Tyler County, West Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Tyler County was named for John Tyler, Sr. The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Tyler County Courthouse Main Street P O Box 66 Middlebourne, WV 26149-0066 Phone: 304-758-2102 Tyler County Website County Clerk has birth, marriage and death records from 1853; incomplete marriage records from 1815; probate and land records from 1815. Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and county records.

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:

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1788-1875 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1800-1842 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1815-1846 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1861 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1865 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1872 (*); County and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1903 (*); County Court and Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1832-1848 (*); Circuit and County Court, County Sheriff at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1832-1863 (*); County Sheriff, Circuit and County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1865-1929 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1873-1880 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * (*); Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Maps of West Virginia (1617-1995)
 * Map of 1850 Virginia and West Virginia

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. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Tyler County on page 136.
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.

War of 1812
Tyler County men served in the 123rd Regiment.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 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)

World War II

 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1814-1991  at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1724-1985 West Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1724-1985 at Ancestry ($) — index & images
 * 1756-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1776-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1815-1861 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1865 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1872 (*); County and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1903 (*); County Court and Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1927 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1815-1971 (*); County and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1843-1915 (*); Clerk of the County Court and County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1850-1884 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1850-1930 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1863-1928 (*); Clerk of the County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1865-1929 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1873-1880 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1897-1911 (*); Clerk of the County Court and County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Index to Tyler Co., WV Wills Prior to 1900. Proctor, West Virginia: By Tri-County Researcher (West Virginia), 1996. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * (*); Historical Records Survey at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * # 1975 - Need Identity for Wives of Joseph Rice of Tyler County, West Virginia; The Epistle : A Bi-Monthly Magazine for the Batchelder, Carpenter, and Rice Families, Vol. 12. By Bachelor, Rosemary E. Machias, Maine: The News-Journal, 1985. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Robert Smith's Last Will and Testament; Tri-County Researcher (Series) (West Virginia) : Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel Counties, West Virginia - V. 20, No. 4 (Oct. 1996). By Smith, Robert and Betty L. Pippin. Proctor, West Virginia: By Tri-County Researcher (West Virginia), 1996. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Last Will and Testament of Robert McEldowney; Tri-County Researcher (Series) (West Virginia) : Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel Counties, West Virginia - V. 21, No. 1 (Jan. 1997). By McEldowney, Robert and Nancy Andrews Muenchausen. Proctor, West Virginia: By Tri-County Researcher (West Virginia), 1997. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — 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 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records
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 FamilySearch 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.


 * 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. Tyler County is included in Vol. 6.

West Virginia real and personal property tax records are managed by the County Assessor in each county. Land and land improvements are considered real property while mobile property is classified as personal property.

Many County Assessors offer an online searchable database, where assessment record searches can be performed by name, account number, year, or mp/parcel number. Where online records are not available, requests for records can be made to the Assessment Office in person, by phone, or in writing.

The search for tax information can start here

Vital Records

 * West Virginia Vital Records, 1865-1969 (varies) - Includes birth, death, and marriage.

Birth

 * 1853-1914 West Virginia Birth Index, 1853-1914 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Marriage

 * 1776-1971 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1780-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1801-1962 West Virginia, United States Marriages at Findmypast; index $

Death

 * 1804-1999 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1853-1964 West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964 at MyHeritage - index ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * New Martinsville West Virginia FamilySearch Center

Societies
Tyler County Heritage & Historical Society P.O. Box 317 Dodd Street Middlebourne, WV 26149 Phone: 304-758-4288 Website Tyler County West Virginia Genealogy Tyler County West Virginia Genealogy

Websites

 * Tyler County WVGenWeb
 * Cyndi's List
 * West Virginia Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * - 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