Stafford County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Stafford County, Virginia Courthouse
Stafford County Courthouse P O Box 339 Stafford, Virginia 22554-0339 Phone: 540-658-8750

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1854, divorce and court records from 1664, probate and land records from 1699

Stafford County, Virginia History


The county is named after the English county of Staffordshire.

The port of Falmouth, just opposite of Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River, is situated in Stafford County.

Parent County
1666--Stafford County was created 5 June 1666 from Westmoreland County. County seat: Stafford

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
Many pre-Civil War court records were lost during the American Civil War (1861-1865). However, a few volumes of deeds, orders, and wills still exist.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

George Harrison Sanford King's Card File is especially valuable for reconstructing Stafford County families. His papers are available online, see Virginia Genealogy.

Getting Started
Compiled genealogies are a good place to start research for this area, see Stafford County, Virginia Genealogy.

If you are researching families who lived in Stafford County, Virginia between the 1660s and 1820s, the Sparacios' book indexes are a great time saver. The indexes are available for free online.

Research Guides

 * King, George H.S. "A Survey of Stafford County Records [1792]," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Jul. 1945):215-218. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Stafford County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1979):55-57. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African Americans

 * Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-18721
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Stafford County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1813," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Fitzgerald, Ruth Coder.A Different Story: A Black History of Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania, Virginia [Greensbobo, N.C.]: Unicorn, c1979. FHL 975.536 F2f

Cemeteries

 * Cemetery Database w/Transcriptions. Stafford County Cemetery Committee Website
 * Stafford County, Virginia Cemeteries &amp; Churches (VAGenWeb) - free.

Census
1785 Enumeration


 * Stafford County Heads of Families - 1785 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 107.

1890 Union Veterans


 * "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):


 * 1) Chappawamsick (1767) . Original records held at the Virginia Historical Society; digitized by - free. Church records from 1766 to 1844 were also published and indexed in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 27 (1989), which is available online at Ancestry ($). Edwards published a membership list dated 1766 in Materials Towards a History of the Baptists... (1772), 28.
 * 2) Hartwood (1771). Church records from 1771 to 1791 were published in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 28 (1990), which is available online at Ancestry ($).
 * 3) Horsepen (by 1771)
 * 4) Potowmack (by 1768) Edwards published a membership list dated 1771 in Materials Towards a History of the Baptists... (1772), 33.
 * 5) White Oak (1791)

Stafford County fell within the bounds of the Ketocton Association.

Catholic

 * Downing, Margaret Brent. "The Old Catholic Chapel and Graveyard near Aquia, Stafford County, Va.," The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Jan. 1925):561-563. Available at JSTOR ($).

Church of England
Visit the following Church of England parish pages to learn about resources available for Anglican residents of Stafford County:

See also Brunswick Parish See also Chotank Parish  See also Hamilton Parish  See also Lower Parish  See also Overwharton Parish  See also Potomac Parish  See also St. Paul's Parish  See also Stafford Parish  See also Upper Parish

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):


 * Stafford Monthly Meeting (1769-1807) aka Potomac Creek

Court
In 2011, a transcript of missing Stafford County Order Book 1749-1755 was located. Read more at NJ.com.

General


 * Waterman, Thomas T. "The Old Court House Buildings, Stafford County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Apr. 1936):247. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Waterman, Thomas T. "The Old Buildings at Stafford Court House," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Oct. 1936):587-588. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Happel, Ralph. "Stafford and King George Courthouses and the Fate of Marlborough, Port of Entry," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Apr. 1958):183-194. Available at JSTOR ($).

