Virginia Church Records: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Bruton Parish Church.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Bruton Parish Church.jpg]]The Church of England (now Protestant Episcopal) was the established church in Virginia from 1624 to 1786. Between the time of the American Revolution and the year 1900, the largest religious groups in [[Virginia Genealogy|Virginia]] were the Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches.<ref>William Chamberlin Hunt and United States Bureau of the Census, ''Religious Bodies: 1906'' (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1910), Vol. 1:365. Digital version at [http://books.google.com/books?id=Z6ZdiZWeStAC Google Books].</ref>  

The [[Library of Virginia]] has many church records. These are described in:  

Many denominations have collected their records into central repositories. You can write to the following addresses to learn where their records are located, or read more about them in the following publications.  

It can be difficult to identify the religion of your Virginia ancestors. One source that can help from the period 1780 forward are marriage returns by ministers. If you can identify the religion of the person who performed your ancestor's marriage ceremony, this can lead you to the church that one or both parties likely attended.  

[http://www.baptistheritage.org/ '''Virginia Baptist Historical Society''']<br>Boatwright Memorial Library<br>28 Westhampton Way<br>University of Richmond, VA 23173<br>Telephone: '''(804)289-8669'''  

*'''Union Association:''' [[Harrison County, West Virginia#Baptist|Harrison]], [[Monongalia County, West Virginia#Baptist|Monongalia]], and [[Randolph County, West Virginia#Baptist|Randolph]] counties

''The Religious Herald'' was a newspaper published by the Baptist faith. Abstracts of marriages and obituaries were prepared by The Historical Records Survey of Virginia:  

*''Index to Obituary Notices in The Religious herald, 1828-1938.'' Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company, 1996. {{FHL|758579|item|disp=FHL Book 975.5 V42h}}.

Baptists faced a great deal of persecution from the established church in Virginia in the 1700s. These grievances have created documents that can help identify ancestors that belonged to the faith.  

*Howell, Robert Boyte Crawford and American Baptist Historical Society. ''The Early Baptists of Virginia: An Address, Delivered in New York, Before the American Baptist Historical Society, May 10th, 1856''. Press of the Society, 1867. Digital version at {{FSbook|113103}} - free; [http://books.google.com/books?id=t0bSAAAAMAAJ Google Books] - free.

*Simpson, William S. ''Virginia Baptist Ministers, 1760-1790, A Biographical Survey.'' 7 vols. Richmond, Va., 1990-2009. Digital versions of Vols. 6 and 7 are available at Family History Archives, see: {{FHL|58605|item|disp=FHL Books 975.5 D3si v. 1-7}}.<br>  

*''The Ministerial Directory of the Baptist Churches in the United States of America.'' Oxford, Ohio: Ministerial Directory Co., 1899. Digital version at [http://books.google.com/books?id=f9gpAAAAYAAJ Google Books].

[[Image:Virginia churches.png|thumb|right|500px]] Before the American Revolution, the state church of Virginia was the Church of England (also called Anglican, and later Protestant Episcopal). Besides keeping parish registers, the church kept many records of a civil nature in their vestry books. In many instances, parish registers containing baptism, marriage, and death records have not survived when vestry books have. Colonial vestries largely ceased functioning in 1786, when local overseers of the poor took charge of some of the vestries' main responsibilities.<ref>John Frederick Dorman, "Review of ''Albemarle Parish Vestry Book,"'' in ''The Virginia Genealogist,'' Vol. 49, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2005):320. Digital version at [http://www.americanancestors.org/ American Ancestors] ($); {{FHL|33159|item|disp=FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 49 (2005)}}.</ref><br>  

Some early parish registers are incomplete or missing. Many of those still existing are available at the [[Library of Virginia|Library of Virginia]] and many copies are at&nbsp;the [[Family History Library|Family History Library]]. Rivah Research charts the survival of Virginia's CoE records in [http://www.rivahresearch.com/westmorelandcty/vitals/resources/religion/parishregister.htm Virginia Parish Registers Information &amp; Location]. Many have been published. Baptisms and marriages from most colonial Virginia parishes are indexed in the [https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&region=NORTH_AMERICA%7C International Genealogical Index], see: [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbersNA/SPVirginia.htm#PageTitle Hugh Wallis's IGI Batch Numbers for Virginia, USA]&nbsp;for a breakdown.  

