Elizabeth City County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Elizabeth City County

Parent County
1634--Elizabeth City County was created in 1634 as an original shire or county. It was absorbed by Hampton County in July 1952.

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Elizabeth City County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1820," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Johnson, Martha C. Black Families of Elizabeth City Co., VA, 1800-1990: Research of Families of Callis, Davis, Simpson, Radcliff, Originating from Gloucester Co., Mathews Co., York and James Counties and Elizabeth Co., Hampton, Virginia. 1728886 Item 2.

1890 Union Veterans' Census

 * Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website.

Church of England

 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. [Includes Elizabeth City County.]

Chancery Court

 * Indexed images of Elizabeth City County, Virginia Chancery Records 1816-1933 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 20 genealogies have been published about Elizabeth City County families. To view a list, visit Elizabeth City County, Virginia Genealogy.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Correspondence with the American Colonies 1739-1782," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 1998):108-128; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):189-205. [Overseas correspondence of a resident of Hampton with the following surname: Riddlehurst.] Available at FHL.
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Hampton and Elizabeth City 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=Elizabeth&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 Elizabeth City County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Grants and Patents

 * Chapman, Blanche Adams. Wills and Administrations of Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and Other Genealogical &amp; Historical Items, 1610-1800. Smithfield, Va., 1941. Original edition available at FHL; 1995 reprint at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):177-178. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [Includes copy of index to Elizabeth City County land patents, 1624-1788.]
 * 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 FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Elizabeth City County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]

Colonial Militia

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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 Hampton and Elizabeth City 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 FHL; digital version at Google Books. [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 Elizabeth City County, see p. 74.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Elizabeth City County militia officers; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

 * Chapman, Blanche Adams. Wills and Administrations of Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and Other Genealogical &amp; Historical Items, 1610-1800. Smithfield, Va., 1941. Original edition available at FHL; 1995 reprint at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):177-178. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [Includes Conventions of 1775-1776, the Committee of Safety, 1775; public claims (list of persons who furnished supplies during Revolution); services listed in Virginia Soldiers of 1777 by Burgess; Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolutionby John H. Gwathmey; The History of Virginia's Navy of the Revolution by Robert Armistead Stewart.]

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 FHL. [Includes a section on Hampton silversmiths.]

Officials

 * Chapman, Blanche Adams. Wills and Administrations of Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and Other Genealogical &amp; Historical Items, 1610-1800. Smithfield, Va., 1941. Original edition available at FHL; 1995 reprint at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):177-178. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [Includes a partial list of civil officers of the county, 1631-1666; members of the House of Burgesses, 1619-1775; Conventions of 1775-1776; lists of attorneys and justices, 1660-1767; more lists of civil officers of the county, 1639-1784.]

Private Papers

 * [Riddlehurst] Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Correspondence with the American Colonies 1739-1782," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 1998):108-128; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):189-205. [Overseas correspondence of a resident of Hampton with the following surname: Riddlehurst.] Available at FHL.

Local Court

 * Chapman, Blanche Adams. Wills and Administrations of Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and Other Genealogical &amp; Historical Items, 1610-1800. Smithfield, Va., 1941. Original edition available at FHL; 1995 reprint at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):177-178. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Hopkins, William Lindsay. Some Wills from the Burned Counties of Virginia and Other Wills Not Listed in Virginia Wills and Administrations 1632-1800. Richmond, Virginia: W.L. Hopkins, 1987. Available at FHL. [Includes Elizabeth City County.]

London Courts

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

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Elizabeth City County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1965):16-18. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Mero, James H. Elizabeth City County, Virginia (Now City of Hampton), A Guide for Research in Elizabeth City County Records. Hampton, Virginia: Hugh S. Watson, Jr. Genealogical Society of Tidewater Virginia, 1984. Available at FHL.

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [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 FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Elizabeth County appears in 30:341-344.]
 * [1704, 1782] Chapman, Blanche Adams. Wills and Administrations of Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and Other Genealogical &amp; Historical Items, 1610-1800. Smithfield, Va., 1941. Original edition available at FHL; 1995 reprint at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):177-178. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [Includes 1704 Quit Rent Roll; 1782 List of Tithables.]
 * [1704] See also 1787.
 * [1758] "A Poll for the Election of Burgesses for the County of Elizabeth City When Col. John Tabb &amp; Capt. William Wager Were Chosen, July 11, 1758," William and Mary College Quarterly, 1st Series, Vol. 26 (1917):107-108. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [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 at FHL. [1782 personal property tax list of Elizabeth City County.]
 * [1782-1820] Heinegg, Paul. "Elizabeth City County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1820," Free African Americans.com, available online. [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 FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Elizabeth City County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1787] Stewart, Robert Armistead. "First Tax List of the Commonwealth of Virginia: Property Tax List of Elizabeth City County, 1787 [and] Family Names Above Occurring in the Quit Rent Roll of Elizabeth City County, 1704," The Researcher: A Magazine of History and Genealogical Exchange, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Apr. 1927):177-179. Available at FHL.
 * [1790, 1798] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1798 Personal Property Tax Lists of Elizabeth City County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] "Elizabeth City County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1975):18-22. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [1815] 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. Elizabeth City County is included in Vol. 3.]

Voting

 * Chapman, Blanche Adams. Wills and Administrations of Elizabeth City County, Virginia, and Other Genealogical &amp; Historical Items, 1610-1800. Smithfield, Va., 1941. Original edition available at FHL; 1995 reprint at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):177-178. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [Includes polls for elections, 1758, 1765.]

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