Page County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Page County is located in the northwestern area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named for John Page, Governor of Virginia, 1802-1805.

County Courthouse
Page County Courthouse 116 South Court Street Luray, VA 22835 Phone:540-743-5705 Page County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, land, probate and court records from 1831

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline


The county is named after Virginia Governor John Page (1744-1808)

Bible Records

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Business, Commerce, and 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 Luray silversmiths.]

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Ellsberry, Elizabeth Prather, comp. Cemetery Records of Page County, Virginia, Volume I, Luray Cemetery. Chillicothe, MO, USA: Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry, c1965. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Census Records
1890 Union Veterans' Census
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. By Ronald Ray Turner. ; (*); images.  Includes residents of this county.
 * 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census. Online at: Ancestry ($). Includes this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
 * Mill Creek (by 1798). Minutes begin in 1798 and have been published through 1824 in the Genealogical Society of Page County, Virginia Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Spring 1998), Vol. 9, No. 3 (Summer 1998), Vol. 9, No. 4 (Fall 1998), Vol. 10, No. 1 (Winter 1999), Vol. 10, No. 2 (Spring 1999), Vol. 10, No. 3 (Summer 1999). Membership lists (1823-1846) and deaths (1829-1850) were published in Seattle Genealogical Society Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 4 (June 1967) and Vol. 17, No. 1 (Sep. 1967):.

German Reformed
 * Braun, Johannes, Klaus Wust and Joseph H. Meyerhoeffer. Shenandoah Valley Family Data, 1799-1813: From the Memorandum Book of Pastor Johannes Braun. Edinburg, Va.: Shenandoah History Publishers, 1978..

Lutheran Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, also known as Hawksbill Church, Hacksbill Church, Hoxbiehl Church, and Gomer's Church
 * 1742-1775 Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Vol. II. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Wust, Klaus, translator. The Record of Hawksbill Church 1788-1850 Page County, VA. Edinburg, Virginia: Shenandoah History, 1979.

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records Indexes and images to Page County, Virginia Chancery Records 1831-1914 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, which were often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans
 * 1855 Free Negroes and Mulattoes, within County, over 12 Years of Age, 1855, Mountain Memories. Luray VA: Spring 2004. Vol. 15 Iss. 2.
 * 1856 Free Negroes and Mulattoes, Modesitt District, with Ages, 1856, Mountain Memories. Luray VA: Spring 2004. Vol. 15 Iss. 2.
 * 1858 Free Negroes over 12, 1858, Mountain Memories. Luray VA: Winter 2001. Vol. 12 Iss. 1.
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Page County.

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Genealogies
Compiled Genealogies by Surname A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 * See Page County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of published books and articles.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * O'Dell, Cecil. Pioneers of Old Frederick County, Virginia. Marceline, Mo.: Walsworth Pub. Co., 1995. . One of the most impressively researched one-place studies in the United States. In a review, Dorman stated "Comprehensive studies such as this appear only rarerly. This volume should be in every Virginia genealogical collection."

Local Histories

 * Strickler, Harry M. A Short History of Page County Virginia. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Inc., 1952. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Massanutten Area Atlas. Original records, Shenandoah County Archives, Woodstock, Va. Microfilmed reproduction available at . [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.]
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Revolutionary War War of 1812 Civil War
 * 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, Western District, Page County on pages 135-136.]
 * 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, Orange County, p. 97. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 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)

Regiments. Civil War service men in Page County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed here:
 * - 7th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Ashby's) (Confederate). Company D (Captain Macon Jordan).
 * - 10th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (Page Volunteers).
 * - 33rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate) Company H (Page Grays).
 * - 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate).

World War II
 * 1938-1946 U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1906-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Private Papers

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Probate Records

 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1777 "Augusta County Tithables, 1777," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 42 Iss. 4 (Nov. 2004):307-310. Available at . [Covers area of present-day eastern Rockingham and Page counties.]
 * 1855 Free Negroes and Mulattoes, within County, over 12 Years of Age, 1855, Mountain Memories. Luray VA: Spring 2004. Vol. 15 Iss. 2.
 * 1856 Free Negroes and Mulattoes, Modesitt District, with Ages, 1856, Mountain Memories. Luray VA: Spring 2004. Vol. 15 Iss. 2.
 * 1858 Free Negroes over 12, 1858, Mountain Memories. Luray VA: Winter 2001. Vol. 12 Iss. 1.
 * 1858-1859 Ramey, Chester E. Page County, Virginia Land Tax Records for 1858 & 1859. Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1995. Available through the FamilySearch Catalog.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index, ($) — index $
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1851-1900 Virginia Marriages 1851-1900 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 1853-1911 Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images
 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index & images

Family History Centers

 * Culpeper Virginia Family History Center
 * Front Royal Virginia Family History Center
 * Harrisonburg Virginia Family History Center
 * Warrenton Virginia Family History Center
 * Rocktown History - an affiliate library
 * Shenandoah County Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Genealogical Society of Page County, Virginia
 * Central Virginia Genealogical Association

Websites

 * Page County, Virginia GenWeb and VAGenWeb


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

 * Good, Rebecca H. and Rebecca A. Ebert. Finding Your People in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia: A Genealogical Guide. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1998. 4th ed.
 * Kelley, Teresa. "Paging Through the Past at the Page Public Library, Luray, Page County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jun. 1999):1-2. Available at ; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.