Gloucester County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Gloucester County Virginia Courthouse
Gloucester County Courthouse 6489 Main Street P O Box N Gloucester, Virginia 23061 Phone: 804-693-4042

Clerk Circuit Court has birth records 1863-1890 and 1912-1916, death records from 1865-1890 marriage records from 1853, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1865

Gloucester County Virginia History


The county is named after Henry Stuart, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1640-1660), third son of King Charles I of England.

Parent County
1651--Gloucester County was created in 1651 from York County. County seat: Gloucester

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Virginia County Boundary Maps" (1617-1995) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
All Gloucester County courthouse records were destroyed by fire in 1820; in 1865 most Gloucester County records were destroyed by fire on April 3, 1865.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

Weisiger abstracted a valuable source that includes deed, will, and marriage information about residents:


 * Weisiger, Benjamin B. Burned County Data 1809-1848 As Found in the Virginia Contested Election Files. Richmond, Va., 1986..

Research Guides

 * A Guide to Gloucester County, Virginia Historical Manuscripts, 1651-1865, Archives Division, Virginia State Library, Richmond, September 1976..
 * Davis, Virginia Lee Hutcheson. "Records of Tidewater Virginia Counties," Tidewater Virginia Families: A Magazine of History and Genealogy, Vol. 1, No. 2 (May-June 1992):53-66. 975.51 D25t [For Gloucester County, see pp. 57-58]

African American



 * Heinegg, Paul. "Gloucester County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1815," 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.


 * Smith, Gloria L. Solemn Ceremonies: Index of Civil War Marriages, Virginia: Marriage Records of African-American Families of Gloucester County, Virginia Area: From Record Group 105 Received at Camp Hamilton, Virginia. Tucson, Arizona: G.L. Smith, 1990.

Cemeteries

 * Cemeteries of Lower Gloucester County, Virginia, by Harry R. Jordan. Available at.


 * Epitaphs of Gloucester and Mathews Counties in Tidewater Virginia through 1865, 1959, The Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia..


 * More Cemeteries of Gloucester County, Virginia, by Harry R. Jordan.


 * Tyler, Lyon G. "Old Tombstones in Gloucester County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Apr. 1894):219-229; Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jul. 1894):28-43; Vol. 3, No. 2 (Oct. 1894):115-120; Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jan. 1895):182-189; Vol. 3, No. 4 (Apr. 1895):253-255. Digitized by JSTOR - free. [Alternate title: "Inscriptions on Old Tombs in Gloucester Co., Virginia."]

Census
1782-1783 Enumeration


 * James, Edward Wilson. "Census Gloucester County, 1782-83, Free and Slave, Gloucester County," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Jul. 1904):14-16; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Oct. 1904):185-187; Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jan. 1905):269-271; Vol. 12, No. 4 (Apr. 1905):414-416. Available at JSTOR ($).


 * Gloucester County Heads of Families - 1783 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 53.

1784 Enumeration


 * Gloucester County Heads of Families - 1784 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 68.

1890 Union Veterans


 * "Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.    Includes residents of this county.

Church Records

 * A Guide to Church Records in the Library of Virginia

Anglican
(Also known as Church of England and Episcopal Church) See also Abingdon Parish  See also Kingston Parish  See also Petsworth Parish  See also Ware Parish


 * Axelson, Edith F. A Guide to Episcopal Church in Virginia. Iberian Publishing Company, Athens, Georgia, ISBN 0-935931-45-7.
 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of Gloucester County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul. 1939):325-346; Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct. 1939). Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. Available at ; (Includes Gloucester County.)


 * Abingdon Parish


 * The Register of Abingdon Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1780, Compiled by Robert W. Robins, Honford House, Arlington, Virginia, (c)1981, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 80-85448


 * Abingdon Church: A Chronology of its History, 1650-1970. (c)1972, Gloucester County, Virginia.


 * Kingston Parish


 * Matheny, Emma R. and Helen K. Yates. Kingston Parish Register, Gloucester and Mathews Counties, Virginia, 1749-1827, Richmond [Virginia]: E.R. Matheny and H.K. Yates, c1963. Reprinted 2004. Original is available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).


 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of Kingston Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr. 1940):261-264. Available at JSTOR ($).


 * The Vestry Book of Kingston Parish, Mathews County, Virginia (until May 1, 1791, Gloucester County), 1679-1796. Transcribed, annotated, and indexed by C.G. Chamberlayne. Originally published Richmond, Virginia, 1929. ISBN 0-8063-4842-9; available at ; ; digital versions at Ancestry ($)


 * Petsworth Parish


 * Chamberlayne, Churchill Gibson. The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 Richmond [Virginia]: Library Board, Division of Purchase and Printing, 1933. Available at and ; Reprint . Digital version at Google Books (full-view); and World Vital Records ($).


