Alexandria (Independent City), Virginia Genealogy

United States

Virginia

Alexandria (Independent City)

Guide to Alexandria (Independent City), Virginia ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

Facts Seat: Alexandria (Indep. City) Organized: 1902 Parent County(s): Alexandria now Arlington Neighboring Counties Arlington • District of Columbia (DC) • Fairfax • Prince George's (MD) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

Independent City Information

Description

The city of Alexandria is located in the Northern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is included in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Alexandria was named for John Alexander to whom it was sold shortly after 1669.

Courthouse

Alexandria (Indenpendent City)
520 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-746-4144
Alexandria (Independent City) Website

For additional records, see Fairfax County, Virginia.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this Independent City.

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from Alexandria County (now Arlington) on July 10th, 1902. County Seat: Alexandria Independent City Alexandria, Virginia Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library Interactive Map of Virginia County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes

Populated Places

Arlandria . Del Rey . Hume. The Landmark . Mount Ida . North Ridge . Old Town . Saint Elmo . Seminary Hill . Seminary West . Town of Potomac (1930) . The Berg . West End . West of Quaker

History Timeline

Additional Information 1779 First settlement established in 1695. Named for Capt. Philip Alexander. Alexandria was not incorporated until 1779. 1755 In 1755, General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expediation against Fort Duquesne (near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) at Carlyle House. 1755 April 1755, the governors of Virginia, and the Provinces of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York met to determine concerted action against the French in America. 1791 Alexandria was included in an area chosen by George Washington to become the District of Columbia. Alexandria along with Arlington County were retroceded back to Virginia in 1846. 1852 City of Alexandria was re-chartered in 1852. 1870 City of Alexandria became independent of Alexandria County. The rest of Alexandria County became Arlington County in 1920, ending years of confusion.

Resources

Bible Records

For databases and indexes, see Virginia Bible Records.

Business, Commerce, and 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 FS Library. Includes a section on Alexandria silversmiths.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Alexandria (Independent City), Virginia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave Billion Graves VA USGenWeb Tombstone project Virginia Gravestones.org
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Catalog WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the City	Find A Grave
See Virginia Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

For databases, indexes, and information online, see Virginia Census.

• Alexandria (Virginia). Clerk of the Corporation Court. Census records, 1799-1830.FamilySearch Catalog. Original records located at the Virginia State Library.

1799

• "Alexandria, Virginia, Second Ward, 1799 Census," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul-Sep. 1960):117-124; Vol. 4, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1960):163-170. Available at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [Often includes head of households' occupations and names and occupations of boarders.]

1800

• "Alexandria, Virginia, Fourth Ward, 1800 Census," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1960):51-59. Available at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).

1890 Union Veterans

• Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. By Ronald Ray Turner. FS Catalog book 975.5 X2t 1890; FS Library film #1425065, item 14(*); images.
• 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Church Records

• The Truro Parish Colonial Vestry Book (1732-1785) and the proceedings of the Overseers of the Poor (1787-1802). Digitized images available online at Truro Parish Colonial Vestry Minutes.
• Members of Alexandria Presbyterian Church Virginia Pioneers ($)

Court Records

Chancery Court
Online Court Indexes and Records

• Indexed images of Alexandria, Virginia Chancery Records 1859-1925 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Emigration and Immigration

For databases and immigrant groups, see Virginia Emigration and Immigration

• Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America, 1777-1811" The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200. [Overseas contacts of the residents of Alexandria with the following surnames: Hamilton, Taylor.]
• Edwards, Conley L. "Abstracts of Reports of Aliens, Alexandria County, 1801-1832," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):112-116; Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1980):172-176. Available at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 1 British alien living in Alexandria.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

• Heinegg, Paul. "Alexandria City Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1800," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
• Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African-Americans in Alexandria City.

Genealogies

• [Page] Rutherford, Dolores Crumrine. Page Family Records in Virginia Counties. 2 vols. Carmichael, Calif.: D.C. Rutherford, 1982-2006. FS Library Book 929.273 P141rdc v. 2 [Alexandria appears in Vol. 2 Part 1]
• [Page] Rutherford, Dolores Crumrine. The Page Family in Virginia Personal Property Taxes (1782-1850). 2 vols. Carmichael, Calif.: D.C. Rutherford, 2002. FS Library Book 929.273 P141rd v. 1-2 [Alexandria appears in Vol. 2]

Land and Property Records

For land indexes, records, and databases, see Virginia Land and Property, including Colonial and State Land Grants.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

County and state maps, historical and more current, are valuable research tools. For map collections, online and in libraries, see Virginia Maps.