[[Abingdon Parish, Virginia|Abingdon]]{{·}} [[Accomac Parish, Virginia|Accomac]]{{·}} [[Accomack Parish, Virginia|Accomack]]{{·}} [[Albemarle Parish, Virginia|Albemarle]]{{·}} [[Amherst Parish, Virginia|Amherst]]{{·}} [[Antrim Parish, Virginia|Antrim]]{{·}} [[Appomattox Parish, Virginia|Appomattox]]{{·}} [[Argalls Gift Parish, Virginia|Argall's Gift]]{{·}} [[Augusta Parish, Virginia|Augusta]]{{·}} [[Bath Parish, Virginia|Bath]]{{·}} [[Beckford Parish, Virginia|Beckford]]{{·}} [[Berkeley Parish, Virginia|Berkeley]]{{·}} [[Blisland Parish, Virginia|Blisland]]{{·}} [[Blount Point Parish, Virginia|Blount Point]]{{·}} [[Botetourt Parish, Virginia|Botetourt]]{{·}} [[Boutracy Parish, Virginia|Boutracy]]{{·}} [[Bristol Parish, Virginia|Bristol]]{{·}} [[Bromfield Parish, Virginia|Bromfield]]{{·}} [[Brunswick Parish, Virginia|Brunswick]]{{·}} [[Bruton Parish, Virginia|Bruton]]{{·}} [[Camden Parish, Virginia|Camden]]{{·}} [[Cameron Parish, Virginia|Cameron]]{{·}} [[Charles City Parish, Virginia|Charles City]]{{·}} [[Charles Parish, Virginia|Charles]]{{·}} [[Charles River Parish, Virginia|Charles River]]{{·}} [[Chickacoan Parish, Virginia|Chickacoan]]{{·}} [[Chickahominy Parish, Virginia|Chickahominy]]{{·}} [[Chippokes Parish, Virginia|Chippokes]]{{·}} [[Chiskiack Parish, Virginia|Chiskiack]]{{·}} [[Chotank Parish, Virginia|Chotank]]{{·}} [[Christ Church Parish, Lancaster, Virginia|Christ Church (Lancaster Co.)]]{{·}} [[Christ Church Parish, Middlesex, Virginia|Christ Church (Middlesex Co.)]]{{·}} [[Chuckatuck Parish, Virginia|Chuckatuck]]{{·}} [[Cople Parish, Virginia|Cople]]{{·}} [[Cornwall Parish, Virginia|Cornwall]]{{·}} [[Cumberland Parish, Virginia|Cumberland]]{{·}} [[Dale Parish, Virginia|Dale]]{{·}} [[Denbigh Parish, Virginia|Denbigh]]{{·}} [[Dettingen Parish, Virginia|Dettingen]]{{·}} [[Drysdale Parish, Virginia|Drysdale]]{{·}} [[East Parish, Virginia|East]]{{·}} [[Elizabeth City Parish, Virginia|Elizabeth City]]{{·}} [[Elizabeth River Parish, Virginia|Elizabeth River]]{{·}} [[Fairfax Parish, Virginia|Fairfax]]{{·}} [[Fairfield Parish, Virginia|Fairfield]]{{·}} [[Farnham Parish, Virginia|Farnham]]{{·}} [[Flowerdew Hundred Parish, Virginia|Flowerdew Hundred]]{{·}}[[Fluvanna Parish, Virginia|Fluvanna]]{{·}} [[Frederick Parish, Virginia|Frederick]]{{·}} [[Fredericksville Parish, Virginia|Fredericksville]]{{·}} [[Hamilton Parish, Virginia|Hamilton]]{{·}} [[Hampton Parish, Virginia|Hampton]]{{·}} [[Hanover Parish, Virginia|Hanover]]{{·}} [[Harrop Parish, Virginia|Harrop]]{{·}} [[Henrico Parish, Virginia|Henrico]]{{·}} [[Hog Island Parish, Virginia|Hog Island]]{{·}} [[Hungars Parish, Virginia|Hungars]]{{·}} [[James City Parish, Virginia|James City]]{{·}} [[Jordans Journey Parish, Virginia|Jordan's Journey]]{{·}} [[Kecoughtan Parish, Virginia|Kecoughtan]]{{·}} [[Kingston Parish, Virginia|Kingston]]{{·}} [[King William Parish, Virginia|King William]]{{·}} [[Lancaster Parish, Virginia|Lancaster]]{{·}} [[Lawnes Creek Parish, Virginia|Lawnes Creek]]{{·}} [[Lee Parish, Virginia|Lee]]{{·}} [[Leeds Parish, Virginia|Leeds]]{{·}} [[Lexington Parish, Virginia|Lexington]]{{·}} [[Littleton Parish, Virginia|Littleton]]{{·}} [[Lower Parish, Elizabeth City, Virginia|Lower (Elizabeth City Co.)]]{{·}} [[Lower Parish, Isle of Wight, Virginia|Lower (Isle of Wight Co.)]] {{·}} [[Lower Parish, Lancaster, Virginia|Lower (Lancaster Co.)]] {{·}} [[Lower Parish, Nansemond, Virginia|Lower (Nansemond Co.)]]{{·}} [[Lower Parish, Northampton, Virginia|Lower (Northampton Co.)]]{{·}} [[Lower Parish, Stafford, Virginia|Lower (Stafford Co.)]]