Accomack County, Virginia Genealogy

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Accomack County, Virginia is a county, established in 1634, in Eastern Virginia on the southern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula.

County Courthouse
23316 Courthouse Avenue Accomac, Virginia 23301 Clerk of the Circuit Court: (757) 787-5776

Accomack County Courthouse

History
Accomac Shire was established in the Virginia Colony by the House of Burgesses in 1634 under the direction of King Charles I. It was one of the original eight shires of Virginia. The shire's name comes from the Native American word Accawmack.

In 1642, the named was changed to Northampton County by the British, to eliminate "heathen" names in the New World. ("shires" and "counties" were essentially the same in England). In 1663, Northampton County was split into two counties. The northern section assumed the original Accomac name, the southern retained Northampton.

In 1670, the Virginia Colony's Royal Governor William Berkeley abolished Accomac County, but the Virginia General Assembly re-created it in 1671. In 1940, the General Assembly officially added a "k" to the end of the county's name to arrive at its current spelling, which is Accomack County. (from Wikipedia)

Parent County
1634--Accomack county was created in 1634 from Northampton County. County seat: Accomac

Populated Places
Towns:

Communities:

Cemeteries
For a more detailed list, including addresses and external links, see Accomack County, Virginia Cemeteries.

The following is a list of cemeteries in Accomack County:

Census
For tips on accessing census records online, see Virginia Census.

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

1800 - Exists, but it is not included in Ancestry or Heritage Quest Online databases. It was published in The Virginia Genealogist:


 * Ewald, Annie Laurie. "Accomack County, Virginia, 1800 Census," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1957):98-108; Vol. 1, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1957):157-162; Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1958):13-18; Vol. 2, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1958); Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1958):128-133; Vol. 2, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1958):153-166. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [This census taker was exceptional in that he identified relationships and residences of inhabitants to distinguish between persons of the same names.]

1870


 * Surname index to The Accomack County 1870 Census, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Church

 * Surname index to St. George's Parish Accomack County Vestry Book 1763-1787, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
 * Surname index to Meetings of the Overseers of the Poor for Accomack &amp; St. George's Parish September 1787-1819, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
 * Surname index to A Record of Baptisms on the Accomack Circuit (Cokesbury Methodist Episcopal Church of Onancock, Virginia, 1859-1888), courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Court
Chancery Court


 * Surname index to Accomack County Chancery Orders 1831-1845, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

County 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. Three copies available at FHL. [Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.]

Eastern Shore District Court


 * Surname index to Eastern Shore District Court 1789-1816, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Orphan's Court


 * Surname index to Accomack County Orphan's Court Accounts 1741-1805, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

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.

General


 * McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2007. Available at FHL; purchase at Genealogical Publishing Company.

