Caroline County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Caroline County is located in the Eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named in honor of Caroline of Ansbach, wife of the then reigning King, George II of Great Britain.

County Courthouse
Caroline County Courthouse 112 Courthouse Lane, Suite A / P O Box 309 Bowling Green, VA 22427 Phone: 804-633-5800 Caroline County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records 1787-1853, land records from 1836

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
This county was named after Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, also known as simply Caroline of Ansbach (1683-1737), consort of King George II of Great Britain. The reason for this choice as to the county's name was because the county was organized in 1728 on the basis of a legislative act of 1727, the year that George assumed the throne.

Bible Records

 * Bibles at USGenWeb Archives - free.
 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * [Campbell] Major, Mrs. Nettie Leitch. "Campbell Family Bible, Caroline County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):117-118. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. 1952. By George Barton Cutten. Richmond, Virginia : The Dietz Press, Incorporated. . Includes a section on Port Royal silversmiths.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * For a list with provision for eventual inclusion of addresses, phone numbers, and external links, see Caroline County, Virginia Cemeteries.
 * Collins, Herbert Ridgeway.Cemeteries of Caroline County, Vol. 3: Private Cemeteries. Heritage Books, 2007 (covers about 170 cemeteries). Google Books page

Census Records
1890 Veterans
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. c1994. By Ronald Ray Turner. Online at: Prince William County Virginia, ;.

Church Records
Baptist Early Baptist churches (with years constituted): Caroline County fell within the bounds of the Goshen Association and the Dover Association.
 * 1) Bethel (1800)
 * 2) Bethesda Church, Port Royal, Va. (1847; RootsWeb)
 * 3) Burrus's (1773)
 * 4) County Line (1782)
 * 5) Liberty Baptist Church, Port Royal, Va. (1796; RootsWeb)
 * 6) Reeds (1773)
 * 7) Salem (1802)
 * 8) Tuckahoe (1774), Port Royal, Va. Later known as Upper Zion Baptist Church (RootsWeb).
 * 9) Zoar Church, Port Royal, Va. (1902; RootsWeb)

Church of England See also Drysdale Parish See also St. Anne's Parish  See also St. Asaph's Parish  See also St. Margaret's Parish  See also St. Mary's Parish

Quaker Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):
 * Caroline Monthly Meeting (1739-1844)Jay Worrall, The Friendly Virginians: America's First Quakers (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Publishing Company, 1994), 537-539..
 * 1739-1793 Quaker Records of Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting, Virginia, 1739-1793 by Mary Marshall Brewer. Colonial Roots, Lewes, DE., 2002..

Court Records
County Court Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1772-1774 Order Book Abstracts of Caroline County, Virginia 1772-1774. 1993. By Ruth Sparacio and Sam Sparacio. McLean, VA : The Antient Press. 2 vols.
 * Court transcriptions and abstracts Caroline County U.S. GenWeb Archives

Chancery Court
 * Indexed images of Caroline County, Virginia Chancery Records 1787-1849 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. Additional records are available at the Caroline County Courthouse. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.
 * In addition to the index listed above, unindexed chancery court records pre-1913 records are also available in the Caroline County Circuit Court Clerk's Office.
 * Suit -- Brown vs. Brown: Chancery Court Records in Caroline County, Virginia. 1950. By Anne Waller Reddy. MSS. Available at . Rene (René, Rainey, or Renney) Parsons Brown of Caroline County was sued by John Brown of Franklin County.

District Court of Fredericksburg The District Court of Fredericksburg and later the Superior Court of Chancery had jurisdiction over certain Caroline 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.]

See also Historic Court Records for indexes of Apprentice Records, Clerk's Order Books, Court Records, Free Negro / Slave records, Inquests, Marriage Records, Mayor's Court, Military Records and Wills.

