Prince William County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Prince William County



Parent County
1727--Prince William County was created 1 February 1727 from King George and Stafford Counties. County seat: Manassas

Neighboring Counties

 * Charles County, Maryland
 * Fairfax
 * Fauquier
 * Loudoun
 * Stafford

Court
General


 * Lounsbury, Carl R. "'An Elegant and Commodious Building': William Buckland and the Design of the Prince William County Courthouse," The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Sep. 1987):228-240. Available at JSTOR.

Chancery Court


 * Indexed images of Prince William County, Virginia Chancery Records 1804-1951 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

County Court


 * "Prince William County, Virginia, Order Book 1759-1761," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1975):214-226; Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1975):291-308; Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1976):35-44; Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):133-144; Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1976):188-198; Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):280-288; Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):59-66; Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1977):129-140; Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):207-216; Vol. 21, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1977):293-306; Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1978):58-64; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1978):137-142; Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1978):221-226; Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1978):304-311; Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1979):47-54; Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):130-138; Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1979):201-216; Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1979):292-304; Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1980):31-40; Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):99-109. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. In addition to finding a direct ancestor’s surname listed, and watching to see if more recent publications make additions and corrections to earlier works, this list is also useful for determining if genealogists have published accounts, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, for any members of an ancestor’s “FAN Club” [Family, Associates, and Neighbors]. Checking publications about those individuals can lead you to new information about your own ancestry. Be mindful that compiled genealogies may contain errors.