{{·}} [[Lower Parish, Upper Norfolk, Virginia|Lower (Upper Norfolk Co.)]]{{·}} [[Lower Suffolk Parish, Virginia|Lower Suffolk]]{{·}} [[Lunenburg Parish, Virginia|Lunenburg]]{{·}} [[Lynnhaven Parish, Virginia|Lynnhaven]]{{·}} [[Machodick Parish, Virginia|Machodick]]{{·}} [[Manchester Parish, Virginia|Manchester]]{{·}} [[Marston Parish, Virginia|Marston]]{{·}} [[Martins Brandon Parish, Virginia|Martin's Brandon]]{{·}} [[Martins Hundred Parish, Virginia|Martin's Hundred]]{{·}} [[Meherrin Parish, Virginia|Meherrin]]{{·}} [[Middle Plantation Parish, Virginia|Middle Plantation]]{{·}} [[Middletowne Parish, Virginia|Middletowne]]{{·}} [[Montgomery Parish, Virginia|Montgomery]]{{·}} [[Mulberry Island Parish, Virginia|Mulberry Island]]{{·}} [[New Poquoson Parish, Virginia|New Poquoson]]{{·}} [[Newport Parish, Virginia|Newport]]{{·}} [[Nomini Parish, Virginia|Nomini]]{{·}} [[Norborne Parish, Virginia|Norborne]]{{·}} [[Northampton Parish, Virginia|Northampton]]{{·}} [[North Farnham Parish, Virginia|North Farnham]]{{·}} [[Nottoway Parish, Prince Edward, Virginia|Nottoway (Prince Edward Co.)]]{{·}} [[Nottoway Parish, Southampton, Virginia|Nottoway (Southampton Co.)]]{{·}} [[Nutmeg Quarter Parish, Virginia|Nutmeg Quarter]]{{·}} [[Occohannock Parish, Virginia|Occohannock]]{{·}} [[Overwharton Parish, Virginia|Overwharton]]{{·}} [[Patrick Parish, Virginia|Patrick]]{{·}} [[Petsworth Parish, Virginia|Petsworth]]{{·}} [[Piankatank Parish, Virginia|Piankatank]]{{·}} [[Piscataway Parish, Virginia|Piscataway]]{{·}} [[Poropotank Parish, Virginia|Poropotank]]{{·}} [[Portsmouth Parish, Virginia|Portsmouth]]{{·}} [[Potomac Parish, Virginia|Potomac]]{{·}} [[Raleigh Parish, Virginia|Raleigh]]{{·}} [[Richmond Parish, Virginia|Richmond]]{{·}} [[Rockbridge Parish, Virginia|Rockbridge]]{{·}} [[Rockingham Parish, Virginia|Rockingham]]{{·}} [[Russell Parish, Virginia|Russell]]{{·}} [[St. Andrews Parish, Virginia|St. Andrew's]]{{·}} [[St. Annes Parish, Albemarle, Virginia|St. Anne's (Albemarle Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. Annes Parish, Essex and Caroline, Virginia|St. Anne's (Essex and Caroline Cos.)]]{{·}} [[St. Asaphs Parish, Virginia|St. Asaph's]]{{·}} [[St. Brides Parish, Virginia|St. Brides]]{{·}} [[St. Davids Parish, Virginia|St. David's]]{{·}} [[St. Georges Parish, Accomack, Virginia|St. George's (Accomack Co.)]] {{·}} [[St. Georges Parish, Spotsylvania, Virginia|St. George's (Spotsylvania Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. James Northam Parish, Virginia|St. James Northam]]{{·}} [[St. James Southam Parish, Virginia|St. James Southam]]{{·}} [[St. James Parish, Goochland, Virginia|St. James's (Goochland Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. James Parish, Mecklenburg, Virginia|St. James's (Mecklenburg Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. Johns Parish, Virginia|St. John's]]{{·}} [[St. Lukes Parish, Virginia|St. Luke's]]{{·}} [[St. Margarets Parish, Virginia|St. Margaret's]]{{·}} [[St. Marks Parish, Virginia|St. Mark's]]{{·}} [[St. Martins Parish, Virginia|St. Martin's]]{{·}} [[St. Marys Parish, Virginia|St. Mary's]]{{·}} [[St. Marys Whitechapel Parish, Virginia|St. Mary's Whitechapel]]{{·}} [[St. Patricks Parish, Virginia|St. Patrick's]]{{·}} [[St. Pauls Parish, Hanover, Virginia|St. Paul's (Hanover Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. Pauls Parish, King George, Virginia|St. Paul's (King George Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. Peters Parish, Virginia|St. Peter's]]{{·}} [[St. Stephens Parish, King and Queen, Virginia|St. Stephen's (King and Queen Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. Stephens Parish, Northumberland, Virginia|St. Stephen's (Northumberland Co.)]]