Hanover County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Hanover County

Parent County
1720--Hanover County was created 2 November 1720 from New Kent County. County seat: Hanover

Record Loss
Writing in 1912, we learn: "There are only two old books in the Clerk's Office of Hanover county, Va. The oldest, designated the 'Small Book' in these notes, covers the years 1734 and 1735, and contains orders, wills, deeds, etc. The other, 'The Larger Book' of these notes, is a deed book for 1780-1790," according to "Records of Hanover County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jul., 1912):47. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

In 1916, Morgan P. Robinson, the Virginia State Archivist, had this to say about "the destruction of most of the records of Hanover, which occurred on April 3, 1865:

Richmond, Va., Dec. 24th, 1915 "Mr. Morgan P. Robinson, State Library Bldg., CITY. Dear Sir:- Your letter of December 23rd, Just received, I note that you ask me to give my recollection or knowledge of the destruction of our Court records during the War between the States, Responding to your inquiry, I have to say that I was raised in Hanover County, about eight miles east of Hanover C. H., but was rarely at Hanover C. H. until after the close of the war. The lower part of Hanover, reaching within a few miles of Hanover C. H, was occupied by the armies of McClellan and Grant, and was the subject of frequent cavalry raids, which took in Hanover C. H., and the Clerk of the County Court of Hanover County as a precaution against the destruction of the records of that Court removed them to Richmond and they were deposited in the Court Bldg., which then stood on the Capitol Square Just in front of the Franklin Street entrance from the east, Just about where the fountain now stands, which building was destroyed, and so far as I know no papers of value were taken or [saved, in conse]quence all of the records of the County Court of Hanover County were burned. The records of the Circuit Court (which Court then had its own clerk in the same building with the County Court Clerk) were allowed to remain in the Clerk's Office at Hanover C. H. and though that section was several times ralded and the Clerk's Office opened, and some few papers probably lost, I do not think any of the record books were destroyed, and, so far as I know, no papers of value were taken or destroyed. Among the records thus preserved two old books bound in raw hide dated about 1730, remained in the office and were not hurt. I do not know if this answers fully your inquiry, but if you desire any further information and I can obtain lt for you will be very glad to answer any inquiry you may make. Yours very truly, GEO. P. HAW."

(Source: Cocke, William Ronald. Hanover County Chancery Wills and Notes. A Compendium of Genealogical, Biographical and Historical Material as Contained in Cases of the Chancery Suits of Hanover County, Virginia. Columbia, Va.: W.R. Cocke, 1940. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. Reviewed by John M. Jennings in The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1940):575-576. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). Reviewed by R.A. Stewart in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1940):284. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).)

In 1950, Leon M. Bazile had this to say about the destruction of Hanover County's original will books and where copies that have survived may be found: "During the War of Secession the records of Hanover County were taken to Richmond for safekeeping and stored in the building owned by Thomas Randolph Price on Main Street. When the city was burned in April 1865, the Hanover records, including the Deed and Will Books, were destroyed. Many families had procured certified copies of the wills affecting them; copies of such wills were also obtained for exhibits in suits, the papers of which are still in existence. Through such sources many wills which were believed to have been wholly lost are now coming to light," see: Leon M. Bazile, "The Wills of the Reverend Patrick Henry [dated and proved in 1777] and Walter Coles [dated and proved in 1815] of Hanover County, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Jan., 1950):120-130. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Source: certified copies of original wills.]

Neighboring Counties

 * Caroline
 * Goochland
 * Henrico
 * King William
 * Louisa
 * New Kent
 * Spotsylvania

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.]

Church
Church of England


 * Chamberlayne, C.G. The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia, 1706-1786. Richmond: The Library Board, 1940. Original edition available at FHL; 1973 reprint available at FHL; digital versions of the original edition at Ancestry ($), BYU Family History Archives, and Google Books (full-view).
 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of New Kent and Hanover Counties, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Oct., 1945):243-264. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Presbyterian


 * Rachael, William M.E. "Early Minutes of Hanover Presbytery," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 63, No. 1 (Jan., 1955):53-75; Vol. 63, No. 2 (Apr. 1955):161-185. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). [The Hanover Presbytery covered Virginia.]