 * Ware Parish


 * The World of Ware Parish in Gloucester County, Virginia, by Spotswood Hunnicutt Jones, The Dietz Press, Richmond, Virginia, (1991). ISBN 0-87517-063-3. Library of Congress Number: 91-91176

Baptist Church

 * Dover Association


 * The Baptists of Virginia, 1699-1926, by Garnett Ryland, The Virginia Baptist Board of Missions and Education, Richmond, Virginia, 1955


 * A Chronicle of Christian Heritage, Dover Baptist Association: 1783-1983. by William L. Lumpkin. Skipworth Press, Inc. Richmond, Virginia. (c) 1983, ISBN 0-931804-11-6


 * A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia, by Robert B. Simple. Revised and extended by Rev. G. W. Beale, Pitt and Dickinson, Publishers, Richmond, Virginia, 1894.



Methodist Church

 * Gloucester County, Virginia, Methodist Records, by Michael Pollock, New Papyrus Publishing, Athens, Georgia, (c)2007.

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexed images of Gloucester County, Virginia Chancery Records 1866-1931 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 550 genealogies have been published about Gloucester County families. To view a list, visit Gloucester County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Immigration

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



Land and Property
Grants and Patents


 * Mason, Polly Cary. Records of Colonial Gloucester County Virginia. 2 vols. 1946-1948; reprint, Baltimore: Clearfield, 2003. and available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). [Includes land patent abstracts, 1704/05 rent roll, Gloucester County tax lists 1770-1782, Mathews County tax lists 1774-1791, burgesses, council, and court, county officials, etc.]
 * 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 ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Gloucester County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]

Local Histories

 * A Guide to Gloucester County, Virginia Historical Manuscripts, 1651-1865. Compiled by Charles A, Bodie and William H. Steriner. Archives Divisionn, Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia, September 1976. Available at.


 * Gray, Mary Wiatt. Gloucester County, Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Cottrell &amp; Cooke Inc., 1936. Available at ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); - free.


 * Mason, Polly Cary. "The Story of Elmington: Gloucester County, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 55, No. 3 (Jul. 1947):247-258. Available at JSTOR ($).


 * "...past is prologue", Gloucester County, Virginia, A publication of Gloucester County and The Gloucester Historical and Bicentennial Committee, (c)1973, Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 73-87-914. Reviewed by William M.E. Rachal in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 83, No. 2 (Apr. 1975):214. Review available at JSTOR ($).


 * Sinclair, Caroline Baytop. Gloucester's Past in Pictures. Reviewed by David C. Holly in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 100, No. 3, The Home Front and Beyond: Virginians in the World War 2 Era (Jul. 1992):462-463. Review available at JSTOR ($).


 * Six Periods in the History of Gloucester County. DeHardit Press.


 * Swem, E.G. "Views of Yorktown and Gloucester Town, 1755," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr. 1946):99-105. Available at JSTOR ($).


 * With Reverence for the Past: Gloucester County, Virginia. by Martha W. McCarthney, The Dietz Press, Richmond, Virginia.(c)2001.ISBN 0-9710690-0-X. Reviewed by Emily Salmon in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 109, No. 4 (2001):419-420. Review available at JSTOR ($).

Colonial Militia

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Gloucester 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 ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Gloucester 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 . [Identifies some Gloucester 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 ; 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 Gloucester County, see p. 82.]

Revolutionary War
Regiments. Service men in Gloucester County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Gloucester County supplied soldiers for the:


 * - 7th Virginia Regiment

Additional resources:


 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Gloucester County on page 130.]
 * Clayton, Jasper. "Officers Appointed by the Gloucester Co. (Va.) Committee of Safety in 1775," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Oct. 1906):123-124. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Hatch, Charles E. "Gloucester Point in the Siege of Yorktown 1781," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr. 1940):265-284. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * The Governors' Island, Gwynn's Island, Virginia, During the Revolution. By Peter Jennings Wrike.(c) 1993, The Gwynn's Island Museum, Gwynn, Virginia. ISBN 1-883911-00-1 (pbk.). ISBN 1-883911-01-X (cloth).
 * Revolutionary War - Gloucester District Battalion
 * A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations in the American Revolution, 1774-1787, Compiled by E. M. Sanchez-Saavedra, Willow Bend Books, Westminster, Maryland, ISBN 1-58549-652-9.

War of 1812
Gloucester County men served in the 21st Regiment.