Bibliography


 * [Ames] Edwards, Lucy Ames and Nannie Ames Mears. Ames, Mears and Allied Lines: The American Ancestors of Samuel William Ames and Sarah Anne Edmunds Mears of Accomack County, Virginia. 1967. Available at FHL.
 * [Bloxom] Bloxsom, Daniel E. Bloxom, Bloxsom, Bloxam, Accomack County, Va. Los Angeles, California: D.E. Bloxsom, Jr., 1982. Available at FHL.
 * [Boggs] See Phillips.
 * [Byrd] Byrd, Colwell P. History and Genealogy of the Byrd Family: From the Early Part of 1700 A.D., When They Settled at Muddy Creek, Accomack County, Virginia, Down to A.D. 1907. Pocomoke City, Md.: C.P. Byrd, 1908. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($) and BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Delaymos] Russell, George Ely. "Portuguese and Spanish Colonists in Seventeenth-Century Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 76, No. 1 (January 2001):50-60; Vol. 77, No. 1 (Apr. 2001):138-147.
 * [Doughty] Brayton, John Anderson. "The Ancestry of the Rev. Francis Doughty of Massachusetts, Long Island, New Amsterdam, Maryland, and Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Jan. 2002):1-16, Vol. 77, No. 2 (April 2002):127-136.
 * [Foulke] Foulke, Roy A. Foulke Family: One Branch Descended from James Ffookes Who Was Already Settled in Accomack County, Virginia by the Year 1663. Bronxville, New York: Foulke, 1972. Available at FHL.
 * [Mears]See Ames.
 * [Neale] Neall, Harry Levy and Rosalie S. Neall Cunningham. Genealogy of the American Family of Neall: It Being a Branch of the Bedfordshire, England Family of Neale, from Whose Members, circa 1630, Came the Emigrants Who Founded the Early American Family of Neale Who Settled at Accomack, Virginia, and Salem, Massachusetts, Some of the Succeeding Generations Finding Their Permanent Location of the Eastern Shore of Maryland: This Family History Has Its More Intimate Relationship in the Descendants of Francis Neale, a Quaker, Whose Children Changed the Spelling of Their Surname to Neall. 2 vols. Haywood, California: R.N. Cunningham, 1969. Available at FHL.
 * [Phillips] Rountree, Henning A. The Ancestors of Benjamin Phillips (1760-1818) and Ruth Boggs Phillips (1759-1837): Who Were Born in Accomack County, Va., and Died in Elizabeth City (now Hampton) County, Va. Hampton, Virginia: H.A. Rountree, Jr., 1982. Available at FHL.
 * [Phillips] Rountree, Henning A. The Descendants of Benjamin Phillips (1760-1818): Who Was Born in Accomack County, Va., and Died in Elizabeth City (now Hampton) County, Va. Hampton, Virginia: H.A. Rountree, Jr., 1982. Available at FHL.
 * [Selleck] Kaufmann, Paulette Clark. "David Selleck, of Somerset, England, and of Massachusetts and Virginia," The Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring 2005):3-40.
 * [Selleck] Stott, Clifford L. and Paulette Clark Kaufmann. "The Selleck Family of Gaulden Manor, Tolland, Somerset: Ancestors of David Selleck of Boston, Massachusetts, and Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 81, No. 1 (Jan. 2006):36-47.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Accawacke [Accomack], Nasswadax Creek, and Accomack County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * [http://www.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=Accomack&placeOfIndentureColony=&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 Accomack County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
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 FHL. [Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.]

Headrights


 * Nottingham, Stratton. Certificates and Rights, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-1709. Onancock, Virginia: S. Nottingham, 1929. 1954 reprint available at FHL; 1977 reprint available at FHL.

Processioner's Returns


 * Surname index to Accomack and St. George's Parishes Processioner's Returns 1723-1792, 1796-1816, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
 * Surname index to genealogical analysis of landowners appearing in Processioner's Returns of St. George Parish 1795-1796, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Local Histories

 * 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.]

Military
Colonial Militia


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

Civil War


 * Surname index to The Eleventh Census of the United States 1890 - Special Schedule - Union Veterans and Widows Bundle 180, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

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

 * Surname index to Accomack Indentures 1798-1835, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Private Papers

 * [Parker] Lewis, James F. "Bible of John R. Parker, Accomack County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1971):133-134. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [Taylor] Edwards, Conley L. "Family Records from the Ledger of Edward Taylor, Accomack County, 1741-1780," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Jul-Sep. 1978):179-180. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Probate
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. Three copies available at FHL. [Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.]

District Court


 * Surname index to Eastern Shore District Court Wills and Deeds 1800-1806, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Guardian Bonds


 * Surname index to Accomack County Guardian Bonds 1819-1827, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

London Courts


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

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Accawmack County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1959). Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Accomack County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1959). Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

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.


 * Nottingham, Stratton. Accomack Tithables 1663-1695. Onancock, Virginia: S. Nottingham, 1931. Available at FHL; 1987 reprint at FHL.
 * 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.]
 * Indexed images of the 1788 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Accomack County, Virginia are available online at 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 the 1815 land tax. Accomack County is included in Vol. 3.]

Vital Records
Birth

The birth registers of Accomack County, Virginia (1853-1896) have been indexed twice. Petersrow Publishers offers a free surname search of published abstracts on their website. Ancestry's fee-based databases include indexes and actual images of the records.


 * Surname index to The Accomack County Birth Register 1853-1896, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
 * Surname index to The Accomack County Birth Register 1853-1896: African American Births, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
 * Fridley, Beth. Accomack County, Virginia Births, 1853-65 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Fridley, Beth. Accomack County, Virginia Births, 1866-73 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Fridley, Beth. Accomack County, Virginia Births, 1874-77 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Fridley, Beth. Accomack County, Virginia Births, 1878-81 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Fridley, Beth. Accomack County, Virginia Births, 1882-92 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Fridley, Beth. Accomack County, Virginia Births, 1893-96 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).

Death


 * Surname index to The Accomack County Death Register 1853-1896, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
 * Surname index to Accomack County Death Register 1853-1896: African American Deaths, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Websites

 * Accomac Roots (Extensive African-American History in Accomac County Virginia)
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog

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