Shenandoah County, Virginia Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Woodstock
Organized: 15 May 1772[1]
Parent County(s): Frederick
Neighboring Counties
FrederickHardy (WV)PageRockinghamWarren
See County Maps
Courthouse
VirginiaShenandoahCourthouse.jpg
Location Map
Location of Shenandoah County, Virginia.png

County Information

Description

Shenandoah County is located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with West Virginia. Shenandoah County was initially named Dunmore County.[2]

County Courthouse

Shenandoah County Courthouse
215 Mill Road # 128
Woodstock, VA 22664-1409
Phone: 540-459-6130
Shenandoah County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1772[3]

Shenandoah County, 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 1772 1853 1772 1772 1772 1810
* Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1912.
General compliance year is unknown.

Record Loss

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

  • Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

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:[8]

Towns
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places


History Timeline

Formerly Dunmore County, whose records it has. Name changed to Shanando [Shenandoah] 1 February 1778.[9]

Resources

Bible Records

For databases and indexes, see Virginia Bible Records.

Biographies

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 Woodstock silversmiths.

Cemeteries

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

 

Census Records

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

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1790 10,510
1800 13,823 31.5%
1810 13,646 −1.3%
1820 18,926 38.7%
1830 19,750 4.4%
1840 11,618 −41.2%
1850 13,768 18.5%
1860 13,896 0.9%
1870 14,936 7.5%
1880 18,204 21.9%
1890 19,671 8.1%
1900 20,253 3.0%
1910 20,942 3.4%
1920 20,808 −0.6%
1930 20,655 −0.7%
1940 20,898 1.2%
1950 21,169 1.3%
1960 21,825 3.1%
1970 22,852 4.7%
1980 27,559 20.6%
1990 31,636 14.8%
2000 35,075 10.9%
2010 41,993 19.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org"

1783 Enumeration

1785 Enumeration

1820 - Exists, but the National Archives microfilm copy of Shenandoah County, Virginia omits pages 150a and 150b. The missing names have been published in The Virginia Genealogist:

  • Petty, Gerald M. "Virginia 1820 Federal Census: Names Not on the Microfilm Copy," The Virginia Genealogist 18, no 2 (April-June 1974):136-139.
The list is also available online at the Shenandoah County GenWeb Project. See 1820 Census page 150, Shenandoah County, Virginia for digital copies of the missing Shenandoah County pages.

1890 Union Veterans

Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

  1. Lost River (1784)[10]
  2. Smith's Creek (1774)[10]
  3. South River (1783)[10]
  4. Water Lick (1787)[10]

Shenandoah County fell within the bounds of the Culpeper Association and the Ketocton Association.

Church of England

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):

  • Smith's Creek Monthly Meeting (1736-1810) aka Broadway[12]

Court Records

Online Court Indexes and Records

Chancery Court

  • Indexed images of Shenandoah County, Virginia Chancery Records 1772-1927 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

For databases and immigrant groups, see Virginia Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African American

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Compiled Genealogies by Surname

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families

  • Cartmell, T. K. Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants: A History of Frederick County, Virginia (Illustrated) from Its Formation in 1738 to 1908, Compiled Mainly from Original Records of Old Frederick County, Now Hampshire, Berkeley, Shenandoah, Jefferson, Hardy, Clarke, Warren, Morgan and Frederick. n.p.: n.p., c1909. Available at FS Library US/CAN Book 975.59 H2c 1963; FS Library US/CAN Film 1000634 Item 1; digital version at Ancestry ($), FamilySearch Digital Library.
  • O'Dell, Cecil. Pioneers of Old Frederick County, Virginia. Marceline, Mo.: Walsworth Pub. Co., 1995. FS Catalog Collection. One of the most impressively researched one-place studies in the United States. In a review, Dorman stated "Comprehensive studies such as this appear only rarerly. This volume should be in every Virginia genealogical collection."[13]
  • Vann, Marvin J. Shenandoah County, Virginia, a Study of the 1860 Census with Supplemental Data. 4 vols. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1993-1998. FS Catalog Collection 975.595 X2v v. 1
  • The Katherine Bushman Papers, 1961-1997 at the Library of Virginia include files about Shenandoah County families.

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

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

Online Land Indexes and Records


Grants and Patents

  • Crown. 84 patents dated 1749-1858 in what is now Shenandoah County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2005. 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); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.
  • 1742-1775 Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Vol. II. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. Available at FS Library; digital version at Ancestry ($).
  • Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800. Vol. III. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. Available at FS Library; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes Shenandoah County.


Local Histories

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Winchester (Independent City)Frederick CountyWarren CountyPage CountyRockingham CountyHardy CountyHampshire CountyVA SHENANDOAH.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources
  • Massanutten Area Atlas. Original records, Shenandoah County Archives, Woodstock, Va. Microfilmed reproduction available at FS Library. This is a bound book of hand drawn maps showing property boundaries for grant map, ca. 1748-1915. It covers parts of Shenandoah, Warren and Page counties.
  • FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

  • Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. Available at FS Library; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Shenandoah County's 1789 Delinquent List appears on pp. 49-50.

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 Shenandoah County militia officers and veterans; see place name index.


Revolutionary War

  • Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1903. FS Catalog Collection; digital version at Internet Archive. Includes a chapter titled "Roster of Capt. Thomas Buck's company, enlisted from Dunmore county (now Shenandoah), Sept. 5, 1777, see pp. 178-180.
  • 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. Digital versions at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: FS Library Book 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Shenandoah County on page 136.
  • Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." FS Library Book 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans. Virginia section begins on page 238.

