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== History == | == History == | ||
Probate records have been kept at the county level in [[Virginia]] by the general court and by the county and circuit courts. For the colonial period, dozens of Virginia wills were proved in the [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury|Prerogative Court of Canterbury]] in London, England. In independent cities, probates are now kept by the clerks' offices of the circuit courts. | Probate records have been kept by at the county level in [[Virginia]] by the general court and by the county and circuit courts. For the colonial period, dozens of Virginia wills were proved in the [[Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury|Prerogative Court of Canterbury]] in London, England. In independent cities, probates are now kept by the clerks' offices of the circuit courts. | ||
The following events affected political/jurisdictional boundaries and record keeping. | |||
*A brief history of the settlement and boundary changes of Virginia and the resultant effects on record keeping can be found on [http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=History_of_Virginia Ancestry]. ($) | *1607 - Founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. | ||
*1624 - Virginia established as a crown colony with an elected General Assembly. | |||
*1710-1740s Passes leading to Shenandoah Valley were discovered. Emigrants from Pennsylvania and New Jersey began to enter the valley. | |||
*1750-1784 - Land grants made to the Ohio Company encouraged exploration beyond the Alleghenies. Much of this was later ceded to Pennsylvania.1770s The Wilderness Road opened Virginia into Kentucky. That area later became Kentucky. | |||
*1784 - Virginia ceded its claims north of the Ohio River to the United States. | |||
*1788 - Virginia became a state. | |||
*1792 Kentucky became a separate state. | |||
*1861-1870 Most of Virginia joined the Confederacy, although fifty western counties broke off and were admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia in 1863. Virginia was readmitted to the Union in 1870. <br> | |||
In probate case files you may find wills, inventories, appraisals, accounts, and bonds. Probate records may also be included in deed books and court order books. | |||
Although a number of Virginia records have been destroyed, research in Virginia counties can still be successful. | |||
*A brief history of the settlement and boundary changes of Virginia and the resultant effects on record keeping can be found on [http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=History_of_Virginia Ancestry]. ($) | |||
*A discussion of Virginia Probate Records written by Johni Cerny and Gareth L. Mark for ''Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources ''can be found at [http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Virginia_Probate_Records Ancestry].($) | *A discussion of Virginia Probate Records written by Johni Cerny and Gareth L. Mark for ''Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources ''can be found at [http://www.ancestry.com/wiki/index.php?title=Virginia_Probate_Records Ancestry].($) | ||