Quaker


 * Bell, James Pinkney Pleasant. Our Quaker Friends of Ye Olden Time: Being in Part a Transcript of the Minute Books of Cedar Creek Meeting, Hanover County, and the South River Meeting, Campbell County, Va. Lynchburg, Va.: J.P. Bell Company, 1905. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view).
 * Meyer, Harold I. "Cedar Creek Meeting House, Hanover County, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Oct., 1956):454-457. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexes and images to Hanover County, Virginia Chancery Records 1831-1913 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.
 * Cocke, William Ronald. Hanover County Chancery Wills and Notes. A Compendium of Genealogical, Biographical and Historical Material as Contained in Cases of the Chancery Suits of Hanover County, Virginia. Columbia, Va.: W.R. Cocke, 1940. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. Reviewed by John M. Jennings in The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1940):575-576. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). Reviewed by R.A. Stewart in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1940):284. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

County Court


 * "Records of Hanover County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jul., 1912):47-63; Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jan., 1913):143-162; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Oct. 1913):114-130; Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jan. 1914):169-174; Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jul. 1914):21-30; Vol. 23, No. 2 (Oct. 1914):117-126. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). ["There are only two old books in the Clerk's Office of Hanover county, Va. The oldest, designated the 'Small Book' in these notes, covers the years 1734 and 1735, and contains orders, wills, deeds, etc. The other, 'The Larger Book' of these notes, is a deed book for 1780-1790." (21:47)]

Family Histories
Bibliography


 * [Anderson] Anderson, Edward L. The Andersons, of Gold Mine, Hanover County, Virginia. [Brochure] Cincinatti, Ohio, 1913. Available at FHL. Reviewed in The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Oct., 1913):142. Review available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [Bowles] Bowles, Inez M. Thomas Bowles, Hanover County, Va.: Thomas Bowles Line of Hanover Co., Va.: Leroy Samuel Line of Marion Co., Mo.: Warren Moore Line of Marion Co., Mo.: J.W. Friley Line of Saline Co., Mo.. Gilliam, Mo.: unknown, 1947. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [Durrett] Durrett, Arthur Thurmond. Durrett Family History, ca. 1609-1949. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Hendrick] Hendrix, GeLee Corley. "Benjamin Hendrick (1730-1818) of Virginia and Carolina and Some of His Descendants: Research in 'Burned' Southern Counties," The American Genealogist, Vol. 65, No. 1 (Jan. 1990):44-53. Available at FHL.
 * [Nelson] See Page.
 * [Page] Page, Richard Channing Moore. Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia. Also a Condensed Account of the Nelson, Walker, Pendleton and Randolph Families, With References to the Bland, Burwell, Byrd, Carter, Cary, Duke, Gilmer, Harrison, Rives, Thornton, Wellford, Washington, and Other Distinguished Families in Virginia. New York: Press of the Publishers' Printing Co., 1893. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view).
 * [Stark] "Starke Family of Hanover County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Apr., 1897):256-259. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of York River and Hanover 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=Hanover&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 Hanover County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Deeds


 * "Records of Hanover County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jul., 1912):47-63; Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jan., 1913):143-162; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Oct. 1913):114-130; Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jan. 1914):169-174; Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jul. 1914):21-30; Vol. 23, No. 2 (Oct. 1914):117-126. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). ["There are only two old books in the Clerk's Office of Hanover county, Va. The oldest, designated the 'Small Book' in these notes, covers the years 1734 and 1735, and contains orders, wills, deeds, etc. The other, 'The Larger Book' of these notes, is a deed book for 1780-1790." (21:47)]

Grants and Patents


 * Sullivan and Hudgins. 451 patents dated 1653-1819 in what is now Hanover County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2008. [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.]

