Virginia Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

{{Block indent|The Library of Congress "Local History and Genealogy Reading Room" has moved to the main reading room, but services are unchanged. They are part of the world's largest library including 50,000 genealogies, 100,000 local histories, and collections of manuscripts, microfilms, maps, newspapers, photographs, and published material, strong in North American (including '''Virginia'''), British Isles, and German sources.<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/lhgcoll.html The Collections] in ''Local History and Genealogy Reading Room'' in ''The Library of Congress'' (accessed 8 January 2014).</ref>}}

{{Block indent|Nationwide (including '''Virginia''') censuses, pre-WWI military service and pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. The National Archives Building in Washington, DC (Archives I), houses textual and microfilm records relating to genealogy, American Indians, pre-World War II military and naval-maritime matters, the New Deal, the District of Columbia, the Federal courts, and Congress.<ref>[http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/washington/researcher-info.html Information for Researchers at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC] in ''National Archives'' (accessed 31 December 2013).</ref> <br>}}

{{Block indent|1='''Archives II''' houses documents created after 1900 at the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury, modern military records, passport applications, and District of Columbia records. Many residents of '''Virginia''' are found among their records.<ref name="DB2">William Dollarhide and Ronald A. Bremer. ''America's Best Genealogy Resource Centers'' (Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1998), 2. {{WorldCat|39493985}}; {{FSC|728550|item|disp=FS Library Ref Book 973 J54d}}.</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=This branch has federal agency and court records for Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, '''Virginia''', and West Virginia. All U.S. federal censuses 1790-1940, and indexes. Also has passenger arrivals in Philadelphia 1800-1945 and Baltimore, pension and bounty land warrant applications, naturalizations 1790-1990, early federal history, diplomacy, military history, Chinese-Americans, World War II homefront, National Park Service, merchant marine, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, federal tax evasion and smuggling cases.<ref name="DB12627">Dollarhide and Bremer, 126-27.</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|The [[National Genealogical Society]] (NGS) aims to serve and grow the genealogical community by providing education and training, fostering increased quality and standards, and promoting access to and preservation of genealogical records.<ref>[http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/mission NGS Mission] in ''National Genealogical Society'' (accessed 14 January 2017).</ref> It is the ''premier'' American national society for everyone from the beginner to the most advanced family historian. In conjunction with a sponsoring local genealogical society, it stages an annual '''[http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info NGS Conference]'''. They also provide genealogical education courses, publications and videos.<ref>[http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/ Home] in ''National Genealogical Society'' (accessed 7 January 2017).</ref> Their [[National Genealogical Society Book Loan Collection|NGS Book Loan Collection]] is now housed at the [[St. Louis County Library]] in Missouri. Their online collections include ''The National Intelligencer'' (Washington, DC) newspaper index 1800-1850, indexed Bible records and family groups from NGS members.<ref>[http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/individual_member_benefits Individual Member Benefits] in ''National Genealogical Society'' (accessed 14 January 2017).</ref><br><br>}}

{{Block indent|1=Older than 15-years federal criminal court, federal civil court, and federal bankruptcy court records, and the federal agency records from the District of Columbia, Maryland, '''Virginia''', and West Virginia.<ref name="DB29">Dollarhide and Bremer, 29.</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=The '''Library of Virginia''' Archives Division has Virginia '''births''' and '''deaths''' 1853-1896, and '''marriages'''  before 1936 (including marriage bonds before 1853).<ref name="Gen">[http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/vital-records/genealogy/ Genealogy]  in ''Virginia Department of Health'' in Virginia.gov (accessed 15 May 2017).</ref> Their large genealogical collection also has family Bibles, divorces, histories, biographies, and newspapers. Many of their manuscripts are now online. The '''''General Library''''' contains printed materials, while the '''''Research and Information Services Division''''' consists of government records and other historical documents. Many collections are available '''''online''''', such as Confederate pensions, veterans and widows, an index to wills and administrations, Revolutionary War bounty land, and Virginia Land Office patents and grants.<ref name="DB97" /> <ref>[http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/using_collections.asp#_guides Using the Collections] in ''Library of Virginia'' (accessed 7 January 2014).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=The '''VDH Office of Vital Records''' has:<ref name="Gen" /> |2=1}}

{{Block indent|*Virginia '''births''' 1853-1895, and 1912-present. (Births were not registered 1896-June 1912.)}}

{{Block indent|*Virginia '''marriages''' 1853-present.}}

{{Block indent|*Virginia '''deaths''' 1853-1895, and 1912-present. (Deaths were not registered 1896-June 1912.)}}