Military Records

French and Indian War

• Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FS Library. Online at: Ancestry ($). Identifies some Alexandria militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.

Civil War
Since Alexandria was created in 1847, the Civil War records for that area will be in the city of Alexandria. During the Civil War men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their area.

• 1861-1865 Alexandria (Virginia). Clerk of the Corporation Court. Muster roll of the Seventeenth Virginia Infantry, 1861-1865
• 1883 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.: Governnment Printing Office, 1883. FS Catalog Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; online at:Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Alexandria County, pp. 59-60.

Newspapers

For online newspaper resources, see the Virginia Newspapers page.

Indexes
Fairfax County Historical Newspaper Index (1785-2000 nonconsecutive) index only; includes:

• Alexandria Gazette (1785-1788; July 25, 1854-December 31, 1855; and May 3, 1860-January 20, 1865)
  
• Arlington County Record (1932-1933)
  
• Fairfax City Times (1961-1968)
  
• Fairfax County Independent (1929-1932)
  
• Fairfax Herald (1886-1973)
  
• Fairfax News (1872-1875)
  
• Fairfax News - Herndon Observer (1925-1943)
  
• The Local News (1861-1862)
  
• The Rambler, Washington Star (1912-1928)
  
• Reston Times (1965-1973; 1975-January 6, 1977; 1978; 1980-1983; 1985; and 2000)

Scanned 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.

• 1784-1789 Virginia Journal (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1792-1800 Columbian Mirror (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1797-1802 Alexandria Times (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1800-1808 Alexandria Advertiser (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1802 Columbian Advertiser (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1802-1807 Alexandria Expositor (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1808-1876 Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1811-1825 Alexandria Herald (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1876 People's Advocate (Alexandria, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1927-1928 Lane, Estelle. "News of Interest to Colored Readers", Alexandria Gazette. 1927-1928 is available online, courtesy: Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections.
• 2002-present Springfield Connection (Springfield, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 2002-present Reston Connection (Reston, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).

Obituaries

• 1784-1915 Obituary Notices from the Alexandria Gazette, 1784-1915. Rev. ed. Willow Bend Books.
• 1916-1946 Obituary Index to the Alexandria Gazette, 1916-1946 is available online, courtesy: Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections.

Other Records

Petitions

• Eckenrode, H.J. Virginia State Library: A Calendar of Legislative Petitions Arranged by Counties Accomac - Bedford. Richmond, Va.: Davis Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing, 1908. Online at: HathiTrust. Alexandria petitions (1778-1861) are described on pp. 61-87.

Probate Records

For statewide probate records, indexes, and databases, see Virginia Probate Records.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Indexes

• [Bk A 1800-1804; Bk B 1804-1807; Bk C 1807-1810; 1810-1815; 1815-1821; 1821-1823] Images of Wills, Inventories, Orphans, Affidavits, Guardianships Virginia Pioneers ($)

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

For additional online collections and the value and use of Virginia's tax lists in your research, see Virginia Taxation.

Online Tax Indexes and 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 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & 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. FS Library. The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Alexandria is included in Vol. 1.
• 1787-1800 Heinegg, Paul. "Alexandria City Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1800," Free African Americans.com, available online. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
• 1787-1800 Alexandria, Virginia Personal property tax lists, 1787-1800. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.; microfilmed reproduction available at FS film 1905755, item 1 - images.
• 1800 "Alexandria, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1960):17-26. Available at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
• 1815 Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FS Library. This source is based on the 1815 land tax. Alexandria is included in Vol. 4.

Vital Records

For additional indexes, databases, and details, see Virginia Vital Records.

Marriage

• 1785-1940 Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
• 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry ($) — index
• 1853-1935 Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)

Death

• 1853-1911 Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 at Ancestry ($) — index & images

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Alexandria (Independent City). For state-wide facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Mount Vernon Virginia FamilySearch Center

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Alexandria (Independent City). For state-wide library facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

Museums

Alexandria Black History Museum
902 Wythe St
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Alexandria (Independent City). For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Virginia Societies.

Websites

• FamilySearch Catalog – 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.

Research Guides

• "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Alexandria County [Arlington County]," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1959):126-129. Available at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
• Ray, Suzanne Smith. *"Genealogical Research in the Records of Alexandria City and Arlington County," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Jul.-Aug. 1984):1. Available at FS Library; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.