York County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

Description
York County is located in the Eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named after the York River on which it lies.

York County, Virginia Courthouse
York County Courthouse 300 Ballard St. Yorktown, VA 23690 Phone 757-890-3350 Formerly Charles River County. name changed to York 1642. Clerk Circuit court has marriage, probate, land and court records.

The courthouse serves both York County and the independent city of Poquoson.

The Records room is open from 8:15 AM to 4:45 PM Monday through Friday and can be contacted by calling (757) 890-4103.

York County, Virginia History


The county is believed to have been named after the English city of York.

Parent County
1634--York County was created in 1634 as an original shire or county. County seat: Yorktown

Boundary Changes
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
Most of the courthouse loose papers prior to the American Revolutionary War are missing. Bound volumes of deeds, orders, and wills still exist.


 * Lost federal censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * Gloucester
 * James City
 * Northampton

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 York County, see pp. 64-65]
 * Dorman, John Frederick. "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: York County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1981):51-53. Available at American Ancestors ($).
 * Hopkins, Garland Evans. York County Source Book; Includes a Brief History of Colonial York County, Virginia; Petitions to the General Assembly from 1776 to 1858; and Guides to Source Materials Concerning the History and Genealogy of the County. Winchester, Va.: Hopkins, 1942. Item 25.

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "York County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1825," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. "York County Register of Free Negroes 1798-1831," Free African Americans.com. [This list can be found after the index in Guardians' Accounts, 1780-1823, Library of Virginia Microfilm Reel 65.]
 * Johnson, Martha C. Black Families of Elizabeth City Co., VA, 1800-1990: Research of Families of Callis, Davis, Simpson, Radcliff, Originating from Gloucester Co., Mathews Co., York and James Counties and Elizabeth Co., Hampton, Virginia. 1728886 Item 2.
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of York County.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Tyler, Lyon G. "Old Tombstones in York and James City Counties," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Oct. 1893):78-86. Digital version at JSTOR - free.

Census
1890 Union Veterans' Census


 * "Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * Grafton (1777)
 * New Bethel Baptist Church
 * New Quarters Baptist Church
 * Rising Sun Baptist Church
 * Zion Prospect Baptist Church

York County fell within the bounds of the Dover Association.

Church of England
Also known as Anglicans, later Protestant Episcopal

See also Blisland Parish See also Bruton Parish  See also Charles Parish  See also Charles River Parish  See also Chiskiack Parish  See also Hampton Parish  See also Marston Parish  See also Middle Plantation  See also Middletowne Parish  See also New Poquoson Parish  See also York Parish  See also Yorkhampton Parish


 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. Available at ; digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library

Churches still in operation:


 * Grace Episcopal Church 111 Church Street (for mailing, P.O. Box 123) Yorktown, VA 23690

Christian



 * Northside Christian Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 * Poquoson Ward and Virginia Peninsula Branch (YSA) 113 Sinclair Lane Yorktown, VA

Methodist

 * Providence United Methodist Church
 * Tabernacle United Methodist Church
 * Zion Methodist Church

Presbyterian

 * York River Presbyterian Church

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):


 * Skimino Monthly Meeting (1698-1827)
 * Warwick Monthly Meeting (1696-1720) aka Denby aka York

Court Records
County Court


 * Fleet, Beverley. York County, 1633-1646. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes York County Records; Deeds, Orders, Wills, Etc. No. 1 and No. 2; Record Book No. 2.]
 * Fleet, Beverley. York County, 1646-1648. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes court orders 1646-1648.]

Record Book


 * Fleet, Beverley. York County, 1633-1646. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes York County Records; Deeds, Orders, Wills, Etc. No. 1 and No. 2; Record Book No. 2.]
 * Fleet, Beverley. York County, 1648-1657. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes abstracts of Record Book No. 2 (1648), Record Book No. 1 (1652-1657), and Record Book No. 3 (1657).]

Chancery Court


 * Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index can be used to search York County chancery records for the years 1768-1891. The originals can be located at the Library of Virginia. Additional unindexed pre-1913 chancery records are available at the York County Circuit Court Clerk's office.

