Loudoun County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Loudoun County is located in the northern portion of Virginia. The county was named for John Campbell, fourth Earl of Loudoun, a Scottish nobleman who served as Commander-in-Chief for all British armed forces in North America and titular Governor of Virginia from 1756 to 1768.

County Courthouse
Loudoun County Courthouse 18 East Market Street Leesburg, VA 20176 Phone: 703-777-0312 Loudoun County Website Clerk Circuit Court has birth records 1853-1859, 1864-1866, 1869-1879, death records 1853-1866, marriage records from 1793, divorce, probate and land records from 1757, court records from 1858, and tithables 1758-1786

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:

History Timeline
Loudoun County is named after Major General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (1705-1782). Campbell, a Scottish nobleman, served as Governor General of Virginia (1756-1758) at the time Loudoun County was organized. When Loudoun County was organized, the eastern border was Difficult Run. Officials moved the line further northwest to near Sugarland Run in 1798. The boundary, a straight line, does not follow the stream. This boundary change impacts genealogists, because this land and its occupants, which had originally belonged to Fairfax County, fell under the jurisdiction of Loudoun County for 40 years, from 1757 to 1798, after which time it went back to Fairfax County.

Bible Records

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * "Beard Account Book," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Sep. 1997):1; Vol. 5, No. 4 (Dec. 1997):3; Vol. 6, No. 1 (Mar. 1998):3. [Identifies persons with accounts 1790s-1840s.]
 * Binns, John. A Treatise on Practical Farming. Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va.
 * "Business Directory of Leesburg: Containing the Names of Merchants and Mechanics with Their Places of Business, published by William L. Stork, Bookseller &amp; Stationer, Leesburg, VA, 1860," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Mar. 1997):1; Vol. 5, No. 2 (June 1997):3; Vol. 5, No. 3 (Sep. 1997):2.
 * Business Licenses, 1757-1900. Available online, courtesy: The Archives of the Clerk of the Loudoun County Circuit Court. [Includes liquor, mill, ordinary, restaurant and hotel, and retail indexes.]
 * Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. [Includes a section on Leesburg silversmiths.]
 * "Hillsboro General Store, Post Office and Lending Library 1821-1836," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 6, No. 2/3 (Sep. 1998):1; Vol. 6, No. 4 (Dec. 1998):3. [Indexes persons with accounts.]
 * List of Male and Female Indentures (Apprenticeships) from 1757-1872. Available online, courtesy: The Archives of the Clerk of the Loudoun County Circuit Court.
 * Marsh, Helen Hirst. "Early Loudoun Water Mills," The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Loudoun County, Virginia, 1957-1976. Leesburg, Va.: Goose Creek Productions, 1998, pp. 29-34.
 * Marsh, Helen Hirst. "Hometown Banking: The Loudoun Company," The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Loudoun County, Virginia, 1957-1976. Leesburg, Va.: Goose Creek Productions, 1998, pp. 111-116.
 * U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patents, 1790-1909. Available online, courtesy: Ancestry ($). [Lists dozens of inventions patented by residents of Loudoun County, Virginia.]

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Loudoun County's cemetery records have been thoroughly indexed and local volunteers are available to photograph tombstones. Loudoun County, Virginia Cemeteries aids researchers in accessing these resources.

Census Records
All extant Loudoun County, Virginia census records (population, mortality, and slave schedules) have been published and indexed and volunteers are available to do free lookups for most census years, see: Loudoun County, Virginia Census.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Many old Loudoun County church records survive. Select Baptist, Catholic, Church of England, Episcopal, German Reformed, Lutheran, Presyterian, and Quaker records have been abstracted and published, see the Loudoun County, Virginia Church page. See also Cameron Parish See also Shelburne Parish  See also Truro Parish
 * 1742-1775 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 ($).

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records Abstracts of several of Loudoun County's courts have been published, including chancery court, county court, criminal cases, Dumfries district court, fee books, and loose papers. These resources are outlined on the Loudoun County, Virginia Court page.

Law and Legislation
 * There are seven religious petitions from residents of Loudoun County, Virginia (dated 1776-1802) online in Early Religious Petitions, courtesy: American Memory, The Library of Congress. (Church of England, German Lutheran, German Episcopelian Society.)
 * There are 492 petitions from residents of Loudoun County, Virginia (1776-1865) in the Legislative Petitions Database. Available online, courtesy: Library of Virginia.
 * Petition to Send Slaves to Africa, 1827, Northern Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jul. 1996).

Emigration and Immigration

 * Bartley, Bev. "The Seeding of Loudoun," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter 1993):1-2.
 * Immigrant Servants Database at PriceGen - 20,000+ colonial immigrants, primary focus: Chesapeake Bay colonies (Virginia and Maryland)
 * "Pennsylvania-Germans in Loudoun Co., VA," Pennsylvania German, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Mar. 1908).