Bibliography


 * [Adams] Ljunstedt, Milnor. "The Adamses in the Northern Neck of Virginia (Upper Counties) and Some Nearby Counties of Maryland," The American Genealogist, Vol. 13 (1936):82-88, 233-241. Available at New England Ancestors.
 * [Ball] Hill, Ronald A. "Ball Family Migration: Virginia to Kentucky, 1784," The American Genealogist, Vol. 78, No. 2 (April 2003):103-114.
 * [Bland] Bland Family of Prince William County, Virginia. [Incomplete citation from Google Books.]
 * [Boswell] Pippenger, Jean Boswell. Descendants of Edward Boswell: Prince William County, Virginia and Orange County, North Carolina. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1986. Available at FHL.
 * [Bradfield] Armstrong, Donald G. Bradfield Genealogy: Descendants of John and Jane (Harmer) Bradfield of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with Notes on Zachariah Bradfield of Prince William County, Virginia, and Other Miscellaneous Bradfields. Newbury Street Press, 2000.
 * [Bridwell] Bridwell, Robert G. The Bridwells of Stafford and Prince William Counties, Virginia, 1620-1998: Allied Families: Combs, Herndon, Lee, Purkins. R.G. Bridwell, 1998.
 * [Brown] Brown, James Edgar. Genealogy of the Brown Family of Prince William County, Virginia: Being a History of William Brown and Seven Generations of His Descendants. Chicago: Press of G.E. Brown &amp; Co., 1898. Available at FHL; digital book available at Ancestry.
 * [Brown] Brown, James Edgar. Genealogy of the Brown Family of Prince William County, Virginia, and the Following Group of Families Allied by Marriage: Bland, Buckner, Byrne, Fairfax, Morgan, Tebbs, Watson, Zinn and Others. Strasburg, Virginia: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., 1930. Available at FHL.
 * [Cleveland] Cleveland, Edmund James and H.G. Cleveland. The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families: An Attempt to Trace in Both Male and the Female Lines the Posterity of Moses Cleveland Who Came from Ipswich, County Suffolk, England, about 1635, was of Worburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts; of Alexander Cleveland of Prince William County, Virginia; and of Ancient and Other Clevelands in England, America and Elsewhere; with Numerous Biographical Sketches; and Containing Ancestriesof Many of the Husbands and Wives; Also a Bibliographyof the Cleveland Family and a Genealogical Account of Edward Winn of Woburn and of Other Winn Families. 3 vols. Hartford, Connecticut: Case, Lockwood and Brainard, 1899. Available at FHL.
 * [Davis] Moore, Robert P. Ancestors and Nelson Co., Ky., Associates of the Kincheloe, Wickliffe, and Davis Families of Prince William County, Virginia. Lexington, Kentucky: R.P. Moore, 1996. Available at FHL.
 * [Davis] See also Dawson.
 * [Dawson] Dawson, Leslie Davis. History of the Dawson-Davis Family and Related Families of Fairfax and Prince William Counties, Virginia. 1974.
 * [DeBell] Peters, Joan and Juanita Price. Descendents of William and Margaret DeBell of Prince William County, Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Albemarle Press, 1992. Available at FHL.
 * [DeButts] Russell, George Ely. "DeButts Family of Maryland and Virginia," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):131-188.
 * [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.
 * [Duncan] Roy, Nancy Reba. Some Descendants of Marshall Duncan of Prince William County, Virginia and of Surry County, North Carolina: Also Descendants of Peter Duncan, Immigrant to Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Fitzhugh] Family Bible of John Fitzhugh of Prince William County, Virginia: Generations 5, 6, 7, and 8.
 * [Florence] Florence, James Edward. The Flourance, Florance, Florence Families of Old Prince William County, Virginia. Nokesville, Virginia: J.E. Florence, 2001. Available at FHL; digital book available at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Foster] Lineage of the Foster Family of Prince William and Frederick Counties, Virginia. [Incomplete citation from Google Books.]
 * [Genn] Hillman, Ralph E. "James Genn of Northumberland County, Virginia, and Some of His Descendants," The American Genealogist, Vol. 72, No. 1 (Jan. 1997):32-38; Vol. 72, No. 2 (Apr. 1997):101-108.
 * [Harrison] Harrison, Fairfax. "Parson Waugh's Tumult: A Chapter from 'Landmarks of Old Prince William,'" The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Jan. 1922):31-37. Available at JSTOR.
 * [Hedges] Hedges, Robert. The Hedges of Stafford/Prince William Counties, Virginia, 1660-1980. Taylorsville, Kentucky: R. Hedges, 1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Herndon] Herndon, Dudley L. The Herndons of the American Revolution Part IV: #82, William Herndon (b. ca. 1737-d. ca. 1796) of Prince William County, Va., and His Known Descendants. Maryland: Gateway Press, 1992.
 * [Hutchison] Winthurst, Phyllis. The Hutchison Chronicles: Some Stories of the Nine Generations of Descendants of John and Margaret Hutchison, Prince William and Shenandoah Counties, Virginia and Montgomery County, Tennessee. Tucson, Arizona: P.R. Winthurst, 1998. Available at FHL.
 * [Kincheloe]See Davis.
 * [Kirkpatrick] Kirkpatrick, Martin Glen. John and Priscilla Kirkpatrick of Prince William County, Va: and their Descendants; Records. 1959.
 * [Legg] Deason, Lisa Marie Hirst. Descendants of Eli Legg (1775-1835) and Jane Prince (1776-1846): of Prince William County, Virginia. Cedar Hills, Utah: L.M.H. Deason, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * [Milton] Moore, Robert P. Milton of Virginia and Kentucky: Richard Milton (Melton) of Prince William County, Virginia, and Nelson County, Kentucky (1712-1801), His Ancestors and Descendants. R.P. Moore, 1992.
 * [Northcutt] Miller, Elizabeth Ellis. John Northcutt of Prince William County, Virginia, 1740 and Some of His Descendants. 1958. Available at FHL.
 * [Owens] Owens, David Hatfield. Owens Family of Virginia (Richmond, King George, Stafford, Prince William, Fauquier Counties) and Kentucky (Mason, Lewis, Fleming, Bracken, Mercer, Boyle Counties). Ann Arbor, Michigan: D.H. Owens, 1991. Available at FHL.
 * [Owens] Owens, Claude M. William Owens, Sr., (ca 1725 - ca. 1793), His Father and Grandfather: (Westmoreland, Prince William and Frederick Counties, Virginia). South Laguna, California: C.M. Owens, 1995. Available at FHL.
 * [Peak] Raese, David S. Descendants of John Peak IV of Prince William County Virginia and Scott County Kentucky: With Selected Allied Families. D.S. Raese, 1999.
 * [Prince] See Legg.
 * [Randolph] Randolph, Blanche Willie Grace and Deborah Ann Kraemer Small. The Randolphs of Prince William County, Virginia. Little Rock, Arkansas: B. Randolph, 1979. Available at FHL.
 * [Randolph] Small, Deborah Ann Kraemer and Blanche Willie Grace Randolph. The Randolphs of Prince William County, Virginia, Volume II. Winter Park, Florida: D. Small, 1989. Available at FHL.
 * [Randolph] Raski, Arma, James Randolph, and Glenita Guthrie. Additions &amp; Corrections to Vol. II, the Randolphs of Prince William Co., VA by Deborah K. Small. Available at FHL.
 * [Reid] West, Donal Sinclair and Lola Edwards Lindsey. The Descendants of Joseph Reid (1702-1749) and Elizabeth Hampton: Absolom Reid (1727- ) and Sarah Simpson (1735- ), Joab Reid (1762-1855) and Nancy West (1764-1805), Prince William and Fairfax Co. VA, Adams and Brown Co. OH, Clay Co. MO. West, 1997.
 * [Rose] Rose, Mrs. Seymour T. Family of James Rose, Prince William County, Virginia. 1971.
 * [Rose] Rose, Christine and Claudia Mortensen. James and Jane (Conover) Rose of Prince William County, Virginia and Some Descendants. C. Rose, 1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Rousseau] Rousseau, Marilyn K. "The Colonial Virginia Ancestry of a Pioneer Florida Family: William H. Rousseau (1818-1870), Florida House of Representatives 1852, Florida State Senate 1865," The American Genealogist, Vol. 79, No. 3 (Jul. 2004):184-198.
 * [Simpson] McFarland, Robert H. and Twilah M. McFarland. Simpson Connections: John and Hannah Simpson of Prince William County, Virginia and their Descendants. Rolla, Missouri: McFarland Home Enterprises, 1987. Available at FHL.
 * [Spiller] Harrill, Janice Robertson. The Spiller Family of Prince William County, Virginia, Tennessee, and Illinois. [Incomplete citation from Google Books.]
 * [Spiller] Gottschalk, Katherine Cox. The Spiller Family of Prince William County, Virginia; Robertson County, Tennessee; Williamson County, Illinois. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Stone] Woodruff, Helen Stone. Stone - Descendants of Thomas and Sarah Stone of Prince William County, Virginia. Tahlequah, Oklahoma: H.S. Woodruff, 1984. Available at FHL.
 * [Trone] Kebler, J. Descendants of Peter Trone of Prince William County, Va. 1977.
 * [Weedon] Karracker, James L. and George Harrison Sanford King. The Weedon Family of Westmoreland, Prince William, Fauquier, Culpeper Counties, Va. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Wickliffe] See Davis.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Prince William County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * Harrison, Fairfax. "When the Convicts Came: A Chapter from 'Land Marks of Old Prince William,'" The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Jul. 1922):250-260. Available at JSTOR.
 * [http://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=Prince&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 Prince Edward, Prince George, and Prince William Counties, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
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.]
 * Davey. 18 patents dated 1707-1760 covering neighborhoods in what is now Prince William County, Virginia. 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); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.]
 * Cain. 662 patents dated 1657-1855 in what is now Prince William County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2007. [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