Genealogy
More than 650 genealogies have been published about York County families. To view a list, visit York County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

See also: Virginia Compiled Genealogies

Compiled genealogies that treat multiple York County families include:


 * Chapman, Blanche Adams. Chapman Collection of Virginia Family Names, Smithfield Branch, Isle of Wight County Library, 1635-1814. MSS., Smithfield Branch, Isle of Wight County Library, Smithfield, Va. Microfilmed 2005:.
 * Currer-Briggs, Noel. "Similarity of Surnames in York County, Virginia, and County Norfolk, England," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 78 (1970):442-446. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * DeMarco, Christopher. Colonial Families of York County, Virginia. 3 vols. Lewes, Delaware: Colonial Roots, 2006-2009.
 * Evans, June Banks. Settlers Along the Shores of Virginia's York River with Banks, Farthing, Knewstep, Philbates, Richardson and Their Neighbors. New Orleans, La.: Bryn Ffyliaid Publications, 1989.
 * Forrest, Jessie Fay. "Families of the Poquoson are of York County: With Emphasis on those that Migrated from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia around 1800," Virginia Tidewater Genealogy, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Jun. 1984):62-68.
 * Hansford, Thelma Ironmonger and W.H. Edwards. Random Records and Recollections of York County, Virginia. MSS., 1968-1990. Includes photocopy of Reminiscences of Alvah Hansford / a paper prepared by W.H. Edwards. [West Virginia?] : W. Va. Historical and Antiquarian Society, [1897?].
 * Hansford, Thelma Ironmonger. Indexed References to York County Documents Relative to Thelma Hansford Collection. MSS. Microfilmed 1990:.
 * Willett, Albert James. Poquoson Families. 5 vols. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 2001-2004.
 * Yurechko, John Otto. Virginians Along and Near the Lower Rapphahannock River, 1607-1799. 2 vols. Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1997-1998. . Contents: v. 1. Blake, Brooks (Brook), Churchill, Cook (Cock), Daniel, Dixon, Gore, Kidd, Lewis, Martin, Montague, Taylor and Wood -- v. 2. Brown, Clark, Elliott, Fox (Fowkes, Vaulx), Harrison, McTyre, Moore, Pate, Rawlins (Rollins), Rhodes, Sanders (Saunders) and Williams.

Dwight Hogge's My York Co. VA Project includes family trees of many of the area's families.

Immigration
Yorktown has been a port since colonial times. No official passenger lists survive for the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. The Custom House, built about 1720, is the oldest brick building standing in Yorktown.


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Correspondence with the American Colonies 1739-1782," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 1998):108-128; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):189-205. (Overseas correspondence of residents of Yorktown with the following surname: Norton.) Available at.


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America, 1777-1811" The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200. Overseas contacts of a resident of York Co., VA with the following surname: Cunninghame.
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. Includes wills of residents of Brewerton Parish, York River, York Town [Yorktown], and York 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. Available at American Ancestors. York Co., VA: Chesely, Clarke, Hall, Hethersall, Lane, Martin, Moosser [?], Perry, Phelps, Rogers, Weatherall, Williams.

Land and Property
Deeds


 * Fleet, Beverley. York County, 1633-1646. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes York County Records; Deeds, Orders, Wills, Etc. No. 1 and No. 2; Record Book No. 2.]

Grants and Patents

Online Land and Property Records
 * 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 York County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]


 * 1704 - Quit Rent Rolls Virginia Pioneers ($)


 * Public Losses from Enemy Invasions of 1781. Virginia Pioneers ($)

Colonial Militia

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some York County militia officers and/or soldiers; 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 York County, see p. 102.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some York 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 York 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 ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some York County militia officers; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

 * Public Losses in York County from the Invasions of the Enemy in 1781 Virginia Pioneers
 * Claims for losses of York County Citizens in British Invasion of 1781. FHL films, 34442; 1064759 item 2 & 2080568 item 2

War of 1812
York County men served in the 68th and 115th Regiments.


 * 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, York County, p. 108. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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)


 * 1909 York County Confederate Pension List, available online, courtesy: VAGenWeb.

Civil War Battles
The following Civil War battles were fought in York County.


 * June 10, 1861 = Big Bethel, also known as Bethel Church and Great Bethel
 * April 5-May 4, 1862 = Yorktown [13] [13]
 * May 5, 1862 = Williamsburg, also known as Fort Magruder


 * Maps of Civil War battles in Virginia: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
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.

Occupations
Philip Alexander Bruce's book Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century (Vol. II, 1896, p. 334 footnote 1) includes a list of early English merchants in York County.


 * 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 Yorktown silversmiths.]

Private Papers

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Correspondence with the American Colonies 1739-1782," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring 1998):108-128; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):189-205. [Overseas correspondence of residents of Yorktown with the following surname: Norton.] Available at.

