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Harrison County, West Virginia Genealogy

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Guide to Harrison County, West Virginia ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

County Facts
County seat: Clarksburg
Organized: May 3, 1784
Parent County(s): Monongalia[1]
Neighboring Counties
Barbour • Doddridge • Lewis • Marion • Taylor • Upshur • Wetzel
See County Maps
Courthouse
Harrison County Courthouse, Clarksburg, WV.jpg
Location Map
Wv-harrison.png

County Information

Description

Harrison County was named for Benjamin Harrison V. The county is located in the north-central area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Harrison County Courthouse
301 W Main Street
Clarksburg, WV 26301-2909
Phone: 304-624-8611
Harrison County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1853, and marriage records from 1784.[3]

Harrison County, West Virginia Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1853 1784 1853 1784 1786 1788 1870
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1917. General compliance by 1925.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]

Cities
Towns
Census-designated places


History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Occupations

  • Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. FS Library Collection. Includes a section on Clarksburg silversmiths.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Harrison County, West Virginia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See West Virginia Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

For tips on accessing Harrison census records online, see: West Virginia Census.

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 2,080 —
1800 4,848 133.1%
1810 9,958 105.4%
1820 10,932 9.8%
1830 14,722 34.7%
1840 17,669 20.0%
1850 11,728 −33.6%
1860 13,790 17.6%
1870 16,714 21.2%
1880 20,181 20.7%
1890 21,919 8.6%
1900 27,690 26.3%
1910 48,381 74.7%
1920 74,793 54.6%
1930 78,567 5.0%
1940 82,911 5.5%
1950 85,296 2.9%
1960 77,856 −8.7%
1970 73,028 −6.2%
1980 77,710 6.4%
1990 69,371 −10.7%
2000 68,652 −1.0%
2010 69,099 0.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

1785 Enumeration Harrison County Heads of Families - 1785 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 90.

Church Records

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

  1. Simpson's Creek (1775)[6]
  2. Buchannon (1786)[6]
  3. Good Hope (1806)[6]
  4. Olive Branch (1803)[6]
  5. Salem (1801)[6]
  6. Union (1802)[6]
  7. West Fork[6]

Harrison County fell within the bounds of the Union Association.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • Clarksburg


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See West Virginia Land and Property for additional information about early West Virginia land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Online Land Indexes and Records

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Harrison County, West Virginia Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section West Virginia Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Marion CountyTaylor CountyBarbour CountyUpshur CountyLewis CountyDoddridge CountyWetzel CountyWV HARRISON.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Revolutionary War

  • A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: FS Catalog Collection 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Harrison County on page 134.
  • Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." FS Catalog Collection 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.

War of 1812

Harrison County men served in the 11th and 119th Regiments.[7]

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Harrison served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Harrison County:

Union

- 1st Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry

Confederate

- 3rd Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry and Infantry) (Confederate). Company C.
- 20th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Companies E and F.[8]
- 31st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Harrison Rifles) presumably was recruited in Harrison County.[9]

Records and histories are available, including:

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Obituaries

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records


The earliest Harrison County Will Books also include estate inventories and some accountings and settlements of both testate and intestate estates.

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

How can West Virginia tax list help me?

  • 1784-1800 Harrison County, [West] Virginia Lands: 1784-1800. Extracts in the West Virginia Collection at the West Virginia University Library, Morgantown, West Virginia; also available on microfilm at FS Library.
  • 1784-1824 Harrison County, [West] Virginia Tithables Lists, 1784-1824. Original records, Harrison County Courthouse; also available on microfilm at FS Library.
  • 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 and 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 and Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle and 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. Harrison County is included in Vol. 1.
  • 1815 Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FS Library. The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Harrison County is included in Vol. 6.

Online West Virginia Tax site

West Virginia real and personal property tax records are managed by the County Assessor in each county. Land and land improvements are considered real property while mobile property is classified as personal property.

Many County Assessors offer an online searchable database, where assessment record searches can be performed by name, account number, year, or mp/parcel number. Where online records are not available, requests for records can be made to the Assessment Office in person, by phone, or in writing.

Vital Records

Birth

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Voting Records

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Harrison County. For state-wide archival repositories, see West Virginia Archives and Libraries.

Archives and History Library
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History
Culture Center, State Capitol Complex
1900 Kanawha Blvd E
Charleston, WV 25305-0300
Phone: 304-558-0230
Website
Facebook

Neff-Hardesty Memorial Archives
Harrison County Historical Society
445 W Main St, Ste 150
Clarksburg, WV 26301
Phone: 304-709-4902
Email: hcwvhs@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

FamilySearch 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

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Harrison County. For state-wide library facilities, see West Virginia Archives and Libraries.

Central West Virginia Genealogy and Historical Library and Museum
Hacker's Creek Pioneer Descendants, Inc.
45 Abbotts Run Rd
Horner, WV 26372-0056
Phone: 304-269-7091
Email: hcpd@hackerscreek.org
Website
Facebook

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Harrison County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see West Virginia Societies.

Hacker's Creek Pioneer Descendants, Inc.
Central West Virginia Genealogy and Historical Library
45 Abbotts Run Rd
Horner, WV 26372-0056
Phone: 304-269-7091
Email: hcpd@hackerscreek.org
Website
Facebook

Publication: Hacker's Creek Journal

Harrison County WV Historical Society
445 W Main St, Ste 150
Clarksburg, WV 26301
Phone: 304-709-4902
Email: hcwvhs@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), West Virginia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Harrison County, West Virginia" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_County,_West_Virginia."
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Doddridge County, West Virginia. Page 743 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Harrison County, West Virginia. Page 743-746 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 742-743.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Harrison County, West Virginia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_County,_West_Virginia, accessed 04 July 2018.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (1810; reprint, Richmond, Va.: Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 434. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 104. FS Library Book 975.5 M2bs.
  8. ↑ Richard L. Armstrong, 19th and 20th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1994). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 101.
  9. ↑ John M. Ashcraft, 31st Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1988). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 48.



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Links to West Virginia-related articles (see also Virginia-related articles)
Topics
Counties
Major
Repositories
Boyd County Public Library (Ashland, KY) · Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library · Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, PA) · Library of Congress (Washington, DC) · Library of Virginia (Richmond, VA) · Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library · Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library (Lancaster, VA) · Maryland State Archives (Annapolis, MD) · National Archives I (Washington, DC) · National Archives II (College Park, MD) · National Archives at Philadelphia (PA) · New York Public Library (New York City, NY) · Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library · Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston · Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown (Santa Cruz, CA) · University of Chicago Library (Chicago, IL) · Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, VA) · Washington National Records Center (Suitland, MD) · West Virginia Archives and History · West Virginia University Wise Library · West Virginia Vital Registration Office
Migration
Routes
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