Emigration and Immigration
Port Royal, on the Rappahannock River, was established as a port in 1652. It was incorporated as a town in 1744. Many ships carrying settlers landed there during the colonial period. No official passenger lists survive for the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, but a general chronology of shipping activities for that period has been prepared.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American From 1790 to 1860, Caroline County had one of the largest enslaved populations in the state (10,292 in 1790; 10,672 in 1860). Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans in Caroline County.
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * See Virginia_Cohabitation_Records for links to online records.

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 Caroline County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 300+ Published books and articles, or jump to surnames using the alphabet bar.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Familes
 * The Suttons of Caroline County, Virginia. 1941. By T. Dix Sutton. Richmond, VA : Richmond Press, Inc. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Land and Property Records
Grants and Patents Online Land Indexes and Records


 * Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants 1694-1742. 1987. By Gertrude E. Gray. Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Vol.1. Available at.
 * Hudgins. 371 patents dated 1650-1752 in what is now Caroline County, 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); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.]
 * Deeds (transcriptions and indices) (Caroline County U.S. GenWeb Archives)
 * Sparacio, Ruth Trickey and Sam Sparacio. Caroline County, Virginia County Surveys, 1729-1762, and Proceedings of Committee of Safety, 1774-1776. McLean, Virginia: Antient Press, 1997. Available at.

Local Histories

 * 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * Caroline County In Howe's History Of Virginia 1845. 2008. By Alice Warner. Online at: Caroline County Virginia USGenWeb Archives
 * Every Name Index to a History of Caroline County, Virginia. c2012. By Cathy L. O'Connor. Online at: Every Name Index.
 * Historical Collections of Virginia : Containing a Collection of the Most Interesting Facts, Tradition, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, etc. Relating to its History and Antiquitites, Together with Geographical and Statistical Description, to Which is Appended an Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the District of Columbia. 1847. By Henry Howe. Charleston, South Carolina : Babcock. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * Letters and Journal Written by Reuben Ellis McDaniel to His Wife (Delia Marie Richerson). 1842. Online at: RootsWeb.
 * Skeletons in the Closet: 200 Years of Murders in Old Virginia; a Genealogical and Historical Resource. 2001. By Therese Fisher. Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books. Available at . Identifies Caroline County's sheriffs 1729-1780.
 * Virginia Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Caroline County, Virginia Creeks & Rivers (1751). Online at: VAGenWeb.

Migration

 * Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790. By Robert Y. Clay. The Virginia Genealogist Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1976):29-34. CD available at: American Ancestors ($),.

Military Records
French and Indian War
 * Caroline Men in the French and Indian War (RootsWeb)
 * Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. By William F. Boogher. 2007. Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co. Online 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 Caroline County, see p. 69.
 * Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. By Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. 1988. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. . Identifies some Caroline County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.

Revolutionary 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. Washington : Blair and Rives. Online at: Internet Archive, Google Books; . See Virginia, Eastern District, Caroline County on page 129.
 * Caroline County, Virginia County Surveys, 1729-1762, and Proceedings of Committee of Safety, 1774-1776. 1997. By Ruth Trickey Sparacio and Sam Sparacio. McLean, Virginia : Antient Press.
 * Proceedings of the Committees of Safety of Caroline and Southampton Counties, Virginia, 1774-1776. Richmond, Virginia: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1929.
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans. Virginia section begins on page 238.
 * Revolutionary War Pension Affidavits. Online at: Caroline County U.S. GenWeb Archives.
 * Revolutionary War Soldiers from Caroline County. Online at: RootsWeb.
 * Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: McAllister's Data. c1913. By J. T. McAllister. Hot Springs, Virginia : McAllister Pub. Co. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.