{{Block indent|*Virginia '''divorces''' 1918-present.}}

{{Block indent|1=In Virginia, death, marriage and divorce data become “public” information 25 years after the event; birth data are “public” after 100 years. Certificates are available to immediate family members only (mother, father, husband, wife, child, brother, sister and grandparents) with valid ID.<ref name="Divi">[http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/vital-records/ Division of Vital Records] in ''Virginia Department of Health'' in Virginia.gov (accessed 13 May 2017).</ref>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|'''Online index.''' Virginia '''birth''' and '''death''' records from 1912-2014; '''divorce''' records 1918-2014; and '''marriage''' records 1936-2014 are now available in a free '''[http://collections.ancestry.com/search/VA/DOH online index]'''.}}

{{Block indent|1='''Genealogical copies.''' The best place to find Virginia vital records for genealogical research is the '''[[Library of Virginia]]''' Archives Division. Their library has Virginia '''births''' and '''deaths''' 1853-1896, and '''marriages''' before 1936 (including marriage bonds before 1853).<ref name="Gen" />|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1='''Certified copies.''' Close relatives can obtain certified copies of BMD, and divorce records from the VDH Office of Vital Records in these ways:<ref name="Divi" />|2=1}}

{{Block indent|*'''By Mail''' for about 1-2 week service.}}

{{Block indent|*'''Walk-in''' at the VDH Office of Vital Records for same-day service.}}

{{Block indent|*'''Express delivery using a private company.''' For an additional fee, you can can receive express delivery by placing your order on the Internet or by telephone for official certified copies of Virginia birth, death, marriage, or divorce records from the private company '''[https://www.vitalchek.com/vital-records/virginia/virginia-department-of-health VitalChek Virginia]'''.}}

{{Block indent|*'''Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.''' Certified copies of BMD, and divorce records are available for purchase to walk-ins at all full service Virginia DMV locations including service centers and 2Go mobile offices.<br><br>}}

{{Block indent|1=County records such as marriages, county court records, wills, censuses, land, militia lists, bounty lands, passenger lists, tax lists, poll lists, genealogies, newspapers, family Bibles, and African American genealogy. They have a card index to 10 million documents of the Old Dominion, that is '''''Virginia, West Virginia''''', and '''''Kentucky'''''. <ref name="DB97">Dollarhide and Bremer, 97.</ref> <ref>[https://www.virginiahistory.org/collections/how-we-can-help-your-research How We Can Help] in ''Virginia Historical Society'' (accessed 9 April 2021).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=Houses many of the original Church of England (now Episcopalian Church) parish registers, vestry books, and manuscripts of colonial Virginia, as well as photos, and the African American Episcopal Historical Collection.<ref>[http://www.vts.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=118926 Archives] in ''Virginia Theological Seminary'' (accessed 5 January 2014).</ref> Formerly known as the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia.|2=1}}

{{Block indent|They have a relatively small family folder collection. Nevertheless, it is an important resource for settlers coming from '''''Pennsylvania, Maryland''''', and northern '''''Virginia'''''  along the [[Great Valley Road]] into '''''Tennessee, Kentucky''''', and '''''North Carolina'''''.<ref>Dollarhide and Bremer, 105.</ref><br><br>}}

{{Block indent|German immigrants to Virginia in 1714-1717 descendants' database, list of original settlers, genealogies, articles, links, and DNA project.<ref>[http://germanna.org/resources/genealogy/ Genealogy] in ''Germanna Foundation'' (accessed 25 April 2016).</ref><br><br>}}

{{Block indent|1=Very large collection on Germans and Scots-Irish who traveled the [[Great Valley Road]] from '''''Pennsylvania ''''' through '''''Maryland''''' to '''''Virginia''''', including manuscripts, newspapers, biographies, and histories,<ref name="DB97">Dollarhide and Bremer, 97.</ref> and people of the Lower Shenandoah Valley since 1732, emphasizing Winchester and Frederick County in 4000 books, county court abstracts, county histories, genealogies, regimental histories, battles, newspapers since 1787, censuses, 600 linear feet of manuscripts, maps, photos, and oral history tapes.<ref>[https://www.handleyregional.org/resources?field_db_type_target_id%5B180%5D=180 Genealogy and History] in ''Handley Regional Library'' (accessed 9 April 2021).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|Emphasis is on the history of colonial British America, the American Revolution, and the early United States with books, manuscripts, images, Civil War materials, family Bibles, and databases for research in the political and economic life of the thirteen colonies, the new republic, and African American studies.<ref>[http://research.history.org/JDRLibrary.cfm John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library] in ''Colonial Williamsburg'' (accessed 7 January 2014].</ref><br><br>}}