 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Gloucester County, p. 81. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 1st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate).
 * - 5th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate).
 * - 5th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (12 months, 1861-62) (Mullins') (Confederate). Company A (Gloucester Light Dragoons).
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company C (Chesapeake Rangers).
 * - 26th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (The Gloucester Invincibles) and Company K (The Gloucester Grays).
 * - 34th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Gloucester Artillery).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 -
 * 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)
 * Andrews, Andrew Jackson. A Sketch of the Boyhood Days of Andrew J. Andrews of Gloucester County, Virginia, and His Experience as a Soldier in the Late War Between the States. Bethesda, Maryland: University Publications of America, 1990. Available at.
 * Gloucester County In The Civil War, by Ludwell Lee Montague, The DeHardit Press, Gloucester, Virginia. Reviewed by Ludwell H. Johnson III in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 74, No. 4 (Oct. 1966):497-498. Review available at JSTOR ($).
 * Reminiscences, Confederate Soldiers of Gloucester County, Virginia and Other matter pertaining to local history during the War betweeen the States, 1861-1865, written by notable Richmond and Gloucester women of the Confederancy. Collected and compiled by Nellie Shackleford Smith.
 * 26th Virginia Infantry, by Alex L. Wiatt, (c)1984, H. E. Howard, Inc.

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Native American
The Chickoyackes Tribe lived in the area in the late 1600s.

Naturalization
Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

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.

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 . [Includes a section on Abingdon silversmiths.]

Officials

 * Mason, Polly Cary. Records of Colonial Gloucester County Virginia. 2 vols. 1946-1948; reprint, Baltimore: Clearfield, 2003. and available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes land patent abstracts, 1704/05 rent roll, Gloucester County tax lists 1770-1782, Mathews County tax lists 1774-1791, burgesses, council, and court, county officials, etc.]

Periodicals

 * The Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia publishes a journal called The Family Tree Searcher. Most volumes are available for free in PDF format on their website. Some volumes are in FamilySearch Books Online: |

Private Papers

 * Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007


 * "Family Account of Mrs. Lucy Ann Page, Dec'd, Late of Gloucester County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Apr. 1903):251-260. Available at JSTOR ($).

Probate Records

 * Local Court


 * 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 . [Includes Gloucester County.]
 * King, George H.S. "Will of Robert Singleton of Gloucester County," [1725] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. 1956):103-104. Available at JSTOR ($).


 * London Courts


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

Online Probate Records
 * 1639 – 1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry.com — index to transcribed records, incomplete, $
 * 1862 – 1896 - Images of Wills. Virginia Pioneers ($)

Schools

 * Bagby, George F. "William G. Price and the Gloucester Agricultural and Industrial School," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 108, No. 1 (2000):45-84. Available at JSTOR ($).

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 ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Gloucester County appears in 32:281-287, 338-343.]
 * [1704] Hansford, Thelma. Tax Lists York County 1782, 1783, 1784; Rent Roll York County 1704, Gloucester 1704, Warwick 1704; James City County Taxes 1768. Virginia?: T.I. Hansford?, 1950. Available at.
 * [1704/05, 1770-1782] Mason, Polly Cary. Records of Colonial Gloucester County Virginia. 2 vols. 1946-1948; reprint, Baltimore: Clearfield, 2003. and available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). [Includes land patent abstracts, 1704/05 rent roll, Gloucester County tax lists 1770-1782, Mathews County tax lists 1774-1791, burgesses, council, and court, county officials, etc.]
 * [1770-1771, 1774-1775] 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 . ISBN 0-89308-306-2.
 * [1774-1775] Billups, John R. Tithables, 1774-1775, of Kingston Parish, also Billups' Accounts, 1787-1842. MSS., Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; also available at . [Kingston Parish was located in Gloucester County at the time, but later fell within the bounds of Mathews County.]
 * [1782] Land Tax Records, 1782, Tidewater Virginia Families, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Feb. 1993); Vol. 2, No. 1 (May 1993).
 * [1782-1820] Land Tax Lists, 1782-1820, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Spring 1997).
 * [1782-1815] Heinegg, Paul. "Gloucester County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1815," 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 . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Gloucester County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1789, 1799] Indexed images of the 1789 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Gloucester County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1790, 1800] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Land Tax Lists of Gloucester County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1794] James, Edward Wilson. "Carriage Owners, Gloucester County, 1784," [or 1794] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Jan. 1906):313-314. Available at JSTOR ($). [Abstracted from 1794 Personal Property Tax Lists.]
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul. 1980); Vol. 24, No. 4 (Oct. 1980).
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at . [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Gloucester County is included in Vol. 3.]

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).

Death

 * 1865-1890 - Hunt, L. Roane and Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia. Death Records of Gloucester County, Virginia, 1865-1890: Special Project of the Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia. Gloucester, Virginia: Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia, 2000. Available at FHL.

Gloucester County Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * Tidewater Genealogical Society
 * Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical &amp; Historical Society

Family History Centers

 * Gloucester Virginia Family History Center

Gloucester County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Gloucester County, Virginia USGENWEB
 * Gloucester County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List