Orange County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Orange County



Parent County
1734--Orange County was created 1 February 1734 from Spotsylvania County. County seat: Orange

Neighboring Counties
Albemarle

Culpeper

Greene

Louisa

Madison

Spotsylvania

Census
For tips on accessing census records online, see Virginia Census.

1790 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1810 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

Church
Church of England


 * Davis, Rosalie Edith Rogers, St. Mark's Parish (Culpeper County, Virginia: Episcopal), Bromfield Parish (Rappahannock and Madison Counties, Virginia: Episcopal). Saint Mark Parish Vestry Book &amp; Levies, 1730-1785: Spotslyvania, Orange and Culpeper counties, Virginia. Manchester, Missouri: Heritage Trails, 1983. Available at FHL.
 * Papageorgiou, Lizabeth Ward. The Colonial Churches of St. Thomas' Parish, Orange County, Virginia: With Notes on Sites in Orange, Greene, and Madison Counties. Baltimore, Maryland: Clearfield, 2008. Available at FHL.

Court
Chancery Court


 * Sparacio, Ruth Trickey and Sam Sparacio. Chancery Suits (Superior Court of Law &amp; Chancery), Orange County, Virginia, 1831-1845. McLean, Virginia: R. &amp; S. Sparacio, 1988. Available at FHL.

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.

General


 * Brockman, William Everett. Orange County (Va.) Families. 4 vols. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Burgess Pub. Co., 1949-1965. Available at FHL. Volume two reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1959):92; volume three reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1960):88; volume four reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1966):85-86. Reviews available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Cerny, Johni and Gary J. Zimmerman. Before Germanna. 12 vols. Bountiful, Utah: American Geneal. Lending Library Publishers, 1990. Available at FHL. [Discusses families of German immigrants who settled in Spotsylvania and Orange counties, Virginia.]
 * Sparacio, Ruth Trickey and Sam Sparacio. Pamunkey Neighbors of Orange County, Virginia: Lindsay, Mills, Montague, Stevens, and Related Families and Neighbors. 2 vols. and supplement. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1985. Available at FHL. 1994 supplements by Lauretta Trickey Corkill, Eldon Corkill, Ruth Trickey Sparacio, and Sam Sparacio also available at FHL.

