Marshall County, West Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Marshall County was named for John Marshall and is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Marshall County Courthouse 7th Street P O Box 459 Moundsville, WV 26041 Phone: 304-845-1220 Marshall County Website County Clerk has birth and death from 1853, marriage and land records from 1835, probate records from 1850. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and land 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:

Bible Records

 * 1737-1934 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Biographies

 * Marshall County Biographies at WVGenWeb

Cemeteries

 * Schools, Churches & Cemeteries of Marshall County at WVGenWeb

Churches
Church Records available online include: Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Baptismal records of the First M.E. Church in Moundsville 1859-1890 at FamilySearch.
 * Schools, Churches & Cemeteries of Marshall County at WVGenWeb

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * McMechen
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1835-1839 (*); County Court and Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1835-1880 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1835-1936 (*); Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery, Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1835-1950 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1863-1872 (*); Recorder at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1863-1963 (*); County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1873-1906 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1892-1926 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1910-1915 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * (*); Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Directories

 * Marshall County Directories, 1888-93 at Ancestry ($)

Funeral Homes

 * Marshall County funeral home records at WVGenWeb

Genealogies

 * Cresap - Cresap, Joseph Ord and Bernard Cresap. The History of the Cresaps. Revised edition. Gallatin, Tenn.: Cresap Society, 1987..

Land and Property Records

 * Deeds, 1835-1901; index to deeds, leases, etc., 1835-1971 at FamilySearch - Deeds through 1901 have been digitized.
 * Release deed book, 1866-1877 at FamilySearch
 * Land grant records, 1836-1865 at FamilySearch

Local Histories

 * History of Marshall County...a Story of Early Settlement and Development of Marshall County, W. Va. By Scott Powell. Moundsville, West Virginia : [s.n.], 1925. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * History of the Pan-handle; Being Historical Collections of the Counties of Ohio, Brooke, Marshall, and Hancock, West Virginia. Evansville, Indiana : Unigraphic, 1973. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * History of the Upper Ohio Valley. Madison, Wisconsin : Brant & Fuller, c1890. Online at: Vol. I - FamilySearch Digital Library; Vol. II - FamilySearch Digital Library.

Maps and Gazetteers


Maps
 * Pennsylvania - Virginia Boundary 1774-1779 Property in Marshall County was part of the Pennsylvania-Virginia boundary dispute.
 * Maps of West Virginia (1617-1995)
 * Map of 1850 Virginia and West Virginia
 * 1909 Farm line map of Marshall Co., West Virginia

FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early Settlers to the area may have followed the predecessor trails to today's International Institute National Road from Cumberland Maryland to Wheeling, West Virginia or the Warrior Trail from Greensboro, PA to Moundsville, West Virginia.

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. Digital versions at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Marshall County on page 135.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Marshall County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of Marshall County.

Union


 * - 1st Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry
 * - 1st Regiment, West Virginia Infantry, Companies A, B, C, E, H, and K.
 * - 1st Regiment, West Virginia Light Artillery, Batteries A, C and D Light Artillery

Records and Histories are available, including:


 * 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)

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers
The West Virginia Regional History Center at West Virginia University has microfilmed newspapers from Moundsville. These records have not been digitized.
 * Moundsville Weekly Echo: Oct 30 1891-Aug 1 1929
 * Moundsville Journal Weekly: May 12 1910-Jan 21 1915
 * Moundsville Journal: Jan 20 1910-Jul 24 1946
 * The Journal of Valley News: Jul 25 1946-Sep 30 1946
 * Moundsville Daily Echo: Mar 18 1896-Present

The Wheeling newspapers often related news from Marshall County. The Wheeling News Register and the Wheeling Intelligencer and their predecessors are available online via the Ohio County Public Library.

Periodicals
Editions of the Online Tri-County Researcher from 1976-1999 are available online at FamilySearch. This genealogical publication covers Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel counties. This publication is indexed here: PERiodical Source Index (PERSI at Allen County Public Library.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 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
 * 1795-1900 (*); Works Progress Administration of West Virginia at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1835-1839 (*); County Court and Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1835-1898 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1835-1899 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1835-1950 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1835-1971 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1848-1856 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1863-1872 (*); Recorder at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1863-1963 (*); County Clerk at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1892-1926 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1908-1930 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1909-1919 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Index to Marshall Co., WV Wills Prior to 1900. By Marshall County, West Virginia. Proctor, West Virginia: Tri-County Researcher, n.d. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * James McHenry Will; Tri-County Researcher (Series) (West Virginia) : Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel Counties, West Virginia - V. 20, No. 1 (Jan. 1996). By Barbara McHenry Berling and Tri-County Researcher. n.p.: Tri-County Researcher, 1996. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * John Porter's Will, Porter Settlements (Sun City, Arizona) - V. 14, No. 3 (Fall 1994). Phoenix, Arizona: Porter Settlements, 1994. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Some Marshall Co. WV Will Abstracts; Tri-County Researcher (West Virginia) : Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel Counties, West Virginia - V. 22, No. 3 (July 1998). By Tri-County Researcher. n.p.: Tri-County Researcher, 1998. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Will of Aaron Porter's, Will of Abner S. Porter, Will of Alexander Porter, and Will of Mary E. Porter; Porter Settlements (Sun City, Arizona) - V. 13, No. 2 (Summer 1993). By Childress, Nancy Louise Porter. Phoenix, Arizona: Porter Settlements, 1993. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Will of James A. Porter; Porter Settlements (Sun City, Arizona) - V. 14, No. 1 (Spring 1994). By By Childress, Nancy Louise Porter. Phoenix, Arizona: Porter Settlements, 1994. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * (*); County Court and Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images

School Records

 * Schools, Churches & Cemeteries of Marshall County at WVGenWeb
 * Marshall County Schools - yearbooks, photos 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.

Tax Records
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.


 * Marshall County Assessor
 * 1836-1900 Land book, 1836-1900 at FamilySearch.

Vital Records

 * West Virginia Vital Research Records Project. Online search for birth, death, and marriage records.

Birth

 * 1853-1914 West Virginia Birth Index, 1853-1914 at MyHeritage - index ($)

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 $
 * 1835-1967 Marriage records, 1835-1970 at FamilySearch - index and images
 * 1851-1863 Virginia Marriages 1851-1863 at Ancestry ($).

Death

 * 1804-1999 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1853-1970 Death Registers 1-3 at FamilySearch
 * 1853-1964 West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964 at MyHeritage - index ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Morgantown West Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library 700 5th Street Moundsville, WV 26041 Phone: 304-845-6911 Website Multiple branches

Societies
Marshall County Historical Society 301 13th Street P.O. Box 267 Moundsville, WV 26041 Email: [mailto:marshallwvhistoricalsociety@gmail.com marshallwvhistoricalsociety@gmail.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Marshall County WVGenWeb
 * Marshall 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 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