{{Block indent|1=Really good historical materials, family folders, and genealogies of people migrating from the tidelands over the Blue Ridge Mountains into Virginia's Great Valley, many via Lynchburg. Covers Virginia and surrounding states, including county histories and court records, family histories and genealogies, the Civil War, county taxes, and census records.<ref name="DB113">Dollarhide and Bremer, 113.</ref> <ref>[http://www.jmlibrary.org/index.php Home] in ''Jones Memorial Library'' (accessed 7 January 2014).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=A small library with a good name index to nearly every history book published in '''''Virginia ''''' or '''''Kentucky''''', including court records from 1651, indexes and abstracts, Virginia vital records, census records, county histories, biographies, church and cemetery records, family histories, newspapers, obituaries, vertical files, militia records, and fraternal organizations.<ref name="DB113" /> <ref>[http://www.mbwm.org/genealogy.asp Genealogy and History Library] in ''Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library'' (accessed 7 January 2014).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=A good solid genealogical collection. Materials about Portsmouth and Norfolk counties and surrounding areas of southeastern Virginia, including births, marriages, deaths, cemeteries, genealogies, memoirs, scrapbooks and notebooks of Portsmouth families and organizations, photos, Civil War, Jeffrey T Wilson – 1924 "Colored Notes" index and articles from Portsmouth Star newspaper; Bertha Edward - Notes on Portsmouth Black History; African American Historical Association of Portsmouth records, and high school yearbooks.<ref name="DB113" /> <ref>[https://www.portsmouthpubliclibrary.org/162/Collection Collections] in ''Portsmouth Public Library'' (accessed 9 April 2021).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=Wonderful southwest Virginia collection of family folders, books, genealogies, and indexes.<ref name="DB113" /> Open by appointment, the Virginia Room comprehensively collects materials for the Roanoke Valley, for Virginia, and for closely associated states, including surname files, photos, vertical files and oral histories. The [[Great Valley Road]] forked here toward Knoxville, Tennessee, and toward Augusta, Georgia. Some families stayed-over in the area before moving on to Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia.<ref>[http://www.virginiaroom.org/ Virginia Room] in ''Roanoke, Virginia'' (accessed 7 January 2014).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=Virtually a second state archives with a large genealogical collection, colonial records, federal, private, and state manuscripts, vital records, censuses, maps, military records, newspapers, periodicals, African American genealogy, and computer databases.<ref name="DB113" /> <ref>[http://guides.lib.virginia.edu/content.php?pid=81921&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;sid=608081 Genealogy] in ''University of Virginia Library'' (accessed 7 January 2014).</ref><br> |2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=*University of Virginia Library, ''Virginia Genealogy: A Guide to Resources in the University of Virginia Library'' (Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1983). {{WorldCat|8494964|item|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}. {{FSC|76157|item|disp=FS Catalog book 975.5 D23u}}.<br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=Features the famous "Swem Index" of Virginia settlers. This library also has the original papers from Jamestown, the Virginia Company, manuscripts, and journals, including numerous genealogical references. This is the place for researching the earliest Virginia colonists. They also have censuses, ship's passenger lists, vital records, wills and probate records, local history, church records, funeral homes, cemeteries, newspapers, periodicals and indeses.<ref name="DB113" /> <ref>[http://guides.swem.wm.edu/genealogy Genealogy Resources at Swem] in ''Swem Library'' (accessed 7 January 2014).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=Has early Quakers, Germans, Scots-Irish, and other settlers in William Penn's colonies of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. This is also an excellent place to learn about early settlers who migrated to Maryland and '''Virginia'''.<ref name="DB55" /> Records which have been published are normally well-indexed. This society also has 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century manuscripts (letters, diaries, account books, deeds, minutes, and scrapbooks), passenger arrival lists and indexes, <ref>Dollarhide and Bremer, 95.</ref> local and regional history, ethnic and immigrant studies materials, 600,000 books, 20 million manuscripts, over 300,000 graphics items, and 300 years of newspapers.<ref>[http://hsp.org/collections/about-our-collections About Our Collections] in ''Historical Society of Pennsylvania'' (accessed 27 December 2013).</ref> <br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=Think of this as the state archives for the District of Columbia because of the 200 years of local history documents for genealogists.<ref name="DB29" /> This includes families and notable individuals, organizations, businesses,  neighborhoods, religious institutions, local houses of worship, funeral homes, diaries and personal papers, and early 18th century land records for the DC area of Maryland and '''Virginia'''.