Regiments. Service men in Caroline County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Caroline County supplied soldiers for the:
 * - 10th Virginia Regiment

War of 1812 Caroline County men served in the 6th and 30th Regiments.
 * Guardian of the Star-Spangled Banner : Lt. Colonel George Armistead and the Fort McHenry Flag. 1999. By Scott Sumpter Sheads. Baltimore, Maryland : Toomey Press..
 * George Armistead, son of John Armistead and Lucinda Baylor, was born in 1780 at Bowling Green, Caroline County, Virginia. George married Louisa Hughes, daughter of Christopher Hughes Sr., on 26 Oct 1810 in Baltimore. They had 3 children. He was the commanding officer of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland on 13-14 Sep 1814. He kept the flag that was flying over the fort and passed it along to his descendants. In 1912, it was given as a gift to the Smithsonian National Museum. George died 25 Apr 1818 in Baltimore, Maryland.


 * 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. ; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. See Vol. 5, Virginia, Caroline County, p. 66.

Civil War
 * 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)
 * A Guide to Virginia Military organizations 1861-1865. 1986. By Lee A. Wallace. Lynchburg, VA : H. E. Howard, Inc. Available at:
 * A History of Caroline County, Virginia. 1975. By Marshall Wingfield. Baltimore, MD : Regional Publishing Co. Available at: . Pages 235-251 contains muster lists for the companies that served in these regiments from this county.
 * Caroline County Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows. Online at: Caroline County U.S. GenWeb Archives.
 * Confederate Pensioners List for Caroline County 1909. Online at: RootsWeb.

Regiments. Caroline County men most often served in regiments (and companies) from their home county. At times, however, individuals and small groups can be found serving in a regiment of a neighboring county. Later in the war, Confederate units often reorganized. Men from Caroline County can be found in the following regiments:
 * - 9th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company B (Caroline Light Dragoons).
 * - 9th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Caroline Light Dragoons).
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company F.
 * - 30th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company E (Caroline Grays), Company F (Bowling Green Guards), Company G (Childsburg Light Infantry), and Company H (Sparta Grays).
 * - 47th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company E (Port Royal Guards).
 * - Lightfoot's Battalion, "Caroline Light Artillery," (Confederate)

Civil War Battle The following Civil War battle was fought in Caroline County.
 * May 23-26, 1864 North Anna, also known as Telegraph Road Bridge, Jericho Mill (May 23), Ox Ford, Quarles Mill, or Hanover Junction (May 24)
 * Maps of Civil War battles in Virginia: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865

World War I
 * Caroline County Men Who Served in World War I. RootsWeb.

World War II
 * 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

Newspapers

 * The Caroline Progress, Bowling Green, VA (current newspaper).
 * Virginia Gazette: 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.

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

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1633-1800 Wills and Estate Records Index at Library of Virginia.
 * Digital Images of Caroline County Wills 1742, 1762-1830. See names of testators. Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Some Wills from the Burned Counties of Virginia and Other Wills Not Listed in Virginia Wills and Administrations 1632-1800. 1987. By William Lindsay Hopkins. Richmond, Virginia : W. L. Hopkins. Available at.
 * Wills transcriptions and indices. Online at: [http://usgwarchives.net/va/caroline.htm Caroline County U.S. GenWeb Archives
 * 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
 * 1742; 1762-1830 Images of Wills and Estates Virginia Pioneers ($).

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
 * 1783 Caroline County Personal Property List, 1783. William and Mary College Quarterly, 1st Series, Vol. 27 (1919):154-163. Online at: JSTOR ($), Caroline County U.S. GenWeb Archives. Available at . Reprint in Virginia Tax Records. 1983. Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. available at.
 * 1783 Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940. By Augusta B. Fothergill and John Mark Naugle. Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Publishing Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, . 1783 personal property tax list of Caroline County.
 * 1783-1799 Caroline County Personal Property Tax Lists 1783-1799. Online at: Binns Genealogy ($).
 * 1787 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. By Netti Schreiner-Yantis and Florene Speakman Love. c1987. Springfield, Virginia : Genealogical Books in Print. . The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Caroline County is included in Vol. 1.
 * 1787-1789 Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790. By Robert Y. Clay. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1976):29-34; Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1977):113-118. FHL, American Ancestors ($). These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Some of Caroline County's 1789 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:29; 1787-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on 21:116-117.
 * 1789-1797 Caroline County Land Tax Lists 1789-1797. Online at: Binns Genealogy ($).
 * 1789, 1799 Land Tax Lists of Caroline County, Virginia. Online at: Binns Genealogy.
 * 1789, 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Caroline County, Virginia. Online at: Binns Genealogy.
 * 1800 Caroline County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1970):82-87; Vol. 14, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1970):112-116; Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1970):155-159. Online at: American Ancestors ($)..
 * 1815 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 1997-2000. By Roger D. Ward. Athens, Georgia : Iberian Pub. Co. 6 vols. . The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Caroline County is included in Vol. 3.