Local Histories

 * Lancaster, Robert Bolling. A Sketch of the Early History of Hanover County, Virginia, and Its Large and Important Contributions to the American Revolution. Richmond, Va.: Whittet and Shepperson for the Bicentennial Committee for Hanover County, 1976. Reviewed by W. Alexander Mabry in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 85, No. 1 (Jan., 1977):110-111. Review available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1977):287-292. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Hanover County's 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on pp. 290-291.]
 * Glazebrook, Eugenia G. and Preston G. Glazebrook. Virginia Migrations. Hanover Co. Vol. I. 1723-1850. Wills, Deeds, Depositions, Invoices, Letters and other Documents. Richmond, Va. Reviewed by Beverley Fleet in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 52, No. 2 (Apr., 1944):161-162. Review available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Military
French and Indian War


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Hanover 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 Hanover County, see pp. 86-87, 111.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Hanover County militia officers; see place name index.]

War of 1812


 * Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 2007. Available at FHL. [Includes Hanover County.]

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.

Probate
Local Court


 * "Records of Hanover County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jul., 1912):47-63; Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jan., 1913):143-162; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Oct. 1913):114-130; Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jan. 1914):169-174; Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jul. 1914):21-30; Vol. 23, No. 2 (Oct. 1914):117-126. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). ["There are only two old books in the Clerk's Office of Hanover county, Va. The oldest, designated the 'Small Book' in these notes, covers the years 1734 and 1735, and contains orders, wills, deeds, etc. The other, 'The Larger Book' of these notes, is a deed book for 1780-1790." (21:47)]

London Courts


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

Original Wills


 * Bazile, Leon M. "The Wills of the Reverend Patrick Henry [dated and proved in 1777] and Walter Coles [dated and proved in 1815] of Hanover County, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Jan., 1950):120-130. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Source: certified copies of original wills.]
 * Cocke, William Ronald. Hanover County Chancery Wills and Notes. A Compendium of Genealogical, Biographical and Historical Material as Contained in Cases of the Chancery Suits of Hanover County, Virginia. Columbia, Va.: W.R. Cocke, 1940. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. Reviewed by John M. Jennings in The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct., 1940):575-576. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). Reviewed by R.A. Stewart in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1940):284. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Cole, Robert F. and Marguerite S. Parrish. "Will of William Fleming Sheriff of Hanover County, Virginia, 1727-1728," [dated 1742, proved 1744] The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct., 1935):424-427. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Found in Louisa Co., Va. Chancery Suit "McAllister versus Bibb, May, 1770," found in loose papers at the Louisa County Courthouse.]
 * 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 Hanover County.]
 * King, George H.S. "Will of George Hudson of Hanover County, Virginia," [dated 1770, proved 1773] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jan., 1958):85-87. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($). [King found this will among the Henry Clay Papers at the Library of Congress. Clay was Hudson's grandson.]

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.


 * [1753-1763] Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Rent Roll of Hanover County, Virginia, 1753-1763," The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Spring 2000):71-80. [Discovered at The National Archives, Kew, England, Reference AO 13/30/110-129.]
 * [1763, 1770] Woodson, Robert F. and Isobel B. Woodson. Virginia Tithables from Burned Record Counties: Buckingham, 1773-1774; Gloucester, 1770-1771, 1774-1775; Hanover, 1763 and 1770; James City, 1768-1769; Stafford, 1768 and 1773. Richmond, Virginia: I.B. Woodson, 1970. Available at FHL.
 * [1782-1815] Cocke, William Ronald, III. Hanover County Taxpayers Saint Paul's Parish 1782-1815: A Register of Taxpayers, with Legends, Together with Individual Lists and Descriptions of Their Assessable Personal Property. 1956; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000. Original edition available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed by Malcolm H. Harris in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 65, No. 1 (Jan., 1957):117-118. Review available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [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. Hanover County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1788-1789] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1977):287-292. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Hanover County's 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on pp. 290-291.]
 * [1789, 1799] Indexed images of the 1789 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Hanover County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1789, 1800] Indexed images of the 1789 and 1800 Land Tax Lists of Hanover 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 the 1815 land tax. Hanover County is included in Vol. 1.]

Vital Records
Birth


 * Fridley, Beth, comp. Hanover County Virginia Birth Records, 1853-1896 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage


 * Ljundstedt, Milnor. "Hanover County, Virginia Marriage Licenses," [1780-1781] The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan. 1926):78. Available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).

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