Bibliography


 * [Ballard] Gottschalk, Kathrine Cox. Ballard Family of Orange County, Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Bell] Essker, Katie-Prince Ward and Daughters of the American Revolution. Mary Washington Chapter (District of Columbia). Records of the Bell Family, Orange County, Virginia. MSS., 1946, available at FHL.
 * [Burgess] Reginald, R. The House of the Burgesses: Being a Genealogical History of Edward Burgess of King George and Stafford Counties, Virginia, with His Sons - Garner Burgess of Fauquier Co., Virginia; William Burgess of Stafford Co., Virginia; Moses Burgess of Orange County, Virginia; Reuben Burgess of Rowan Co., North Carolina - and His Grandsons - Edward Burgess of Culpeper Co., Virginia; John Burgess of Harrison Co., Kentucky; Henry Burgess of Fleming Co., Kentucky; Edward Burgess of Scott Co., Kentucky; John P.B. Burgess of Halifax Co., Virginia; Edward Burgess of Kanawha Co., West Virginia; William Burgess of Davie Co., North Carolina; Reuben Burgess of Davie Co., North Carolina; and Thomas Burgess of White Co., Tennessee - Together with Their Known Descendants Named Burgess. San Bernardino, California: Borgo Press, 1983. Available at FHL.
 * [Burgess] Burgess, Michael and Mary A. Wickizer Burgess. The House of the Burgesses: Being a Genealogical History of William Burgess of Richmond (later King George) County, Virginia, His Son Edward Burgess of Stafford (later King Geoge) County, Virginia, with the Descendants in the Male Line of Edward's Sons: Garner Burgess of Fauquier County, Virginia, William Burgess of Stafford County, Virginia; Edward Burges, Jr. of Faugqier County, Virginia, Moses Burgess of Orange County, Virginia; Reuben of Rowan (later Davie) County, North Carolina. San Bernardino, California: Burgess and Wickizer, 1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Carlton] Carleton, George H. John Carlton of Orange County and Albemarle County, Virginia: and Some of His Descendants, 1720-1989. Dallas, Texas: Brooks Publishing Co., 1989. Available at FHL.
 * [Cox] Weaver, Oliver C. Naomi Ann Cox (1814 - 1884) (Wife of the Reverend Benjamin Lloyd): Daughter of Cary Cox-II, Granddaughter of Cary Cox-I, Great Granddaughter of William Cox-I, of Orange County, Virginia and Three Generations of Earlier Ancstral (sic) Lines. Birmingham, Alabama: O.C. Weaver, Jr., 2001. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Books.
 * [Davis] Davidson, Mildred Davis. Jonathan Davis of Orange County, Virginia and Wilkes County, Georgia and Some of His Descendants. Carmichael, California: M.D. Davidson, 1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Embree] Olson, Sylvia R. Descendants of John Embree, b. 1710 of Orange Co. Va.: A-Z, ca. 1710-1980. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Faulconer] Mann, J. William. Faulconers of Virginia: and Related Families of Spotsylvania and Orange Counties, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: J.W. Mann, 198-?. Available at FHL.
 * [Fitzgerald] Hudgins, Dennis Ray. Fitzgerald &amp; Jarrell Families: Orange, Madison, Culpeper, Greene Co. Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Harrison] Torrence, Robert M. "Charles Harrison, of St. Thomas Parish, Orange County, Virginia, and Descendants," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Jan., 1947), pp. 85-94. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Hausenbella] Cartinell, T.K. Stephen Hausenbella: Brief Sketch of Himself and Family as Shown by Old Records of the Counties of Frederick and Orange in State of Virginia. MSS., 1939?, available at FHL.
 * [Henderson] Neal, Josephine Henderson. The Henderson Family of Orange Co., Va. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Hofmann] Claypool, Don. Hobmann, Hofmann, Hufman, Huffman. D. Claypool, 2001. Available at FHL.
 * [Jarman] Campbell, Shirley O'Neal. The Jarman Family of Spotsylvania, Orange, &amp; Albemarle Counties of Virginia. S.O. Campbell, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * [Jarrell] See Fitzgerald.
 * [Jones] McLane Bobbie Lee Jones and Richard Steele. Descendants of Hugh Jones of Orange County, Virginia: A Family History and Genealogy. Hot Springs, Arkansas: B.J. McLane, 1991. Available at FHL.
 * [Maddy] Maddy, Olive, Sandra L. McVay Malone, and Maddy's Association. US Maddys: An Account of the Family in England and the Descendants of William Maddy of Fairfax County, Virginia, and James Maddy of Fairfax and Orange Counties, Emigrants. Oskaloosa, Iowa: O. Maddy, 1950. Available at FHL. 1985 revision available at FHL.
 * [Miller] Miller, Boyce. "Miller Family of Orange County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan., 1933), pp. 39-45. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Miller] Miller, James Boyce and Robert Braxton Miller. The Miller Family of Orange/Greene Counties, Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: R.B. Miller, [1995?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Moore] Moore, Charles R. The Moore Family of Central Virginia: Covering the Counties of Albeharle, Amherst, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbell, Fluvanna, Louisa, Nelson, and Orange, Virginia. Charlottesville, Virginia: C.R. Moore, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Render] Smith, Pearl O. Renders and Their Relatives: Joshua Render of Charles County, Maryland, and Orange County, Virginia, and His Descendants, 1720-1985. Arlington, Virginia: P.O. Smith, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Sanford] Bendigo, Irma Sanford. Pierce Sanford of Orange County, Virginia: Genealogy and Personal Glimpses. Fort Myers, Florida: I.S. Bendigo, 1978. Available at FHL.
 * [Scott] Scott, Paul H. "The Scott Family of Orange County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct., 1939), pp. 485-509. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Stephens] Stephens, Benjamin. Stephens/Ryle Family of Kenton/Boone Counties, Kentucky: Descendents of Blessing Stephens and Stephens of Orange Country, Va. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Taylor] Anderson, William Kyle. Donald Robertson and His Wife Rachel Rogers, of King and Queen County, Virginia, Their Ancestry and Posterity, Also a Brief Account of the Ancestry of Commodore Richard Taylor, of Orange County, Virginia, and His Naval History during the War of the American Revolution. Detroit, Michigan: Winn &amp; Hammond, Printers, 1900. Available at FHL. Reviewed in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Oct., 1902), p. 224. Review available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Terrill] Wiggins, Mrs. Joseph P. "Will of Robert Terrill, of Orange County, Virginia," (and family notes) [1786] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr., 1923), pp. 175-180. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Walker] Ashworth, June Faye. Walker Family History: (Early Orange, Giles, Cabell, Wayne Counties of Va.); (Mainly Charles Walker, Jr. and Descendants). Huntington, West Virginia: J.F.B. Walker, 1996. Available at FHL.
 * [Yager] Yowell, Claude Lindsay, B.C. Holtzclaw, Charles Herbert Huffman, and Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia. Clore, Yager, and Utz Descendants - 1717 Colonists. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, 1967. Available at FHL.