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American Many resources relating to the free and enslaved black population of Loudoun County have been collected, indexed, and published to help genealogists trace their ancestors. Loudoun County, Virginia African Americans details these handy resources. Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Loudoun County.
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

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 Loudoun County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of published books and articles, or jump to the surname using the alphabet bar.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * Biographical Files Index, Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va., available online.
 * Presgraves, Jim. Loudoun County Families and History. [Includes Memoir of Loudoun Co. 1853 by Yardley Taylor; the Loudoun Co. section of Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia by Hardesty; the Loudoun Co. section of The German Settlement by Goodhart; the Loudoun Valley Academy reunion of 1914; and Virginia Business Directory and Gazeteer 1911 for Loudoun.] Free Lookups Available!
 * Sparacio, Ruth Trickey and Sam Sparacio. A Digest of Family Relationships. 4 vols. Virginia?: R. &amp; S. Sparacio, 1990-. Available at . [Includes relationships drawn from Loudoun County, Virginia deeds.]

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Loudoun County has a rich collection of land records. Many deeds, grants, land causes, patents, and superior court deeds have been published and indexed. Some finding aids are available online, while volunteers offer to make free lookups for others records. Loudoun County, Virginia Land assists researchers in locating finding aids and accessing the original records.

Local Histories
The History of Loudoun County, Virginia website includes many articles about Loudoun's past, including the following topics: African American chronology, Civil War, Colonial history, and Indians. Other local histories include:
 * Divine, John, Brownen and Souders. When Waterford &amp; I Were Young. Free Lookups Available!
 * Head, James W. History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia. [Washington? District of Columbia]: Park View Press, 1908. ; digital versions at Archive.org, Google Books, and Heritage Quest Online ($).
 * "How Loudoun Fought an Epidemic in 1793," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Dec. 2002):1-2.
 * Nichols, Joseph V. "Tales of Old Virginia," The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Loudoun County, Virginia, 1957-1976. Leesburg, Va.: Goose Creek Productions, 1998, pp. 117-120. Free Lookups Available!
 * Osburn, Penelope M. "Establishing the Towns in Loudoun County," The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Loudoun County, Virginia, 1957-1976. Leesburg, Va.: Goose Creek Productions, 1998, pp. 71-75. Free Lookups Available!
 * Osburn, Thomas. "Former Citizen Writes Interestingly of the Inhabitants of Bluemont in the '50's," written 1923, published in Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Dec. 1998):1-2; Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mar. 1999):2; Vol. 7, No. 2 (Jun. 1999):2.
 * Phillips, John T. The Historians Guide to Loudoun County, Virginia. Leesburg, Virginia: Goose Creek Productions, c1996. Free Lookups Available! [One section of this book was republished as "Colonial Ferries and Ordinaries at Goose Creek," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Fall 1993):1-2.
 * Scheel, Eugene M. The Story of Purcellville. Free Lookups Available!
 * 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * Weatherly, Yetive. Lovettsville, the German Settlement. Free Lookups

House Histories House histories have become a popular hobby. Learning about the inheritance of specific estates can aid genealogists in piecing together family trees. Loudoun County, Virginia House Histories points readers to such resources.

Maps and Gazetteers
Several historic maps of Loudoun County survive. Modern maps, created to show county boundary changes, and to plot land owners, are also available, see: Loudoun County, Virginia Maps.
 * 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. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1976):199-208; Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1978):43-50.. ; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Loudoun County's 1790 Delinquent List appears on 20:201-202; 1786 and 1788 Delinquent Lists appear on 22:44-45.]
 * Loudoun Co., Virginia to Ohio: Migration of Families, courtesy: USGenWeb.
 * Moore, Robert P. "New Jersey Families in Loudoun Co., Va., Tithable Lists in the 1700s," The Nelson County Genealogist, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Autumn 1992):9-10.
 * "Pennsylvania-Germans in Loudoun Co., VA," Pennsylvania German, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Mar. 1908).
 * Weatherly, Yetive. Lovettsville, the German Settlement. Free Lookups Available!

Transportation
 * Constantino, Roberto. Miscellaneous Road Cases, Loudoun County, Virginia, 1758-1782: Loudoun County Circuit Court, Clerk of Circuit Court, Archives: Miscellaneous Road Cases, Files No. 38 to 48, Leesburg, Virginia. Westminster, Maryland: Willow Bend Books: Heritage Books, 2003.
 * Rose, Murray. "Potomac River Bridges into Loudoun County," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Spring 1993):1-2; Vol. 1, No. 4 (Summer 1993):1.
 * Saffer, Wynne. "Overseers of the Road in Southern Loudoun in 1801," Northern Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Oct. 1998):166-169.
 * "Seven Ferries Served Loudoun in 1700s," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Dec. 2002):2-4.

Military Records
Records regarding Loudoun County veterans are kept in diverse archives and repositories. The Loudoun County, Virginia Military page will assist you in finding these resources.
 * 1778 Loudoun Militia Virginia Pioneers ($).