Birth
Beth Fridley has published the following indexes online at Ancestry:
 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1864-1867 Caroline County Birth Index 1864-1867.
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1859-1868 Caroline County, Virginia Births, 1859-68 (Except 1863). Online at: Ancestry ($).
 * 1870-1880 Caroline County, Virginia Births, 1870-1880. Online at: Ancestry ($).
 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1881-1896 Caroline County, Virginia Births, 1881-96. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages. Online at: FindMyPast ($).
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1777-1853 Marriages of Caroline County, Virginia, 1777-1853. 1998. By Therese A. Fisher. Heritage Books.
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1787-1851 Caroline County Marriage Index 1787-1851. Online at: FamilySearch
 * 1787-1852 Marriages Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1864-1899 Caroline County Marriage Index 1864-1899. FamilySearch.
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index

Death

 * 1853-1896 Caroline County, Virginia: Bureau of Vital Statistics Death Records, 1853-1896. 1999. By Herbert Ridgeway Collins. Heritage Books.
 * 1865-1867 Caroline County Death Index 1865-1867. Online at: FamilySearch.
 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index & images

Family History Centers

 * Louisa Virginia Family History Center
 * Fredericksburg Virginia Family History Center
 * Tappahannock Virginia Family History Center


 * Jefferson Madison Regional Library - Louisa Branch - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Caroline County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 9, Bowling Green, VA 22427
 * Caroline Historical Society, P.O. 324, Bowling Green, VA 22427

Societies
Caroline Library, 17202 Richmond Turnpike, Bowling Green, VA 22427Website Historic Port Royal (historical society)Website
 * Tidewater Genealogical Society

Websites

 * Caroline County (Geography of Virginia)
 * Caroline County Information (Home Town Locator)
 * Caroline County, Virginia U.S. GenWeb Archives Project (different from Caroline County GenWeb, above)
 * National Register of Historic Places Listings in Caroline County, Virginia (Wikipedia)
 * Welcome to Caroline County, Virginia (official county site)
 * Cyndi's List
 * North Carolina Pioneers ($)


 * – 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
Compiled genealogies are a good place to start research for this area, see Caroline County, Virginia Genealogy. If you are researching families who lived in Caroline County, Virginia between the 1760s and 1790s, the Sparacios' books are a great time saver. They comprehensively index several publications covering that period:
 * Surname Index of Antient Press Publications. 1993. By Ruth Trickey Sparacio and Sam Sparacio. McLean, VA : R. S. Sparacio, Antient Press. 14+ vols. 975.5 P22s v. 1-2; publisher's website: Antient Press.


 * Records of Tidewater Virginia Counties. By Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis. Tidewater Virginia Families: A Magazine of History and Genealogy, Vol. 1, No. 2 (May-June 1992):53-66. 975.51 D25t. For Caroline County, see p. 55.
 * Research Opportunities in Caroline County. By Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis. The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 18, No. 3 (May-June 1992):1-3. . Online at: Virginia Genealogical Society ($).
 * A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Caroline County. By John Frederick Dorman. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1963):30-33. . Online at: American Ancestors ($).