Essex County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Essex County



Parent County
1692--Essex County was created 16 April 1692 from Rappahannock (old) County. County seat: Tappahannock

Neighboring Counties

 * Caroline
 * King and Queen
 * King George
 * Middlesex
 * Richmond
 * Westmoreland

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Essex County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1819," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Census
1890 Union Veterans


 * Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website. [Includes residents of this county.]

Court
Superior Court of Chancery

The Superior Court of Chancery of Fredericksburg (1802-1831) had jurisdiction over certain Essex 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 FHL. [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.]

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


 * [Beasley] Beasley, James Dale. The Ancestors of James Dale Beasley: Ancestors of and/or from High Point, North Carolina; Stokes County, North Carolina; Essex County, Virginia and Warwickshire County, England; Covering Primarily the Beasley Family, but Also the Following Families: Yokley, Kennedy, Hedgecock, Clinard and Others. Birmingham, Alabama: J.D. Beasley, 2001. Available at FHL.
 * [Blackburn] Gahn, Bessie Wilmarth. Blackburn Family in Records of Essex and Caroline Counties, Virginia. MSS., 1950, National Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C., available at FHL.
 * [Booker] Booker, J. Motley. A Booker Family of Virginia: Gloucester and Essex Counties and the Northern Neck, with Some of the Descendants and Related Families. Heathsville, Virginia: The Northumberland County Historical Society, 1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Boulware] Bradley, Frank E. A Short History of the Boulware Family of Essex County, Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Byrom] Byrom, Henry Harbin. Some Descendants of Ezekiel Byrom of Southfarnham Parish, Essex County, Virginia, (1790). 1940; with updates through 2003. Available at FHL.
 * [Clark] Smith, Walter Burgess. The Edward Clark Genealogy, 1676-1988: from Bacon's Rebellion of 1676 in Virginia Down to the Present Day: Edward (1655?-1737) of Middlesex and Essex Counties, Virginia, and His Descendants, Including the Bristow, Stiff, Roudebush, McFarland, Holleman, and Other Families. Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Covington] Covington, Lloyd and Helen Covington. The Descendants of William Covington I, 1618-1696: "Bestland", Essex County, Virginia. Ruther Glen, Virginia: L.P. Covington, 1997. Available at FHL.
 * [Croxton] Luht, Richard I. The Croxton Family of Essex and Surrounding Counties of Virginia. Fairbanks, Alaska: R.I. Luht, 1996. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Crutcher] McNamara, Elizabeth W. Descendants of Thomas Crutcher, Died 1722, Essex County, Virginia. Arlington, Virginia: E.W. McNamara, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Daniel] Gee, Christine South. John Daniel, Sr. 1724-1819, of Essex County, Virginia and Laurens County, South Carolina: His Virginia Ancestry and Some of His Descendants. Greenwood, South Carolina: C.S. Gee, n.d. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [Evitt] Hockett, Thomas Jack and Janice M. Snead. The Evitt, Evat(t), Evet(t) Family of Essex, Buckingham, and Washington Counties, Virginia. MSS., microfilmed in 1991, available at FHL.|
 * [Evitt] Hockett, Thomas Jack. The Evitt, Evat(t), Evet(t), Evitts Family of Essex, Buckingham, and Washington Counties, Virginia: An Update of March 1994: Including: Evitt (Evatt; Evitts; Ivett, Etc.) Family Chronology. St. Davids, Pennsylvania: J. Hockett, 1994. Available at FHL; June 1995 update available at FHL.
 * [Garnett] Garnett, James Mercer. Genealogy of the Mercer-Garnett Family of Essex County, Virginia, Supposed to be Descended from the Garnetts of Lancashire, England... Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1910. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view).
 * [Garnett] Garnett, Douglas Acree. Garnett Family, Ancestors &amp; Descendants of Joseph B. Garnett Sr. (1849-1931) : Involving Gloucester, Essex, Caroline and King &amp; Queen Counties, Virginia. Chesterfield, Virginia: D. Garnett, 2000. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Garrett] Garrett, Harry Lee. Garrett History: History of the Garrett Family of Essex and Caroline Counties of Virginia Beginning with William Garrett, Born 1752, Soldier in the American Revolution, Died July 11, 1825. 1962. Available at FHL.
 * [Hackley] Hackley, Woodford B. Notes on the Descendants of John Hackley: of Old Rappahannock and Essex Counties Virginia, Including Sidelights and a Suggestion as to John's English Ancestry. n.p.: W.B. Hackley, 1968. Reprint available at FHL.
 * [Harrison] Harrison, James Edward. A Comment on the Family of Andrew Harrison, Who Died in Essex County, Virginia in 1718. Salt Lake City, Utah: J.E. Harrison, 1985. Original edition available at FHL; 1994 edition available at FHL.
 * [Hundley] Hill, Margaret Lester. Hundley of Essex County, Virginia. [Center Cross, Virginia?: Mrs. P. Hundley?], 1995. Available at FHL.
 * [Jones] Jones, Mildred Conway. The Descendants of Gabriel Jones of Essex and Culpeper Counties, Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Kay] Freeman, Kent Kay. The Four Children of James Kay of Essex County, Va. and Some of Their Descendants. Tacoma, Wash.: K.K. Freeman, 1990. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [Meador] Nunnally, Perkins. The Descendants of Jonas and Frances Meador of Essex, Caroline and Cumberland Counties, Virginia. Pine Bluff, Arkansas: P. Nunnally, 1968. Available at FHL.
 * [Meador] Meador, Victor P. Our Meador Families in Colonial America: As Found in the Records of Isle of Wight, Lancaster, (Old) Rappahannock, Richmond, Essex and Caroline Counties, Virginia. Independence, Missouri: V.P. Meador, 1983. Available at FHL.
 * [Mercer] See Garnett.
 * [Meriweather] MacRae, Lawrence. Descendants of John Daingerfield and His Wife, New Kent County, Virginia, 1640-1928: Including Descendants of Elizabeth Meriweather of Essex Co., Va., Apphia Fauntleroy of Richmond Co., Va., Elizabeth Parker of West Moreland Co., Va. and Their Husbands: Also Thomas Deaderick and His Wife of Frederick Co., Va., and Dora Virginia Deaderick and Her Husband, Robert Strange MacRae of Orange County, N. Carolina: De[s]cendants of George Parker and His Wife, Accomac Co., Va., 1650. MSS., 1928, available at FHL.
 * [Newman] Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Genealogy of the Newman Family, 1618-1900," see Table of Contents; discusses Newmans of Essex County.]
 * [Parker] "The Parker Family: of Essex, the Northern Neck, &amp;c.," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jul. 1898):86-88. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Rose] Rose, Christine and Seymour T. Rose. Rev. Robert Rose of Scotland, Essex County, Virginia and Albemarle County, Virginia: The First Five Generations in America. San Jose, California: Rose Family Bulletin, 1972. Available at FHL.
 * [Shipp] Sanders, Walter R. The Shipp Genealogy from Essex, Caroline, Faquier Counties, Virginia, to Green, Taylor, Woodford, Jefferson, Fayette, Christian, Bourgon, Scott, Owen, Counties, Kentucky, and Johnson Counties, Indiana. 1946. Available at FHL.
 * [Smith] Coleman, C.W. Genealogy of the Smith Family of Essex County, Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Smith] Coleman, C.W. "Genealogy of the Smith Family of Essex County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jul. 1897). Available at FHL.
 * [Smith] Martin, Richard T. The Smith Family: A History of the Smith Family from William Smith, Who Lived in Essex County, Virginia, in the Early 1700's, to Jessie Smith, Who Died in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1923: Including the Rudd, Burnett and Hayes Families. Spring, Texas: R.T. Martin, 2007. Available at FHL.
 * [Stephens] Pursley, Clairene Stephens. John Stephens and Some of His Descendants, 1662-1982: of Bristol, England and Essex County, Virginia. Odessa, Texas: C.S. Pursley, 1982. Available at FHL.
 * [Tribble] Rozendal, Keith. The Tribble Family II: (Descendants of Peter Tribble of Essex County, Virginia). El Cajon, California: K. Rozendal, 1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Waring] Duesberry, Ethel F. A Genealogical Record of the Waring Family in the Counties of Essex and King William, Virginia. Genealogical Notes, Box 16, War., Library of Virginia, available at FHL.

Historic Residences

 * Woman's Club of Essex County (Virginia). Old Homes of Essex County. n.p.: Woman's Club of Essex County (Virginia), c1940, 1957. Available at FHL.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Clydeside and Essex County proved in London. Land in Tappahannock is also mentioned. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * [http://www.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=Essex&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 Essex County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Deeds


 * Fleet, Beverley. Essex County Records, 1703-1706. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Three copies available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Fleet, Beverley. Essex County Wills and Deeds, 1711-1714. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Three copies available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Fleet, Beverley. Essex County Wills and Deeds, 1714-1717. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Three copies available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Grants and Patents


 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants 1694-1742. Vol. I. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987. Available at FHL; digital version at [http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=49389 Ancestry. [Includes Essex County.]

Local Histories

 * Slaughter, James B. Settlers, Southerners, Americans: The History of Essex County, Virginia, 1608-1984. n.p.: Essex County Board of Supervisors, c1985 (1998). 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.

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Essex County's 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on pp. 169-170.]

Military
Colonial Militia


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Essex County militia officers and/or soldiers; 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 Essex 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 FHL. [Identifies some Essex County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; 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 FHL; 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 Essex County, see p. 75.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Essex County militia officers; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War


 * Stewart, Robert Armistead. "Essex Militia," [1781] The Researcher: A Magazine of History and Genealogical Exchange, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Jul. 1927):237. Available at FHL. [Taken from Auditor's Public Claim Papers, Virginia State Archives.]

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.

Occupations

 * 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 FHL. [Includes a section on Essex County (Ephesus Springs) silversmiths.]

Probate
Local Courts


 * Fleet, Beverley. Essex County Records, 1703-1706. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Three copies available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Fleet, Beverley. Essex County Wills and Deeds, 1711-1714. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Three copies available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Fleet, Beverley. Essex County Wills and Deeds, 1714-1717. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1961. Three copies available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

London Courts


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

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.


 * [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 FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Essex County appears in 33:359-370. "Thomas Leftwitch in Essex" appears on the King and Queen County list, see 32:151.]
 * [1704] Nicklin, John Bailey Calvert. "Essex County: An Annotated Copy of the Rent Roll of 1704," William and Mary College Quarterly, 2nd Series, Vol. 21 (1941):397-405. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version of W&amp;MQ at JSTOR ($).
 * [1715] Nicklin, John Bailey Calvert. "Quit Rent Roll of 1715 - Essex County, Va.," William and Mary College Quarterly, 2nd Series, Vol. 18 (1938):203-206. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1741] Sweeny, William Montgomery. "True and Exact Poll of the Election of Burgesses, Essex County, Va., November 20, 1741," William and Mary College Quarterly, 2nd Series, Vol. 22 (1942):54-60. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1782-1819] Heinegg, Paul. "Essex County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1819," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1787] 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 FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Essex County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1788-1789] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Essex County's 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on pp. 169-170.]
 * [1790, 1800] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Essex County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1815] 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 the 1815 land tax. Essex County is included in Vol. 3.]

Vital Records
Marriage


 * Wilkerson, Eva Eubank. Index to Marriages of Old Rappahannock and Essex Counties, Virginia, 1655-1900. Richmond, VA, USA: Clearfield Co., 1953. Available at FHL; 1983 reprint available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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

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