Shenandoah County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Shenandoah County





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

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 FHL; 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.

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General


 * 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 FHL US/CAN Book 975.59 H2c 1963; FHL US/CAN Film 1000634 Item 1; digital version at Ancestry ($); BYU Family History Archives and World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]

Bibliography


 * [Byrd] Joslyn, Roger D. "Was Andrew Byrd of Greene County, Ohio, a Son of Colonel Abraham Byrd of Shenandoah County, Virginia, and Fayette County, Kentucky?", The American Genealogist, Vol. 74, No. 2 (Apr. 1999):131-146.
 * [Dilley] Jones, Thomas W. "Dilley of Northern Virginia and Ohio: A Proposed Solution Hanging on a Single Word," The American Genealogist, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Jul. 2004):220-227.
 * [Newman] 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 (full-view). [Includes a chapter titled "Genealogy of the Newman Family, 1618-1900," see Table of Contents; discusses Newmans of Shenandoah County.]
 * [Pence] Pence, Kingsley Adolphus. The History of Judge John Pence and Descendants, Born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, January 15, 1775: Resided in Champaign County, Ohio, Bartholomew County, Indiana, and Henderson County, Illinois. Denver: K.A. Pence, 1912. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); another digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [Ruddell] Smutz, Harold Turk. John Ruddell of the Shenandoah Valley: His Children and Grandchildren. Webster Groves, Mo.?: unknown, 1974. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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 FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Shenandoah County (then called Dunmore County).]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800. Vol. III. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [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 FHL US/CAN Book 975.59 H2c 1963; FHL US/CAN Film 1000634 Item 1; 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 FHL; 1980 reprint at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Maps

 * Massanutten Area Atlas. Original records, Shenandoah County Archives, Woodstock, Va. Microfilmed reproduction available at FHL. [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 FHL; 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.]

Military
French and Indian War


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

Revolutionary War


 * 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 "Roster of Capt. Thomas Buck's company, enlisted from Dunmore county (now Shenandoah), Sept. 5, 1777, see pp. 178-180.]

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 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 FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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 FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

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 FHL. [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 FHL; 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 FHL. [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 FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1968):38. Review available at FHL; 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.
 * Family History Library Catalog