert. Finding Your People in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia: A Genealogical Guide. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1998. 4th ed.

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Shenandoah County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1818," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Cemeteries

 * Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather, comp. Cemetery Records of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Vol. I. Chillicothe, MO, USA: Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry, c1965. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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.]

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexed images of Shenandoah County, Virginia Chancery Records 1772-1927 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Genealogy
More than 25 genealogies have been published about Shenandoah County families. To view a list, visit Shenandoah County, Virginia Genealogy.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Crown. 84 patents dated 1749-1858 in what is now Shenandoah County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2005. [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); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Vol. II. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Shenandoah County (then called Dunmore County).]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800. Vol. III. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Shenandoah 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 ($); BYU Family History Archives and World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]
 * Wayland, John Walter. A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Pub. House, 1927. Available at ; 1980 reprint at ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Free Lookups Available!

Maps

 * Massanutten Area Atlas. Original records, Shenandoah County Archives, Woodstock, Va. Microfilmed reproduction available at . [This is a bound book of hand drawn maps showing property boundaries for grant map, ca. 1748-1915. It covers parts of Shenandoah, Warren and Page counties.]

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Shenandoah County's 1789 Delinquent List appears on pp. 49-50.]

French and Indian War

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

Revolutionary War
"A Copy of the men drafted and listed March 19 1781 Agreeable to an act of assembly for the County of Shenandoah," transcribed and annotated by James L. Lynch, is available for free online, courtesy: Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution.

Additional resources include:


 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. ; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Roster of Capt. Thomas Buck's company, enlisted from Dunmore county (now Shenandoah), Sept. 5, 1777, see pp. 178-180.]
 * 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, Shenandoah County on page 136.]
 * 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

 * 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. 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Shenandoah County, p. 103-104. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * Shenandoah County Virginia Men in Gray. 2 vols. Free Lookups Available!
 * 11th Virginia Cavalry. Free Lookups Available!

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.

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 . [Includes a section on Woodstock silversmiths.]

Probate
Wills


 * Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather, comp. Will Records of Shenandoah County, Virginia 1771-91. Chillicothe, MO, USA: Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry, c1965. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1782-1818] Heinegg, Paul. "Shenandoah County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1818," 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. Shenandoah County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1789] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Shenandoah County's 1789 Delinquent List appears on pp. 49-50.]
 * [1789, 1799] Indexed images of the 1789 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Shenandoah County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [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 1815 land tax. Shenandoah County is included in Vol. 4.]
 * [1815] Land Tax Roll, 1815, Frederick Findings. Mechanicsville VA: Summer 1996. Vol. 8 Iss. 2; Fall 1995. Vol. 8 Iss. 3; Winter 1995. Vol. 8 Iss. 4; Spring 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 1; Summer 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 2; Fall 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 3; Winter 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 4; Winter 1998. Vol. 10 Iss. 1; Spring 1998. Vol. 10 Iss. 2.

Vital Records
Birth

Beth Fridley has published abstracts of the following Shenandoah County, Virginia birth records online at Ancestry:


 * Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1853-71 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1872-77 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1878-90 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1891-96 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage


 * Ashby, Bernice M. Shenandoah County Marriage Bonds, 1772-1850. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1968):38. Review available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Websites

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