Probate Records
Local Court


 * Fleet, Beverley. York County, 1633-1646. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes York County Records; Deeds, Orders, Wills, Etc. No. 1 and No. 2; Record Book No. 2.]
 * Hopkins, William Lindsay. Some Wills from the Burned Counties of Virginia and Other Wills Not Listed in Virginia Wills and Administrations 1632-1800. Richmond, Virginia: W.L. Hopkins, 1987. Available at . [Includes York County.]
 * York County Wills, Book No. 1, 1633-1657 (digital images) Virginia Pioneers
 * Index to York County Wills and Deeds, Book No. 2, 1645-1649Virginia Pioneers

London Courts


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Brewerton Parish, York River, York Town [Yorktown], and York County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Online Probate Records


 * 1639 – 1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry.com — index to transcribed records, incomplete, $
 * Images of Will Book No. 1, 1633 – 1657; 1740 – 1746; 1746 – 1759. Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Images of Deeds, Orders, Wills, Book 19, 1740 – 1746; Book 20, 1745 – 1759. Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Images of Deeds, Wills, Orders 1633-1694. Virginia Pioneers($)

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?

Bibliography


 * [1704] "Virginia Quit Rent Rolls, 1704," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 28 (1920):207-218, 328-339; Vol. 29 (1921):18-28, 337-343, 402-412; Vol. 30 (1922):21-30, 280-285, 341-347; Vol. 31 (1923):70-75, 153-163, 215-231, 314-318; Vol. 32 (1924):69-75, 144-158, 281-287, 338-343; Vol. 33 (1925):47-50, 359-370; Vol. 34 (1926):113-119, 252-258, 313, 321. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). York County appears in 31:70-75.
 * [1704, 1782-1784] Hansford, Thelma. Tax Lists York County 1782, 1783, 1784; Rent Roll York County 1704, Gloucester 1704, Warwick 1704; James City County Taxes 1768. Virginia?: T.I. Hansford?, 1950. Available at.
 * [1763] "Tithables in York-Hampton Parish, York County, Va.," Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 7(1926):179-185. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at . The source for this publication is a tithable list published in 1763. Could it, perhaps, record tithables from a year or two before that time?
 * [1763] York County, Virginia Records: Tithables 1763 (York-Hampton Parish), Marriages 1772-1792. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 2007. Available at . Free online surname index.
 * [1780] Account of Indian corn received for taxes, 1780, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 1992. Vol. 30 Iss. 1.
 * [1782] Land tax records, 1782, Tidewater Virginia Families. Williamsburg VA: May 1999. Vol. 8 Iss. 1.
 * [1782-1784] See 1704.
 * [1782-1825] Heinegg, Paul. "York County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1825," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
 * [1784] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Online at FamilySearch - free; . 1784 personal property tax list of York County.
 * [1786, 1788] 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 . Sources for this publication are the York County 1788 personal property tax list, the York Town 1788 personal property tax list, and partial York County 1786 personal property tax list (individuals who do not appear on 1788 list were abstracted). York County is included in Vol. 2.
 * [1790, 1800] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of York County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1791, 1801] Indexed images of the 1791 and 1800 Land Tax Lists of York County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1793] Tithables, 1793, Upper precinct, Tidewater Virginia Families. Williamsburg VA: Aug 1994. Vol. 3 Iss. 2.
 * [1793] Tithables, ca.1793, Williamsburg, Tidewater Virginia Families. Williamsburg VA: Nov 1994. Vol. 3 Iss. 3.
 * [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. York County is included in Vol. 3.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1856-1858 - York County Birth Index 1856-1858. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $


 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).


 * 1772-1792 - Tyler, Lyon G. "Abstracts of Marriage License Bonds On File in York County Clerk's Office," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jul. 1892):48-59. Digital version at JSTOR - free.


 * 1772-1795 - Crozier, William Armstrong. Early Virginia Marriages. Baltimore, Md.: Southern Book Co., 1953. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library - free. Includes York County marriages 1772-1795.


 * 1772-1876 - York County Marriage Index 1772-1876. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1772-1792 - York County, Virginia Records: Tithables 1763 (York-Hampton Parish), Marriages 1772-1792. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2007. Available at.


 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

York County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries
(at Wikipedia), covering York and James City counties, Jamestowne, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown Battlefield Park, Yorktown National Cemetery


 * Tidewater Genealogical Society

Family History Centers

 * Williamsburg Virginia Family History Center

York County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * York County VAGenWeb (The USGenWeb Project). Online resources, church history, message board, surname registry, local interest books, professional researchers for hire.
 * York County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Cyndi's List - List of links for York County, Virginia genealogy.
 * National Park Service - Colonial National Historical Park
 * National Park Service - Historic Jamestowne
 * National Park Service - Yorktown Battlefield
 * Virginia Pioneers
 * Virginia Pioneers