Richmond (Independent City), Virginia Genealogy

United States

Virginia

Richmond (Independent City)

Guide to Richmond (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: Richmond (Indep. City) Organized: 10 Jul 1902 Parent County(s): Henrico Neighboring Counties Chesterfield • Henrico See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

Independent City Information

Description

The city of Richmond is located in the central area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named after a suburb of London, England.

Courthouse

Richmond (Independent City) Courthouse
400 N 9th St
Richmond, VA 23219-1549
Phone: 804-646-6677
Richmond (Independent City) Courthouse

For additional records, see Henrico County.

Record Loss

1865 During the evacuation of Richmond at the end of the American Civil War a circuit court judge led efforts to save State Courthouse records for Henrico County and Richmond Independent City from the 3 April 1865 fire. Papers of all pending suits and many order books were preserved, but deeds, and wills were a total loss, as were records of the Superior Court, and Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery. Some Circuit Court order books and most Hustings Court records still exist. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from Henrico County on July 10, 1902. County Seat: Richmond Independent City 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

Resources

Bible Records

For databases and indexes, see Virginia Bible Records.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

• Berry, Thomas S. "The Rise of Flour Milling in Richmond," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 78, No. 4 (Oct. 1970):387-408. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. Available at FS Library. [Includes a section on Richmond silversmiths.]
• Shockley, Martin Staples. "The Proprietors of Richmond's New Theatre of 1819," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul. 1939):302-308. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Shockley, Martin Staples. "The Richmond Theatre, 1780-1790," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 60, No. 3 (Jul. 1952):421-436. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Spencer, Warren F. "French Tobacco in Richmond during the Civil War," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 71, No. 2 (Apr., 1963), pp. 185-202
• "The Burning of the Richmond Theatre, 1811," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 51, No. 3 (Jul. 1943):297-300. Available at JSTOR ($).

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Richmond (Independent City), Virginia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave VA USGenWeb Tombstone project Virginia Gravestones.org Billion Graves
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.

Hollywood Cemetery

• Index to burial registers 1847-1930 and Burial registers 1847-1955 in Hollywood Cemetery
• Index to interments in the Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
• List of Confederate dead buried in Hollywood Cemetery from Lee Camp Soldiers Home [Richmond, Virginia, 1894-1946]
• Hollywood Memorial Association, Register of the Confederate dead, interred in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Va.Richmond, Virginia : Gary, Clemmitt & Jones, printers, 1869

Census Records

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

Church Records

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

1. First Baptist Church, City of Richmond, Va. (1780). A centennial history was published in 1880. It is available online.
2. Leigh Street, Richmond, Va. (1854). A centennial history was published in 1954: FS Library Book 975.5451 K2L.
   
3. Tabernacle, Richmond, Va. (1891). A centennial history was published in 1991: FS Library Book 975.5451 K2h.
   

Richmond fell within the bounds of the Dover Association.

Catholic

• Wight, Willard E. "War Letters of the Bishop of Richmond," [Catholic Bishop] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 67, No. 3 (Jul. 1959):259-270. Available at JSTOR ($).

Church of England

• Newton, Blake T. "The Monumental Church of Richmond [City] and the Northern Neck Personages Connected With Its History," Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 12 (1962).

Jewish

• Joel, Joseph and Myron Berman. "My Recollections and Experiences of Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A., 1884-1892," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 87, No. 3 (Jul. 1979):344-356. Available at JSTOR ($).

Quaker

• 1739-1793 Quaker Records of Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting, Virginia, 1739-1793 by Mary Marshall Brewer. Colonial Roots, Lewes, DE., 2002. FHL Book 975.5462 K2b. 

Unitarian-Universalist

• Gibson, George H. "The Unitarian-Universalist Church of Richmond," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 74, No. 3 (Jul. 1966):321-335. Available at JSTOR ($).

Court Records

Criminal Records
Online Court Indexes and Records

• Saunders, Robert M. "Crime and Punishment in Early National America: Richmond, Virginia, 1784-1820," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 86, No. 1 (Jan. 1978):33-44. Available at JSTOR ($).

Chancery Court

• Library of Virginia maintains Richmond City chancery records for the years 1830-1918. Access to the original records can be gained by identifying the local case file number. Contact Archives Research Services for assistance in determining the local case file number.