{{·}} [[St. Thomas Parish, Virginia|St. Thomas]]{{·}} [[Shelburne Parish, Virginia|Shelburne]]{{·}} [[Sittenburne Parish, Virginia|Sittenburne]]{{·}} [[Smiths Hundred Parish, Virginia|Smith's Hundred]]{{·}} [[South Parish, Virginia|South]]{{·}} [[Southampton Parish, Virginia|Southampton]]{{·}} [[South Farnham Parish, Virginia|South Farnham]]{{·}} [[Southwark Parish, Virginia|Southwark]]{{·}} [[Stafford Parish, Virginia|Stafford]]{{·}} [[Stanley Hundred Parish, Virginia|Stanley Hundred]]{{·}} [[Stratton Major Parish, Virginia|Stratton Major]]{{·}} [[Suffolk Parish, Virginia|Suffolk]]{{·}} [[Tillotson Parish, Virginia|Tillotson]]{{·}} [[Trinity Parish, Lancaster, Virginia|Trinity (Lancaster Co.)]]{{·}} [[Trinity Parish, Louisa, Virginia|Trinity (Louisa Co.)]]{{·}} [[Truro Parish, Virginia|Truro]]{{·}} [[Upper Parish, Elizabeth City, Virginia|Upper (Elizabeth City Co.)]]{{·}}[[Upper Parish, Isle of Wight, Virginia|Upper (Isle of Wight Co.)]]{{·}} [[Upper Parish, Lancaster, Virginia|Upper (Lancaster Co.)]]{{·}} [[Upper Parish, Nansemond, Virginia|Upper (Nansemond Co.)]]{{·}} [[Upper Parish, Northampton, Virginia|Upper (Northampton Co.)]]{{·}} [[Upper Parish, Stafford, Virginia|Upper (Stafford Co.)]] [[Upper Suffolk Parish, Virginia|Upper Suffolk]]{{·}} [[Varina Parish, Virginia|Varina]]{{·}} [[Wallingford Parish, Virginia|Wallingford]]{{·}} [[Ware Parish, Virginia|Ware]]{{·}} [[Warrosquyoake Parish, Virginia|Warrosquyoake]]{{·}} [[Warwick Parish, Virginia|Warwick]]{{·}} [[Washington Parish, Westmoreland, Virginia|Washington (Westmoreland Co.)]]{{·}} [[Washington Parish, Washington, Virginia|Washington (Washington Co.)]]{{·}} [[Waters Creek Parish, Virginia|Waters Creek]]{{·}} [[West Parish, Virginia|West]]{{·}} [[West and Shirley Parish, Virginia|West and Shirley]]{{·}} [[Westbury Parish, Virginia|Westbury]]{{·}} [[Westover Parish, Virginia|Westover]]{{·}} [[Weyanoke Parish, Virginia|Weyanoke]]{{·}} [[Wicomico Parish, Virginia|Wicomico]]{{·}} [[Wilmington Parish, Virginia|Wilmington]]{{·}} [[York Parish, Virginia|York]]{{·}} [[Yorkhampton Parish, Virginia|Yorkhampton]]  

''The Southern Churchman'' was a newspaper published by the Episcopal faith. Abstracts of marriages were prepared by The Historical Records Survey of Virginia:  

*''Index to Marriage Notices in The Southern Churchman, 1835-1941.'' Baltimore, Md.: Clearfield Company, 1996. {{FHL|113539|item|disp=FHL Book 975.5 V22i}}.

During the last half of the eighteenth century, the Church of England in Virginia&nbsp;lost much of its membership to dissenting religions. Many of the grand church buildings fell into disrepair. In the nineteenth century, "Many Virginians had a deep sense of living among the ruins of a more glorious past."<ref>Rhys Isaac, ''The Transformation of Virginia 1740-1790'' (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1982), 417.</ref>  

*Wigmore, Francis Marion. ''Old Parish Churches of Virginia: A Pictorial-Historic Exhibition of Photographs in Colors Lent to the Library of Congress''. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1929. Digital version at [http://archive.org/details/oldparishchurche00wigm Internet Archive] - free.

To learn more about the origins of Church of England ministers sent to Virginia from England during the colonial period, start with these books: