Northumberland County, Virginia Genealogy

United States Virginia  Northumberland County

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

Northumberland County, Virginia Courthouse
Northumberland County Courthouse P O Box 217 Heathsville, Virginia 22473-0217 Phone: 804-580-3777

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records

Parent County
1648--Northumberland County was created 12 October 1648 from Indian District of Chickacoan. County seat: Heathsville

Boundary Changes
Northumberland County and Westmoreland County were temporarily joined in 1662.

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
1710. Some courthouse records were lost in a fire in the clerk's office 25 October 1710.

Bound volumes beginning in 1650 of deeds, orders, and wills still exist.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

For a list of record loss in Virginia counties see: Virginia Counties with Burned Courthouses.

Neighboring Counties

 * Lancaster
 * Richmond
 * Westmoreland

Getting Started
Compiled genealogies are a good place to start research for this area, see Northumberland County, Virginia Genealogy.

If you are researching families who lived in Northumberland County, Virginia between the 1650s and 1710s, the Sparacios' books are a great time saver. They comprehensively index several publications covering that period:


 * Sparacio, Ruth Trickey and Sam Sparacio. Surname Index of Antient Press Publications. 14+ vols. McLean, Va.: R. &amp; S. Sparacio, Antient Press, 1993-. 975.5 P22s v. 1-2; publisher's website: Antient Press. (Some of the index volumes have not been printed and it is necessary to contact the publishers to search them.)

Research Guides

 * 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 Northumberland County, see p. 63]
 * Dorman, John Frederick. "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Northumberland County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1975):205-208. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African American

 * Virginia Freedmen's Bureau
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Northumberland County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1813," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. 2005-present. - free online book. Baker, Beckett, Bee, Bell, Bolling, Bolton, Booth, Boughan (see introduction), Boyd, Bryant, Carpenter, Cassidy, Causey, Craney, Credit, Day, Gregory, Griffin, Haws, Hitchens, Kelly, Key (see introduction), Lawson, Lewin, Mason, Moore, Moses, Mozingo, Murrow, Nickens, Oats, Oliver, Oxendine, Peters, Phillips, Pinn, Pitts, Ranger, Rich, Shoecraft, Smith, Sorrell, Spriddle, Stewart, Tate, Thomas, Toulson, Vena, Venners, Vina, Watkins, Weaver, Webb, Wiggins, Wood, and Young families of pre-1820 Northumberland County, Virginia.
 * Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at ; digital version at . [Includes information about Northumberland County free people of color.]
 * Sutton, K.E. Black, Red and Revolutionary: Free African Americans of Lancaster and Northumberland Counties, Virginia in the Era of the American Revolution. K.E. Sutton, 1997.
 * Sutton, Karen E. Northumberland County, Virginia Registers of Free Blacks. Maryland: Heritage Books, 1999.

Cemeteries

 * "Early Tombs in Westmoreland, Richmond, and Northumberland Counties," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Oct. 1902):123-130; Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jan. 1903):191-195. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * "Early Tombstones in Northumberland County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jul. 1899):42-47. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * "Inscriptions on Old Tombstones in Westmoreland and Northumberland Counties," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jul. 1900):25-31. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution. Freedom Hill Chapter (McLean, Va.). Virginia DAR Genealogical Records Committee Report: Tombstone Inscriptions of Northumberland County, Virginia. Virginia DAR, 1996.
 * Northumberland County Cemeteries

Census
1782 Enumeration


 * Northumberland County Heads of Families - 1782 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 37.

1784 Enumeration


 * Northumberland County Heads of Families - 1784 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 74.

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 Records

 * Hall, Addison. The Glory of the Latter House: Sermon, Dedication of Coan Meeting House, County of Northumberland, Va.,Oct. 3, 1847. 1848.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * Coan aka Coan. A history of the early years has been published: Northumberland County Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1969) and Vol. 29 (1992). An 1811 register was published there in Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jul. 1966). Another history was published in 1987:


 * Coan Baptist Church (Heathsville, Virginia). Church History Committee. Stop and Look: The History of the Coan Baptist Church, 1804-1979 : Heathsville, Northumberland County, Virginia. Barbour Print., 1987.


 * Semple, Robert Baylor and Clarissa Hall. The Faithful Servant of God Exemplied in the Life and Death of Samuel L. Straughan: Late Minister of the Gospel, Northumberland County, Va. Shepherd &amp; Pollard, printers, 1822.

Church of England
See also Boutracy Parish See also Chickacoan Parish  See also Fairfield Parish  See also Lee Parish  See also Nomini Parish  See also St. Stephen's Parish  See also Wicomico Parish


 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of Northumberland and Lancaster Counties, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr. 1946):137-151; Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. 1946):233-243. Available at JSTOR ($).

Presbyterian
There was a Presbyterian congregation and meeting house in the 1750s and 1760s.


 * Toler, Henry, Clarissa Pollard and Eliza Steptoe. The Faithful Minister's Work and Course Pursued and Finished: Being the Substance of Two Sermons Occasioned by the Death of Elder Lewis Lunsford, Late of Northumberland, in the State of Virginia, Who Departed this Life at Mr. Abraham Gregory['s] in Essex, October 26, 1793, about the Fortieth ... Ormond &amp; Ormond &amp; Conrad, no. 41, Old Sign of Franklin's Head, Chestnut-Street, 1795.

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):


 * Northumberland Monthly Meeting (1650s-1660s)

Court
County Court


 * Duvall, Lindsay O. Virginia Colonial Abstracts. Series II, Volume I. Northumberland County, 1678-1713. [Abstracts of order books 1678-1713.]
 * Fleet, Beverley. Northumberland County Records, 1652-1655: Containing Abstracts from Court Order Book No. 2, 20th Sept. 1652-20th Oct. 1655, Record Book No. 14, 20th Sept. 1652-20th Aug. 1655. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at also 3 volumes in 1 ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records has ($) Volume 2 and Volume 3.
 * Herman, Lawrence George. Presentments of the Grand Jury of Northumberland County, Virginia, 1744-1770. College of William and Mary, 1976.
 * "Revolutionary Proceedings in Northumberland County, 1765, 1776-1778," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 2, (Labeled issue 1) (Oct. 1911):127-132. Available at JSTOR ($).

Superior Court of Chancery

The Superior Court of Chancery of Fredericksburg (1802-1831) had jurisdiction over certain Northumberland County court cases. An index has been compiled:


 * Indexes of Court Records in the Clerk's Office, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1782-1904. Original records, Fredericksburg City Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Va., microfilmed reproduction available at . [Indexes the following records: District Court law book v. 8, 1782-1792; District Court law books 1790-1793, v. A-F 1789-1811; Superior Court of Law law order books v. G-H 1812-1831; Superior Court of Chancery chancery order books 1814-1831; Hustings Court orders v. A-O 1782-1871; Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery law order books v. A-E 1831-1875; Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery chancery order books v. A-D 1831-1872; Circuit Court chancery order books v. A2, B-C 1875-1904; Fredericksburg District Court (1789-1808) had jurisdiction over the following counties: Spotsylvania (including Fredericksburg), Caroline, King George, Stafford, Orange, and Culpeper; Superior Court of Chancery (1802-1831) had jurisdiction over the following localities: city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, Culpeper, Fauquier, Fairfax, Lancaster, Northumberland, Madison, King George, Orange, Prince William, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Essex, and Westmoreland.]

Gazetteers

 * Wilson, John C. Creek Peek Collection: From the Piankatank to the Potomac: Locations of 195 Creeks, Coves, Bays, Branches, Prongs, Ponds and Rivers in Lancaster, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland Counties of Virginia. Rappahannock Press, 199-?.

Genealogy
More than 475 genealogies have been published about Northumberland County families. To view a list, visit Northumberland County, Virginia Genealogy.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Cherry Point, Bow Tracy, Northumberland County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]


 * Ljungstedt, Milnor. "Items from Southern Records" [Showing Family and Trade Connections with Northern Colonies and the Home Countries], The American Genealogist, Vol. 15 (1938):95-104. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). [Northumberland Co., VA record surname: Lord.]

Land and Property
Grants and Patents


 * Davey. 253 patents dated 1651-1911 in what is now Fairfax, Fauquier, Northumberland, Prince William, Stafford, and Westmoreland Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. [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, which is "Nova" in this instance); 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 1694-1742. Vol. I. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987. Available at . [Includes Northumberland County.]
 * 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 Northumberland County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]

Local Histories

 * Scott, Steven, University of New Orleans, University of New Orleans. Dept. of History. Social Networking in Seventeenth-century Virginia: Northumberland County, 1651-1665. University of New Orleans, 2005.

English Civil War

 * Hackley, Woodford B. "The Northumberland Oath 1652," [Oath of Allegiance to Oliver Cromwell's government during Commonwealth Period] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Jan. 1941):33-36. Available at JSTOR ($). [Identifies many local residents.]

Colonial Militia

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Northumberland 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 Northumberland 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 Northumberland 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 Northumberland County, see p. 96.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Northumberland County militia officers; see place name index.]

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


 * - 5th Virginia Regiment
 * - 15th Virginia Regiment (7th Company)

Additional resources:


 * "Revolutionary Proceedings in Northumberland County, 1765, 1776-1778," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 2, (Labeled issue 1) (Oct. 1911):127-132. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Sutton, K.E. Black, Red and Revolutionary: Free African Americans of Lancaster and Northumberland Counties, Virginia in the Era of the American Revolution. K.E. Sutton, 1997.
 * Revolutionary Pension Applications

War of 1812
Northumberland County men served in the 37th 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, Northumberland County, p. 96. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War
Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865

Virginia, Civil War ServiceRecords of Union Soldiers 1861-1865

Native Americans
The Wickacomico Tribe lived in the area in the late 1600s.


 * Potter, Stephen R. An Ethnohistorical Examination of Indian Groups in Northumberland County, Virginia: 1608-1719. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1976.

Naturalization

 * Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

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

 * Doggett, Barbara Lynn. Parish Apprenticeship in Colonial Virginia: A Study of Northumberland County, 1680-1695 and 1750-1765. College of William and Mary, 1981.
 * "Northumberland County," [List of Burgesses from the County Levy (1658-1719)] The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jan. 1896):179-180. Available at JSTOR ($).

Poor Records

 * Doggett, Barbara Lynn. Parish Apprenticeship in Colonial Virginia: A Study of Northumberland County, 1680-1695 and 1750-1765. College of William and Mary, 1981.

Private Papers
Virginia,


 * [Galloway] Nickson, James, David Galloway and Thomas Lee. Title Account, November 1745 to November 1746, with David Galloway of Northumberland County, Virginia. [Incomplete citation taken from Google Books.]
 * [Jones] Jones Family and Library of Congress. The Papers of the Jones Family of Northumberland, Virginia, 1649-1889. Library of Congress, 1972.

Probate Records
Local Court


 * Lewis, James F. and J. Motley Booker. Wills and Administrations, Northumberland County, Virginia, 1713-1749. J.F. Lewis and J.M. Booker, 1967. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1967):137. Review available at American Ancestors ($).
 * Lewis, James F. and J. Motley Booker. Wills and Administrations, Northumberland County, Virginia, 1750-1770. J.F. Lewis and J.M. Booker, 1964. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1964):137-138. Review available at American Ancestors ($).
 * Photocopy of the Will of Samuel Griffin of Northumberland County, Virginia (1702) and Research Notes. [Incomplete citation from Google Books.]
 * Washington, John A. "Will of Thomas Bushrod, Northumberland County, Virginia, 1698," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1974):55-60. Available at American Ancestors ($).

London Courts


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Cherry Point, Bow Tracy, Northumberland County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?

The original personal property tax lists of Northumberland County, Virginia are held at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. FHL has microfilmed for the years 1782 to 1850.

Additional Northumberland County taxation records available online or in print include:


 * [1664] Horse Owners Pay Bounty on Wolves, 1664, Northumberland County Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. 22 (1985).
 * [1679] Context and Significance of County Tithables List with Records, 1679, Northumberland County Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. 41 (2004).
 * [1782] Land Tax List, 1782, Northumberland County Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. 9, No. 1 (1972).
 * [1782-1813] Heinegg, Paul. "Northumberland County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1813," 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 . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Northumberland County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1788, 1801] Indexed images of the 1788 and 1801 Personal Property Tax Lists of Northumberland County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan. 2002); Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr. 2002); Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul. 2002).
 * [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. Northumberland County is included in Vol. 3.]

Birth

 * 1661-1810 - Fleet, Beverley. Northumberland Co. Record of Births, 1661-1810. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Digital book at Ancestry ($).
 * 1853-1896 - Northumberland County Birth Index 1853-1896. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1649-1800 - Headley, Robert K. Married Well and Often: Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia 1649-1800: Marriages and Marriage References for the Counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Old Rappahannock, Richmond, and Westmoreland. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2003..
 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1735-1795 - "Marriage License Records of Northumberland County, Virginia, from 1735 to 1795: As Recorded in Clerk's Fee Books," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Jan. 1939):41-47. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * 1735-1795 - Northumberland County Marriage Index 1735-1795. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * Nottingham, Stratton. The Marriage License Bonds of Northumberland County, Virginia, 1783 - 1850. Onancock, VA: S. Nottingham, 1929. ; and World Vital Records ($).
 * 1802-1842 - "William Forester Marriage Register 1802-1842," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1966):3-10; Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1966):57-65. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * 1850-1853 - Northumberland County Marriage Index 1850-1853. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Death

 * 1853-1895 - Northumberland County Death Index 1853-1895. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Voting

 * Bromley, Richard Franklin and Margaret Payne Bromley. Northumberland County, Virginia Poll List for the Election of Burgesses for the Period 1750-1774. Family Line Publications, 1994.

Northumberland County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library
 * The Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society
 * Northumberland Public Library
 * Tidewater Genealogical Society
 * Northumberland County Historical Society
 * Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical &amp; Historical Society

Northumberland County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Northumberland County, Virginia USGENWEB
 * Northumberland County, Virginia Archives(See Wills)
 * Northumberland County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * "Northern Neck," Wikipedia.
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: VA-NORTHERN-NECK-L
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List