 * Berkley, Henry J. "The Port of Dumfries, Prince William Co., Va.," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr. 1924):99-116. Available at JSTOR.
 * Ewell, Alice Maude. A Virginia Scene, or, Life in Old Prince William. Lynchburg, Virginia: J.P. Bell Co., 1931. Digital book available at Ancestry.
 * Prince William: The Story of its People and its Places. Richmond, Va.: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1941. Digital book available at Ancestry.
 * Curtis, Donald E. and Prince William County Historical Commission. The Curtis Collection: A Personal View of Prince William County History. Prince William, Virginia: Prince William County Historical Commission, 1988. Available at FHL.

Military
French and Indian War


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

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.

Private Papers

 * [Foley] Gott, John K. "Foley Bible, 'Mt. Atlas,' Prince William Co., Va.," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1975):118-120. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Probate
Local Court


 * Prince William County, Virginia Wills, Part 1, 1734-1951. Database at Ancestry.
 * Prince William County, Virginia Wills, Part 2, 1734-1920. Database at Ancestry.

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 Prince William County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

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.


 * "Rent Roll, Prince William County, Va. - 1736," in Junie Estelle Stewart King, Abstracts of Wills, Administrations, and Marriages of Fauquier County, Virginia, 1759-1800. Baltimore, Maryland, 2001. Available at Ancestry.
 * A List of Tithables [sic] Between Sedderrun [sic] and Boolrun [sic] in Ditingin [sic] Parish in Prince William County for 1747. Photocopy of original records, Prince William County Courthouse, Manassas, Virginia; also available on microfilm at FHL. [The original records are held at the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.]
 * 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. Prince William County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * Images of the 1788 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Prince William County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * 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. Prince William County is included in Vol. 4.]

Vital Records
Births


 * Prince William County, Virginia Births, 1853-77. Database at Ancestry.
 * Prince William County, Virginia Births, 1878-96. Database at Ancestry.

Deaths


 * Prince William County, Virginia Deaths, 1853-96. Database at Ancestry.

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