Spotsylvania County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Spotsylvania County



Parent County
1720--Spotsylvania County was created 2 November 1720 from Essex, King and Queen and King William Counties. County seat: Spotsylvania

Neighboring Counties

 * Caroline
 * Culpeper
 * Hanover
 * Louisa
 * Orange
 * Stafford

African American

 * Fitzgerald, Ruth Coder. A Different Story: A Black History of Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Spotsylvania, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: Unicorn, 1979. Available at FHL.

Church
Baptist


 * Dunaway, Thomas Sanford and Walter Jorgensen Young. An Historical Sketch of Massaponax Baptist Church of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, from 1788 to 1938: First Hundred Years, Compiled and Read at Her Centennial Celebration, September 30, 1888. Fredericksburg, Va.: Carmichael, 1938. Available at FHL.

Church of England


 * Slaughter, Philip and R.A. Brock. History of St. George's Parish in the County of Spotsylvania, and Diocese of Virginia: With a Biography of the Author and a Continuation, Embracing the History of St. George's and Trinity Churches to the Present Time. 1890; reprint, Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1998. Reprint 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.

Bibliography


 * [Coyle] King, George Harrison Sanford. "McCoyle - Coyle, Spotsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1981):217. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * [DeButts] Russell, George Ely. "DeButts Family of Maryland and Virginia," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):131-188.
 * [Dillard] Dillard, Carlton Marion. Fielding Dillard (1771-1818) of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and Oglethorpe County, Georgia, and Descendants. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1997. Available at FHL.
 * [Faulconer] Mann, J. William. Faulconers of Virginia: and Related Families of Spotsylvania and Orange Counties, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: J.W. Mann, 198-?. Available at FHL.
 * [Foster] Boss, Lula Reed. Line of Anthony Foster of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Gordon] Hodges, Frances Beal Smith. Gordons of Spotsylvania County, Virginia: with Notes on Gordons of Scotland. Wichita Falls, Texas: Wichita Multigraphing Co., 1934. Available at FHL. [2 copies at FHL.]
 * [Hull] Herndon, John W. The Hull Family of Northumberland &amp; Spotsylvania Counties, Virginia: Together with the Hull Family that Moved to Northern Mississippi in 1838; Notes on Hulls Living Elsewhere than in Virginia, and Notes on Some Allied Families. MSS., Alderman Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, microfilmed in 1948; also available at FHL.
 * [Jarman] Campbell, Shirley O'Neal. The Jarman Family of Spotsylvania, Orange, &amp; Albemarle Counties of Virginia. S.O. Campbell, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * [Lewis] Lewis, George A. Lewis Congress, 1694-1894: Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of Their Residence in Virginia by the Lewis Family of Bel-Air, Spotsylvania County, September 4th, 1894. Frankfort, Ky.: Geo. A. Lewis, Printer, 1894. Available at FHL.
 * [McCoyle] See Coyle.
 * [Marye] Marye, William Bose. "Records of the Marye [of Spotsylvania County] and Staige [of York County] Families of Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 10 (1933):141-149. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Spotsylvania 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=Spotsylvania&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 Spotsylvania County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.
 * 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 New England Ancestors ($). [Spotsylvania Co., VA residents: Byrne, Johnson, Lynn, White.]

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 371 patents dated 1666-1803 in what is now Spotsylvania 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

 * Fitzgerald, Ruth Coder. A Different Story: A Black History of Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Spotsylvania, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: Unicorn, 1979. Available at FHL.
 * Warner, Thomas Hoskins. History of Old Rappanhannock County, Virginia, 1656-1692: With Introduction, 1608-1656, Including the Present Counties of Essex and Richmond and Parts of Westmoreland, King George, Stafford, Caroline and Spotsylvania Counties. Tappahannock, Virginia: P.P. Warner, 1965. 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 Spotsylvania 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 FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Spotsylvania County militia officers, soldiers, and veterans; see place name index.]

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

 * [Dangerfield] King, George Harrison Sanford. "Bible Record of Colonel William Daingerfield of 'Coventry,' Spotsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Gazette, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1975):243-247. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * [Durrett] Harter, Mrs. Bert. "Bible of Jonathan Durrett, Spotsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Gazette, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1961):28-30. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Probate
London Courts


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

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Spotsylvania County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1978):290-292. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Taxation

 * Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Spotsylvania County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.

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