County Court


 * Court records, 1680 (contains wills, inventories, depositions, orders, judgments, powers of attorney, etc.; seems to have been transcribed in 1817 by the clerk of the Superior Court) Family History Library Microfilm #33956 Court Records [Deeds, Invs., Etc.] 1680 c, 27(a) fo.
 * Court records, 1664-1668, 1689-1693 (seems to be two order books which were bound together). Family History Library Microfilm #33947 Court Records [Orders], 1664 - 1668, c 94 p. and Court Records [Orders], 1689 - 1693, c 381 p. unpaged index.
 * Record Book, 1686-1693/4, 552 p., no index Family History Library Microfilm #1445833
 * "Notes from the Records of Stafford County, Virginia, Order Books," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Jul. 1936):191-206; Vol. 44, No. 4 (Oct. 1936):296-311; Vol. 45, No. 1 (Jan. 1937):11-28; Vol. 45, No. 2 (Apr. 1937):171-188; Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul. 1937):243-259; Vol. 45, No. 4 (Oct. 1937):367-382; Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jan. 1938):20-33; Vol. 46, No. 2 (Apr. 1938):126-134; Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul. 1938):222-230; Vol. 46, No. 4 (Oct. 1938):316-320; Vol. 47, No. 1 (Jan. 1939):22-26; Vol. 47, No. 2 (Apr. 1939):126-132; Vol. 47, No. 3 (Jul. 1939):248-252; Vol. 47, No. 4 (Oct. 1939):335-348. Available at JSTOR ($).

District Court of Fredericksburg

The District Court of Fredericksburg and later the Superior Court of Chancery had jurisdiction over certain Stafford 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: [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.]
 * See also Historic Court Records for indexes of Apprentice Records, Clerk's Order Books, Court Records, Free Negro / Slave records, Inquests, Marriage Records, Mayor's Court, Military Records &amp; Wills Superior Court of Chancery

See District Court of Fredericksburg

Genealogy
More than 350 genealogies have been published about Stafford County families. To view a list, visit Stafford County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Historic Residences

 * Goolrick, John T. Old Homes and History Around Fredericksburg: The Northern Neck and the Southside, Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties and Battle Sketches. Richmond: Garrett &amp; Massie, c1929. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($) and

Immigration
Falmouth, along the Rappahannock River, has been a port since colonial times. No official passenger lists survive for the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.


 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. ; digital version at Google Books. [List of immigrants, 1707, sailed to Virginia under Capt. James Gaugh on the Ship Joseph and Thomas from Bristol, England, see p. 8.]
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Stafford County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]


 * O'Brien, Michael J. "Virginia, Stafford County, Overwharton Parish - Extracts from the Registers of the Protestant Episcopal Church of, from 1720 to 1758, Transcribed by Mr. Powhattan Moncure, Custodian of the Records," The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, Vol. 12 (1913):156-161. ; digital version at Google Books (full-view). [O'Brien attempts to identify Irish surnames in this Church of England parish register.]

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 4 British aliens, some of whom had families, living in Falmouth.

Land and Property
Grants and Patents


 * Davey. 253 patents dated 1651-1911 in what is now Fairfax, Fauquier, Northumberland, Prince William, Stafford, and Westmoreland Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. [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, which is "Nova" in this instance); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants 1694-1742. Vol. I. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987. ; digital version at Ancestry. [Includes Stafford County.]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Vol. II. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Stafford County.]
 * Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1666. Vol. I (1934; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1991). ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Stafford County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]

Local Histories

 * Goolrick, John T. Old Homes and History Around Fredericksburg: The Northern Neck and the Southside, Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties and Battle Sketches. Digital version at

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Stafford County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on p. 53.]

Colonial Militia

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

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. [Identifies some Stafford 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. ; 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 Stafford County, see pp. 101-102.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Stafford County militia officers; see place name index.]

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


 * - 3rd Virginia Regiment
 * - 10th Virginia Regiment

Additional resources:


 * 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, Stafford County on page 133.]
 * 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
Stafford County men served in the 45th 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, Stafford County, p. 105. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 9th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Stafford Rangers).
 * - 30th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company I.
 * - 47th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A and Company B.

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

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Stafford County.