Civil War
 * 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)

Civil War Battles The following Civil War battles were fought in Loudoun County.
 * October 21, 1861 - Ball’s Bluff, also known as Harrison’s Landing and Leesburg.
 * June 17, 1863 - Aldie.
 * June 17-19, 1863 - Middleburg.
 * June 21, 1863 - Upperville.


 * Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

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

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * Aliens, 1800s-1900s. Available online, courtesy: The Archives of the Clerk of the Loudoun County Circuit Court.
 * Index to Naturalization Petitions, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria, 1909-1929, available online, courtesy: Alexandria Library, Special Collections Division, Alexandria, Va. [Includes WWI soldies stationed in or near Loudoun County.]
 * 1906-1929 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.

Loudoun Co. Newspapers: Information Regarding Newspapers Previously Published in Loudoun Co. is a helpful guide, courtesy: USGenWeb.


 * 1800 True American (Leesburg, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
 * 1810-1811 Washingtonian (Leesburg, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
 * 1810s-1820s "Marriage Records from the Genius of Liberty," [1810s-1820s] Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 10, Nos. 1 &amp; 2 (Mar.-June 2002):2-4.
 * 1817-1820 Genius of Liberty (Leesburg, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).

Historical Information
 * "The Genius of Liberty," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 10, Nos. 1 &amp; 2 (Mar.-June 2002):1.
 * Osburn, Penelope M. "A Hometown Newspaper: 'The True American,' The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Loudoun County, Virginia, 1957-1976. Leesburg, Va.: Goose Creek Productions, 1998, pp. 97-110.

Other Records
Private Papers
 * Researchers should not limit their searches to records kept by government officials and religious organizations. Diaries, business account books, and family Bibles, kept in private hands, though they can be difficult to track down, yield valuable genealogical data. Loudoun County, Virginia Private Papers points researchers to some of these resources.

 Officials 
 * "Some of the Officials of Loudoun County 1757 - The Civil War," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 6, No. 2/3 (Sep. 1998):4; Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mar. 1999):1. . [N.B. This serial article was published backwards, includes Court Clerks, Deputy King's Attorneys and Commonwealth Attorneys, and Sheriffs.]

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records

Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007administrations, and guardianship records survives for Loudoun County, see: Loudoun County, Virginia Probate.
 * 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1759-1774 Indexes to Guardian Accounts at Virginia Pioneers ($).
 * 1778-1782 Court Orders at Virginia Pioneers ($).
 * 1780-1783 Will Abstracts; Minute Books at Virginia Pioneers ($).
 * 1785-1786 Will Abstracts; Minute Books at Virginia Pioneers ($).
 * 1785-1788 Will Abstracts; Minute Books at Virginia Pioneers ($).
 * Images of Wills, Inventories 1757-1771, Book A; 1772-1781, Book B; 1783-1788, Book C; 1788-1793, Book D; 1793-1797, Book E; 1797-1802, Book F; 1802-1806, Book G Virginia Pioneers ($)

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records
 * History of Secondary Education in Loudoun County. 1948. Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va.
 * "Virginia Public School Register, Broad Run District, Frankville School, 1886-1893," Loudoun: The 1757 Legacy, Newsletter of the Loudoun Genealogy Club, Vol. 4, No. 2 (June 1996):1; Vol. 4, No. 3 (Sep. 1996):1.

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
Online Tax Indexes and Records Virginia tax records provide valuable clues to genealogical relationships. Many survive and have been published and indexed dating back to the county's formation, see: Loudoun County, Virginia Taxation.

Vital Records

 * Vital records include births, marriages, and deaths. To learn what survives for the area, visit Loudoun County, Virginia Vital Records.

Birth

 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 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 $
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1751-1880 Loudoun County, Virginia Marriage Records 1751-1880. n.d. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1851-1880 Virginia Marriages 1851-1880 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1853-1911 Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images
 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Annandale Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Ashburn Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Centreville Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * McLean Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Oakton Virginia FamilySearch Center


 * Nat Soc of the Daughters of the American Revolution - an affiliate library

Libraries
Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va., is an excellent facility devoted entirely to the area's local history and genealogy. It is supported by the Town of Leesburg.Website The Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va., is an organization devoted to supporting the Thomas Balch Library and its collections.Website

Websites

 * USGENWEB


 * – 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.

Research Guides
Finding out if a genealogy has been published about your Loudoun County family is often a good first step. Many resources are easily available online, such as the census. After checking those sources, you might wish to examine vital records (births, marriages, and deaths), and land, and probate. If you are researching families who lived in Loudoun County, Virginia between the 1750s and 1790s, the Sparacios' book indexes are a great time saver: Surname index of Antient Press publications


 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Loudoun County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1972):126-129. ; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
 * The WPA Survey for Loudoun County. Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Va.; microfilmed reproduction: