King William County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
King William County is located in the East-Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia on the Middle Peninsula, one of three peninsulas on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Formed as a new county from King & Queen County, King William County was established by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly on April 11, 1702. The County was named for King William III, King of England, Scotland and Ireland from April 11, 1689 to March 19, 1702. King William Courthouse is the County seat.

King William County, Virginia Courthouse
King William County Courthouse Courthouse Lane P.O. Box 216 King William, VA 23086-0216 Phone: 804-769-4927

Fire in 1855 burned most records some from 1702 have been photocopied Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1910

Parent County
1700--King William County was created 5 December 1700 from King and Queen County. County seat: King William

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

 * 1885 a courthouse fire on January 17 burned most records.

The Sparacios published abstracts of surviving eighteenth-century court orders, deeds, and wills:.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1890

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 King William County, see pp. 60-61]

African American

 * Freedmen's


 * Heinegg, Paul. "King William County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1832," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

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.

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.]

Church of England
St. John's Parish St. David's Parish

Meade's 1861 history of parishes in King William County is available online.




 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of King and Queen and King William Counties, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct. 1943):440-464. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. Available at ; digital version at . [Includes King William County.]

Court

 * Ryland, Elizabeth Hawes. "King William County and Its Court House," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan. 1940):99-112. Available at JSTOR ($).

Genealogy
More than 200 genealogies have been published about King William County families. To view a list, visit King William County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Historic Residences

 * Clarke, Peyton Neale. Old King William Homes and Families: An Account of Some of the Homesteads and Families of King William County, Virginia, From its Earliest Settlement. Louisville: J.P. Morton and Company, 1897. Available at (3 copies); digital versions at Ancestry ($), and Google Books; and World Vital Records ($).
 * "Old Houses in King William County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct. 1938), unpaginated. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Ryland, Elizabeth Hawes. "Homes in King William County: Comments and Corrections," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan. 1939):120-121. Available at JSTOR ($).

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America, 1777-1811," The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200. [Overseas contacts of residents of King William County with the following surname: Frazer.]
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of St. John's Parish and King William County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

(also includes King George; King and Queen counties)

Land
Deeds


 * "Extracts of King William County Records," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan. 1917):65-70; Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr. 1917):174-179; Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul. 1917):290-296. Available at JSTOR ($). [Remnants of destroyed deeds.]

Grants and Patents


 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants 1694-1742. Vol. I. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987. Available at . [Includes King William County.]


 * 1704 Quit Rents Virginia Pioneers ($).

Local Histories

 * Harris, Malcolm H. "'Delaware Town' and 'West Point' in King William County, Va.," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct. 1934):342-351. Available at JSTOR ($).

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some King William County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War
Regiments. Service men in King William County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. King William County supplied soldiers for the:


 * - 7th Virginia Regiment
 * - 15th Virginia Regiment

Additional resources:

King William residents' participation in the Revolutionary War.


 * Clerk, H. Randolph. "King William County Payments for Wives, Widows and Parents of Soldiers," [Revolutionary War] The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Apr. 1918):232-233. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, King William County on page 131.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

War of 1812
King William County men served in the 87th Regiment.


 * 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, King William County, p. 87. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 9th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (Lee's Rangers).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at *1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index ($)

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

 * Virginia

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.

Probate Records
London Courts


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

'Online Probate Links
 * 1639 – 1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry.com — index to transcribed records, incomplete, $
 * 1811 - 1816 Images of Deeds. Bk 6 at Virginia Pioneers ($).
 * 1816 - 1819 Images of Deeds. Bk 7 at Virginia Pioneers ($).
 * 1818 - 1822 Images of Deeds. Bk 8 at Virginia Pioneers ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [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 ($). [King William County appears in 32:69-75.]
 * [1782-1832] Heinegg, Paul. "King William County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1832," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1782-1850] Lee, Ida J. "King William County Personal Tax List, 1782-1850," [some letter 'A' surnames] The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Apr. 1927):114-122. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1782-1820] Ward, Roger G. "Burned County Gleanings: King William County Land Tax Lists, 1782-1820," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Fall 1998):262-270. ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Some abstracts of taxpayers and "genealogical tidbits," such as relationships, land transfers, etc.]
 * [1782] Lee, Ida J. "Land Taxed in King William County in 1782," [1782 Land Tax] The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Oct. 1926):326-328. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1782] 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; . [1782 personal property tax list of King William County.]
 * [1783] County Land Tax Records, 1783, Tidewater Virginia Families, Vol. 12, No. 1 (May 2003). Available at.
 * [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 . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. King William County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1787, 1797] Indexed images of the 1787 and 1797 Personal Property Tax Lists of King William County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1787, 1797] Indexed images of the 1787 and 1797 Land Tax Lists of King William County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1796-1812] Tax Digests at Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jul. 1990). Available at.
 * [1810] Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. Available at . [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. King William County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at . [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. King William County is included in Vol. 3.]
 * [1815] Tax Digests at Virginia Pioneers ($)

Birth

 * 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) ($).
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

King William County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * Tidewater Genealogical Society
 * Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical &amp; Historical Society

King William County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * King William Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * King WilliamCounty, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * King WilliamCounty, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)