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

- 8th Virginia Regiment
- 12th Virginia Regiment (7th Company)[14]

"A Copy of the men drafted and listed March 19 1781 Agreeable to an act of assembly for the County of Shenandoah," transcribed and annotated by James L. Lynch, is available for free online, courtesy: Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. Shenandoah County residents' participation in the Revolutionary War.[15]

War of 1812

  • Shenandoah County, Virginia War of 1812 Soldiers
  • 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. FS Catalog Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Shenandoah County, p. 103-104. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Regiments. Shenandoah County men served in the 13th and 97th Regiments.[16]

Civil War

Regiments. Civil War service men in Shenandoah County 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 here:

- 7th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Ashby's) (Confederate). Company C (Shenandoah Rangers), Company K (Captain William Miller).[17]
- 10th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Strasburg Guards) and Company F (Muhlenburg Rifles).[18]
- 11th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry. Company E (Potomac Mounted Riflemen or Valley Mounted Riflemen).[19]
- 12th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company J.[20]
- 18th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company D.[21]
- 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate).[22]

Civil War Battles
The following Civil War battles were fought in Shenandoah County.[23]

  • May 15, 1864 - New Market.
  • September 21-22, 1864 - Fisher's Hill.
  • October 9, 1864 - Tom's Brook, also known as Woodstock Races.
  • October 19, 1864 - Cedar Creek, also known as Belle Grove.
  • Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.


World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

For online newspaper resources, see the Virginia Newspapers page.

Obituaries

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

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

Online Probate Indexes and Records


School Records

Social Security Records

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

  • 1774-1776 Dunmore County (Va.) Rent Rolls, 1774-1776
  • 1782-1818 Heinegg, Paul. "Shenandoah County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1818," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
  • 1782-1850 Personal property tax lists, 1782-1850. FS films 1905722-1905726 - images.
  • 1783 Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783; index online at Revolutionary War Service website.
  • 1783 Tax List 1783 - Shenandoah County at VAGenWeb Images and transcription.
  • 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. Shenandoah County is included in Vol. 1.
  • 1789 Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):49-53. Available at FS Library; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Shenandoah County's 1789 Delinquent List appears on pp. 49-50.
  • 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 1815 land tax. Shenandoah County is included in Vol. 4.
  • 1815 Land Tax Roll, 1815, Frederick Findings. Mechanicsville VA: Summer 1996. Vol. 8 Iss. 2; Fall 1995. Vol. 8 Iss. 3; Winter 1995. Vol. 8 Iss. 4; Spring 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 1; Summer 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 2; Fall 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 3; Winter 1996. Vol. 9 Iss. 4; Winter 1998. Vol. 10 Iss. 1; Spring 1998. Vol. 10 Iss. 2. FS Library Book 975.59 D25f.

Vital Records

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

Vital Record Substitutes

Birth

Beth Fridley has published abstracts of the following Shenandoah County, Virginia birth records online at Ancestry:

  • Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1853-71 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
  • Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1872-77 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
  • Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1878-90 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
  • Shenandoah County, Virginia Births, 1891-96 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage

Take care when using published abstracts of early marriages of Shenandoah County. Editors who originally did this work did not understand German very well.* 1785-1940 Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 at FamilySearchHow to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)

Death

Divorce

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Shenandoah County. For state-wide facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

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 Shenandoah County. For state-wide library facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

Shenandoah County Library
300 Stoney Creek Blvd
Edinburg, VA 22824
Phone: 504-984-8200
Website

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Shenandoah County. 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: Shenandoah County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1978):210-213. Available at FS Library; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
  • Good, Rebecca H. and Rebecca A. Ebert. Finding Your People in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia: A Genealogical Guide. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1998. 4th ed. FS Library Book 975 D27e 1998

References

  1. Newberry
  2. Wikipedia contributors, in Shenandoah County, Virginia
  3. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Shenandoah County, Virginia. Page 721 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), Iowa.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  5. William Waller Hening, editor, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619, 13 vols. (Richmond: J.&G. Cochran, Printers, 1821), vol. IX, page 424, Chapter XVIII, "An act for forming several new counties, and reforming the boundaries of two others," October 1777, the name of Dunmore County changed to Shanando on 1 February 1778, digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : 25 October 2018).
  6. Newberry
  7. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Iowa.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  8. Wikipedia contributors, "Shenandoah County,_Virginia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenandoah_County,_Virginia#Communities accessed 25 February 2020.
  9. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Iowa.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 229-230. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive
  11. William Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia, 2 vols. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1861). Digital versions at Internet Archive: Vol. I and Vol. II.
  12. Jay Worrall, The Friendly Virginians: America's First Quakers (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Publishing Company, 1994), 537-539. FS Library Book 975.5 K2wj.
  13. John Frederick Dorman, "Review of Pioneers of Old Frederick County, Virginia," in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1995):236.
  14. E.M. Sanchez-Saavedra, A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations in the American Revolution, 1774-1787 (Richmond, Va.: Virginia State Library, 1978), 67-68. FS Library Book 975.5 M2s.
  15. J.T. McAllister, Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: McAllister's Data (Hot Springs, Va.: McAllister Pub. Co., 1913), 44. Digitized by Internet Archive.
  16. Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 194. FS Library Book 975.5 M2bs.
  17. Richard L. Armstrong, 7th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1992). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 88.
  18. Terrence V. Murphy, 10th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1989). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 55.
  19. Richard L. Armstrong, 11th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1989). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 52.
  20. Dennis E. Frye, 12th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1988). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 42.
  21. Roger U. Delauter, 18th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1985). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 18.
  22. John E. Divine, 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1985). FS Library Book 975.5 M2vr v. 19.
  23. National Park Service, Civil War Battles. Filter by state or battle name.