 * May 29-June 1, 1861 = Aquia Creek
 * Maps of Civil War battles in Virginia: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Native Americans

 * Deyo, William L. A Brief Outline of Recorded History of the Patawomeck [Potomac] Tribe. Colonial Beach, Va.: DeJoux Publications, 2000.

Naturalization
Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

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.


 * 2008-present - Stafford County Sun at Genealogy Bank ($).

Occupations

 * Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (Together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. [Includes sections on Falmouth and Stafford County silversmiths.]

Two iron making facilities operated in colonial Stafford County:


 * 1) Accokeek Furnace
 * 2) Rappahannock Forge

Private Papers

 * Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007


 * King, George Harrison Sanford. "Notes from the Journal of John Mercer, Esquire, (1704/5-1768) of Marlborough, Stafford County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1960):99-110; Vol. 4, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1960):153-162. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Probate Records
Local Court


 * 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. [Includes Stafford County.]
 * King, George Harrison Sanford. "Will of Andrew Edwards, Stafford County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1972):307-310. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * Nicklen, John Bailey Calvert. "A Missing Will Book of Stafford County and Its Contents," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Jan. 1949):67-75. Available at JSTOR ($).

London Courts


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

Online Probate Records
 * 1699-1709 Images of Wills at Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1729-1748 Images of Wills at Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1748-1763 Images of Wills at Virginia Pioneers ($)

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1723-1790] Vogt, John and T. William Kethley. Stafford County, Virginia Tithables: Quit Rent, Personal Property Taxes and Related Lists and Petitions, 1723-1790 in Two Volumes. 2 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1990. Online at FamilySearch - free;
 * [1742]  Vogt, John. "A Stafford County, Virginia Quit Roll, circa 1742," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Nov. 1989):239-245. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [1746-1749] A List of the Rents Belonging to the Estate of Capt. William Brent, Dece[ase]d Virginia, y[ea]rs 1746-1749, in Milnor Ljungstedt, "Some Stafford Records," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jul. 1922):183. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [1758-1759, 1764] Reynolds, William W. "Rent Rolls of 1758-1759 and 1764, Stafford County," Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1981):137-139. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [1768, 1773] Woodson, Robert F. and Isobel B. Woodson. Virginia Tithables from Burned Record Counties: Buckingham, 1773-1774; Gloucester, 1770-1771, 1774-1775; Hanover, 1763 and 1770; James City, 1768-1769; Stafford, 1768 and 1773. Richmond, Virginia: I.B. Woodson, 1970.
 * [1782-1813] Heinegg, Paul. "Stafford County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1813," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Stafford County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1787] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Stafford County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on p. 53.]
 * [1789, 1798] Images of the 1789 and 1798 Personal Property Tax Lists of Stafford County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. [The source for this publication is 1815 land tax. Stafford County is included in Vol. 4.]

Vital Records

 * Boogher, William F. Old Stafford County, Virginia: Overwharton Parish Register, 1720 - 1760. Washington, D.C.: Saxton Printing Co., 1899. ; digital version at World Vital Records ($). Contains births, deaths and marriages 1720-1760.

See also Overwharton Parish, Virginia

Birth

 * 1853-1896 - Stafford County, Virginia Birth Records 1853-1896 (VAGenWeb) - free.


 * 1853-1871 - Stafford County Birth Index 1853-1871. 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) ($).


 * 1800-1920 - Stafford County, Virginia Marriage Records 1800-1920 (VAGenWeb) - free.


 * 1851-1900 - Virginia Marriages 1851-1900 (Ancestry) ($).


 * 1854-1927 - Stafford County Marriage Index 1854-1927. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1853-1896 - Stafford County, Virginia Death Records 1853-1896 (VAGenWeb) - free.


 * 1853-1871 - Stafford County Death Index 1853-1871. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Stafford County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Central Rappahannock Library 1201 Caroline Street Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540/372-1144 or 540/371-9165

Stafford County collections are also held at the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Historical Society.

Stafford County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Stafford County, Virginia VAGenWeb
 * Stafford County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Fredericksburg Family History Center
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List