Historic Residences

 * Miller, Ann L. Antebellum Orange: The Pre-Civil War Homes, Public Buildings, and Historic Sites of Orange County, Virginia. Orange, Virginia: Orange County Historical Society, 1989. Reviewed by Calder Loth in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 98, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), pp. 671-672. Review available at JSTOR ($).
 * Taylor, Jaquelin P. "'Meadowfarm' Orange County, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul., 1938), pp. 231-233. Available at JSTOR ($).

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Orange County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * [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=Orange&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 Orange County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * [Map] Hildebrand, John R. The Beverley Patent, 1736: Including Original Grantees, 1738-1815 in Orange &amp; Augusta Counties, Va. 1954. Available at FHL.
 * Hudgins, 390 patents dated 1713-1815 in what is now Orange County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2004. [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

 * Hurst, Patricia J. The History and People of Clark Mountain, Orange County, Virginia. Rapidan, Virginia: P.J. Hurst, 1989. Available at FHL.
 * Joyner, Ulysses P. The First Settlers of Orange County, Virginia: A View of the Life and Times of the European Settlers of Orange County, Virginia, and Their Influence Upon the Young James Madison, 1700-1776. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1987. Available at FHL.
 * Mansfield, James Roger. A History of Early Spotsylvania. Berryville, Virginia: Virginia Book Co., 1977. Available at FHL.
 * Moffatt, L. G., J. M. Carrière and J. G. Moffatt. "A Frenchman Visits Norfolk, Fredericksburg and Orange County, 1816," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Apr., 1945), pp. 101-123; Vol. 53, No. 3 (Jul., 1945), pp. 197-214. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Scott, W.W. A History of Orange County: From Its Formation in 1734 (O.S.) to the End of Reconstruction in 1870; Compiled Mainly from Original Records. Richmond, Virginia: Everett Waddey Co., 1907. Original edition available at FHL; 1974 reprint available at FHL; digital version of original edition at Google Books (full-view). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1962):181. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Thomas, William H.B. Orange, Virginia: Story of a Courthouse Town. Verona, Virginia: McClure Press, 1972. Reviewed by James T. Moore in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 81, No. 1 (Jan., 1973), pp. 116-117. Review available at JSTOR ($).