Directories

• 1856 The Richmond Directory and Business Advertiser for 1856 at Don's List - free.
• 1889-1890 Chataigne's Richmond City Directory, 1889-1890. Richmond, VA: Chataigne Co, 1890. Available at Ancestry ($).
  
• 1889 Chataigne's Manchester Directory, 1889. Richmond, VA: Chataigne Co., 1890. Available at Ancestry ($).
  

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; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2001):53-74. [Overseas correspondence of residents of Richmond with the following surnames: Gairdner, Mitchell, and Selden.]

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 105 British aliens, many of whom had families, living in Richmond (some may have lived in Richmond County).

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African American

• Heinegg, Paul. "Richmond City Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1819," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
• Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of City of Richmond.
• 1853 Richmond and Its Slave Market presents visuals of auction houses and slave jails, created by the Digital Scholarship Lab, University of Richmond.

Minorities

• O'Brien, John T. "Reconstruction in Richmond: White Restoration and Black Protest, April-June 1865," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 89, No. 3 (Jul. 1981):259-281. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Watkinson, James D. "William Washington Browne and the True Reformers of Richmond, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 97, No. 3, "A Sense of Their Own Power": Black Virginians, 1619-1989 (Jul. 1989):375-398. Available at JSTOR ($).

Slavery

• "Negroes in Richmond in 1864," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Jul. 1938):193-200. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Stuart, Meriwether. "Colonel Ulric Dahlgren and Richmond's Union Underground: April 1864," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 72, No. 2 (Apr. 1964):152-204. Available at JSTOR ($).

Genealogies

• [Cooper] Shockley, Martin Staples. "Priscilla Cooper in the Richmond Theatre," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 67, No. 2 (Apr. 1959), 180-185. Available at JSTOR ($).
• [Joel] Joel, Joseph and Myron Berman. "My Recollections and Experiences of Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A., 1884-1892," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 87, No. 3 (Jul. 1979):344-356. Available at JSTOR ($).
• [Mordecai] Weddell, Alexander Wilbourne. "Samuel Mordecai: Chronicler of Richmond 1786-1865," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Oct. 1945):265-287. Available at JSTOR ($).
• [Newman] Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FS Library; digital version at Internet Archive. Includes a chapter titled "Genealogy of the Newman Family, 1618-1900," see Table of Contents; discusses Newmans of Richmond.
• [Page] Page, Richard Channing Moore. Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia. Also a Condensed Account of the Nelson, Walker, Pendleton and Randolph Families, With References to the Bland, Burwell, Byrd, Carter, Cary, Duke, Gilmer, Harrison, Rives, Thornton, Wellford, Washington, and Other Distinguished Families in Virginia. New York: Press of the Publishers' Printing Co., 1893. Available at FS Library; digital version at Google Books.
• [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 [Richmond appears in Vol. 2 Part 4]
• [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. Richmond 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.

Local Histories

• Richmond, its people and its story, Internet Archives

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

The Virginia Confederate Soldiers' Home a.k.a. Lee Camp Soldiers' Home in Richmond serviced many veterans between the 1880s and 1940s. US Military Old Soldiers Home Records identifies several types of records concerning these individuals.

Revolutionary War

• "Arnold's Expedition to Richmond, Virginia, 1781," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul. 1932):187-190. Available at JSTOR ($).
• "Benedict Arnold in Richmond, January, 1781: His Proposal concerning Prize Goods: With Historical Introduction by George Green Shackelford," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 60, No. 4 (Oct. 1952):591-599. Available at JSTOR ($).
• 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 FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: FS Catalog Collection 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Eastern District, Henrico County, City of Richmond on page 131.

War of 1812

• "Richmond During the War of 1812," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Apr. 1900):406-418. Available at JSTOR ($).

Civil War
Civil War service men from Richmond served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their area. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed with many men from Richmond.

- 1st Regiment, Virginia Artillery (Confederate). Company C (2nd) (Henrico Artillery aka Courtney Artillery), Company D (Richmond Howitzers)

- 1st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Williams Rifles) (Confederate) Company A (Richmond Grays), Company B (Richmond City Guard), Company C (Montgomery Guard), Company D (Old Dominion Guard), Company G (Capt. William H. Gordon's Co.), Company H (Richmond Grays No. 2), Company I (Capt. William O. Taylor's Co.), Company K (Virginia Rifles)

-2nd Battalion, North Carolina Infantry, Companies C and D

- 10th Battalion, Virginia Heavy Artillery (Allen's) (Confederate). Company A (Metropolitan Guards).