Maps

 * Hildebrand, John R. The Beverley Patent, 1736: Including Original Grantees, 1738-1815 in Orange &amp; Augusta Counties, Va. 1954. 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 Orange County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War


 * Thomsa, William H.B. Patriots of the Upcountry: Orange County, Virginia in the Revolution. Orange, Virginia: Orange County Bicentennial Commission, 1976. Available at FHL.

Civil War


 * Hurst, Patricia J. Soldiers, Stories, Sites and Fights, Orange County, Virginia 1861-1865 and the Aftermath. Rapidan, Virginia: P.J. Hurst, 1998. Available at FHL.
 * Virginia. Office of Comptroller and Library of Virginia. Confederate Pension Applications, Virginia, Acts of 1888, 1900, 1902; Index, 1888-1934. 220 microfilms, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; also available at FHL. [Includes Spotsylvania County veterans.]
 * Watkins, Raymond Wesley. Deaths of Confederate Soldiers in Orange County, Virginia Hospitals, 1861-1864. MSS., 1979, available at FHL.

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

 * Buni, Andrew. "Reconstruction in Orange County, Virginia: A Letter from Hannah Garlick Rawlings to Her Sister, Clarissa Lawrence Rawlings, August 9, 1865," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 75, No. 4 (Oct., 1967), pp. 459-465. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Redwine, Lucy Leah, J.E. Hays, and Daughters of the American Revolution. Elijah Clarke Chapter (Athens, Georgia). Family Bible Records. MSS., Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Georgia; also available at FHL. [Includes records from Spotsylvania County, Virginia.]

Probate
Local Court


 * Wiggins, Mrs. Joseph P. "Will of Robert Terrill, of Orange County, Virginia," (and family notes) [1786] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr., 1923), pp. 175-180. Available at JSTOR ($).

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

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Orange County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1975):283-286. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Cortada, James W. A Select Bibliography on Orange County, Virginia. Orange, Virginia: Green Publishers, 1975. Available at FHL.
 * Miller, Ann L. A Guide to Historical Research in Orange County, Virginia. Orange, Virginia: Orange County Historical Society (Virginia), 1988. Available at FHL.

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.


 * Hoppin, Charles Arthur. "Orange County Tithe Lists," [1734, 1738 Delinquents, 1739] The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jul., 1918), pp. 19-27. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Indexed images of the 1790 Personal Property Tax List of Orange County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * Images of the 1800 Personal Property Tax List of Orange County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Orange County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * 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. Orange County is included in Vol. 4.]

Vital Records
Birth


 * King, George H.S. "Some Orange County Virginia Birth Records," [1750s-1770s] The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul., 1942), p. 317. Available at JSTOR ($). [Found at the back of Orange County, Virginia Deed Book 17; King may have omitted births of black children.]

Marriage


 * Fisher, Therese A. Marriage Records of the City of Fredericksburg, and of Orange, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Counties, Virginia 1722-1850. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1990. Available at FHL.
 * Grinnan, A.G. "Some of the Early Marriage Licenses of Orange County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jul., 1895), pp. 59-61. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Knorr, Catherine L. Marriages of Orange County, Virginia, 1747-1810. Pine Bluff, Arkansas: C.L. Knorr, 1959. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1961):41. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Scott, W.W. "A List of Marriages Recorded in the Back Part of Deed-Book No. 17, Orange County," [1770s-1810] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Apr., 1918), pp. 190-200; Vol. 26, No. 3 (Jul., 1918), pp. 297-302; Vol. 26, No. 4 (Oct., 1918), pp. 401-404; Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jan., 1919), p. 68; Vol. 27, No. 3/4 (Jul. - Oct., 1919), pp. 345-348; Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr., 1920), pp. 152-160; Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul., 1920), pp. 256-265; Vol. 28, No. 4 (Oct., 1920), p. 360. Available at JSTOR ($). Alternative titles: "A List of Marriages in Orange County," "List of Marriages in Orange County," and "Orange County Marriages."

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