- 12th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company G (Richmond Grays).

- 23rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (Richmond Sharpshooters).

- 44th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company E (Richmond Zouaves).

Records and histories are available, including:

Online Civil War Indexes and Records

• 1861-1865 Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1861-1865 Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Civil War Battles

Richmond Virginia damage2.jpg

The following Civil War battles were fought in Henrico County.

• May 31-June 1, 1862 - Seven Pines, also known as Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station.
• June 25, 1862 - Oak Grove, also known as French’s Field or King’s School House.
• June 27-28, 1862 - Garnett’s & Golding’s Farms.
• June 29, 1862 - Savage's Station.
• June 30, 1862 - Glendale/White Oak Swamp, also known as Nelson’s Farm, Frayser’s Farm, Charles City Crossroads, White Oak Swamp, New Market Road, or Riddell's Shop.
• July 1, 1862 - Malvern Hill, also known as Poindexter's Farm.
• May 11, 1864 - Yellow Tavern.
• July 27-29, 1864 - Deep Bottom I, also known as Darbytown, Strawberry Plains, New Market Road, Gravel Hill.
• August 13-20, 1864 - Deep Bottom II, also known as New Market Road, Fussell’s Mill, Bailey’s Creek, Charles City Road, or White’s Tavern.
• September 29-30, 1864 - Chaffin’s Farm/New Market Heights, also known as Combats at New Market Heights, Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer; Laurel Hill.
• October 7, 1864 - Darbytown & New Market Roads, also known as Johnson’s Farm or Fourmile Creek.
• October 13, 1864 - Darbytown Road, also known as Alms House.
• October 27-28, 1864 - Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road, also known as Second Fair Oaks.
• Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

From The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography:

• Chesson, Michael B. "Harlots or Heroines? A New Look at the Richmond Bread Riot," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 92, No. 2 (Apr. 1984):131-175. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Hoslett, Schuyler Dean. "The Richmond Daily Press on British Intervention in the Civil War: A Brief Summary," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan. 1940):79-83. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Moore, John Hammond. "Richmond Area Residents and the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 91, No. 3 (Jul. 1983):285-295. Available at JSTOR($).
• Rachal, William M.E. "The Occupation of Richmond, April 1865: The Memorandum of Events of Colonel Christopher Q.," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Apr. 1965):189-198. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Shackelford, George Green. "From the Society's Collections: Attorneys Andrew of Boston and Green of Richmond Consider the John Brown Raid," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Jan. 1952):89-114. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Spencer, Warren F. "A French View of the Fall of Richmond: Alfred Paul's Report to Drouyn De Lhuys, April 11, 1865," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Apr. 1965):178-188. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Stuart, Meriwether. "Of Spies and Borrowed Names: The Identity of Union Operatives in Richmond Known as 'The Phillipses' Discovered," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 89, No. 3 (Jul. 1981):308-327. Available at JSTOR ($).
• "The Evacuation of Richmond," [Civil War] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Jul. 1933):215-222. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Wight, Willard E. "War Letters of the Bishop of Richmond," [Catholic Bishop] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 67, No. 3 (Jul. 1959):259-270. Available at JSTOR ($).

World War II

• Francis Earle Lutz, Richmond in World War II Richmond, Virginia : Dietz Press, 1951 Digital Images

Newspapers

For online newspaper resources, see the Virginia Newspapers page.

• 1736-1780 Virginia Gazette, index & images online at Colonial Williamsburg.
• 1736-1803 Database of all runaway advertisements for slaves, indentured servants, transported convicts, and ship deserters listed in the Virginia Gazette and other Virginia newspapers, see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia.
• 1786-1825 "List of Obituaries: From Richmond, Virginia Newspapers," [1786-1825] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul. 1912):282-291; Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct. 1912):364-371. Available at JSTOR - free.
• 1795-1807 Richmond and Manchester Advertiser at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1797-1816 Virginia Argus (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1801-1804 The Examiner (Richmond, Va.) at Google News - free.
• 1804-1838 Virginia State Library. Index to Obituary Notices in the Richmond Enquirer from May 9, 1804, through 1828, and the Richmond Whig from January, 1824, through 1838. Richmond, VA, USA: Virginia State Library, 1923. WorldCat 1111288 digital version at Ancestry ($). Available at FS Library (2 copies).
• 1804-1876 Enquirer (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1809-1819 Virginia Patriot (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1816-1820 Richmond Commercial Compiler (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1824-1874 Richmond Whig (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1833-1882 Richmond Daily Whig (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1852-1884 The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1854-1870 Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1860-1865 Richmond Daily Dispatch 1860-1865 - free.
  
• 1861-1866 Richmond Examiner (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1884-1903 Richmond Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1885-1900 Richmond Planet (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1886-1889 The Daily Times (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1886- - The Labor Herald (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1889-1910 Richmond Planet (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1890-1903 The Times (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1893-1899 The Jewish South (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1900 Reformer (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1903-1913 The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) at Chronicling America - free.
• 1903-1958 Richmond Times Dispatch at Genealogy Bank ($).
• 1940s-1985 Index to Richmond Times Dispatch and Richmond News Leader at Library of Virginia - free. Surnames indexed alphabetically under Biography.
  
• 1985-present GoogleNews has the Richmond Times - Dispatch on-line. The images start with 1985 and continue to the present. It is not a complete list, but it is worth your time. It is free to use and view the newspaper but you cannot print or copy the image.
  
• 1985-present Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).

Obituaries

• "List of Obituaries: From Richmond, Virginia Newspapers," [1786-1825] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul. 1912):282-291; Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct. 1912):364-371. Available at JSTOR ($).

Other Records

Private Papers

• [Green] Green, Thomas and Joanne L. Gatewood. "Richmond during the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830: An Extract from the Diary of Thomas Green, October 1, 1829, to January 31, 1830," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 84, No. 3 (Jul. 1976):287-332. Available at JSTOR ($).
• [Robinson] "Letters of Moncure Robinson to His Father, John Robinson, of Richmond, Va., Clerk of Henrico Court," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr. 1928):71-95; Vol. 8, No. 3 (Jul. 1928):143-156. Available at JSTOR ($).

Periodicals

• Morrison, Alfred J. "The Virginia Literary and Evangelical Magazine, Richmond, 1818-1828," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Apr. 1911):266-272. JSTOR - free.

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 ($) — index & images
• Probate records for the city of Richmond are located at the Richmond Circuit Court, 400 N. 9th St, 23219. Easily accessed, paid (($)1/hr) parking is located on Clay St, between 8th and 9th. Security measures are in place and no electronics are allowed in the building. Probate and land records indexes are accessible thru an internal database system in Room 101, immediately after the main entrance on the right, 1st floor.
• 1633-1800 Wills and Estate Records Index at Library of Virginia.

School Records

Online School Indexes and Records

• "College Notices in 1806: From the Richmond Enquirer," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jul. 1911):19. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Daniel, W. Harrison. "The Genesis of Richmond College, 1843-1860," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 83, No. 2 (Apr. 1975):131-149. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Griffin, Barbara J. "Thomas Ritchie and the Founding of the Richmond Lancasterian School," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 86, No. 4 (Oct. 1978):447-460. Available at JSTOR ($).
• Pratt, Robert A. "A Promise Unfulfilled: School Desegregation in Richmond, Virginia, 1956-1986," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 99, No. 4 (Oct. 1991):415-448. Available at JSTOR ($).
• "Some References to Colleges and Schools in Richmond, Va. Newspapers," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul. 1914):288-296. Available at JSTOR ($).

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. Available at FS Library. The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Richmond is included in Vol. 2.
• 1787-1819 Heinegg, Paul. "Richmond City Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1819," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
• 1815Ward, 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. Richmond is included in Vol. 1.
• 1851-1900 Land tax lists, 1851-1900. Online at: FS Library films 2026407 (first of 23) - images

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
• 1851-1853 Virginia Marriages 1851-1853 at Ancestry ($).
• 1853-1935 Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)

Death

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

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Richmond (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

• Richmond Virginia FamilySearch Center

Libraries

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

Museums

Black History Museum & Cultural Center
122 West Leigh St
Richmond, VA 23220
Phone: 804-780-9093
Website

Societies

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

Websites

• Richmond City Genealogy (Virginia Genealogy)

• 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

• "Genealogical Research in Richmond, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 1983):1; Vol. 9, No. 2 (Mar.-Apr. 1983):1-2. Available at FS Library; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.
• "Genealogical Research in Richmond, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Jul.-Aug. 1989):1-2; Vol. 15, No. 5 (Sep.-Oct. 1989):1-2. Available at FS Library; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.