<ref>[http://www.dchistory.org/research/about-library-collections/ About the Library and Collections] in  ''Historical Society of Washington, D.C.'' (accessed 7 January 2017).</ref> Researchers are welcomed in the Kiplinger Research Library by prior appointment only Tuesday through Friday. Access to the library and collections is free of charge.<ref>[http://www.dchistory.org/research/ Research] in ''Historical Society of Washington, D.C.'' (accessed 7 January 2017).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=This is the premier facility for locating Maryland ancestors who migrated into '''Virginia'''. The Maryland State Archives [http://msa.maryland.gov/ online] has nearly all available public records from 1634 to 1789; most original state and county records through the mid-twentieth century; microfilm copies of land, probate, and vital records to the present; and over 130 major card indexes to Maryland land records and early settlers, newspapers, county records, church records, family, and business records. This is the most complete collection of any of the 13 colonies. It can take up the three days just to check the indexes.<ref name="DB55">Dollarhide and Bremer, 55.</ref> For more information about the state archives, see the following references.|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=*Maryland. Hall of Records. ''A Guide to the Index Holdings at the Hall of Records''. Rev., Bulletin, [Maryland. Hall of Records] No. 17. (Annapolis, Maryland: Hall of Records, 1972.) {{FSC|118379|item|disp=FS Catalog book 975.2 A1 no. 56.}} This is a county-by-county list of indexes and years covered.|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=*Papenfuse, Edward C., et al. ''A Guide to Government Records at the Maryland State Archives: A Comprehensive List by Agency and Record Series''. (Annapolis, Maryland: Maryland State Archives, 1992.) {{FSC|646205|item|disp=FS Catalog book 975.2 A3g.}} This guide lists record types, years covered, and series number.|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=*Papenfuse, Edward C., et. al. ''A Guide to the Maryland Hall of Records: Local, Judicial and Administrative Records on Microfilm''. Volume 1. (Annapolis, Maryland: Hall of Records Commission, 1978.) {{FSC|498131|item|disp=FS Library fiche 6049468; book 975.2 A3pa v. 1.}} Volume one is a detailed list of many records on microfilm for Allegany County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City, Maryland. These include court, probate, and land records. The archives has additional computer printout lists for all counties. You can write to them for information about records of specific localities and time periods.|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=*Radoff, Morris Leon, et al. ''The County Courthouses and Records of Maryland, Part Two: The Records''. (Annapolis, Maryland: Hall of Records Commission, 1963.) {{FSC|146470|item|disp=FS Library fiche 6054101 (fiches 4 and 5), 6054105; book 975.2 B4ma no. 13}} This is a county-by-county list of record types, years covered, and series number.<br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=This is one of the largest research libraries in the world, including excellent genealogical resources for '''Virginia'''. The library has city and telephone directories, vital records indexes, local histories, genealogies, federal and state censuses, passenger lists, genealogical collections (including DAR transcripts), and church records.<ref name="DB81">Dollarhide and Bremer, 81.</ref> For maps, try the Map Division at the same address.[[File:Pennsylvania State Archive building.jpg|thumb|right|142px|Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg]]<br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|1=Their colonial records include many references to people who migrated to '''Virginia'''.<ref name="DB55" /> This huge collection has indexes and original sources associated with the {{FSC|221762|item|disp=''Pennsylvania Archives''}} series, such as vital, military, prison, naturalization, land records, census, ships lists, railroads, mines, and 1.5 million online records<ref name="DB97">Dollarhide and Bremer, 97.</ref> <ref>[http://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Research-Guides.aspx Research Topics at the Pennsylvania State Archives] in ''Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission'' (accessed 23 December 2013).</ref> including [http://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Research-Guides.aspx online genealogy guides].<br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|This repository has family files, family histories, local histories, photos, and artifacts from the Delmarva Penninsula (Delaware, Maryland, and '''Virginia''') also called the "Eastern Shore." Includes correspondence, manuscripts, ledgers, diaries, local business and organizational records, maps, newspapers, land surveys, and oral histories. Microfilm collections hold governmental and church records of Somerset, Worcester, Dorchester and Wicomico counties in Maryland; Accomack and Northampton counties in '''Virginia'''; and Sussex County in Delaware.<ref>[http://www.salisbury.edu/nabb/ Nabb Research Center] in ''Salisbury University'' (accessed 25 April 2017).</ref><br><br>}}

{{Block indent|1=Holds the Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz County's library, including the '''''[http://scgensoc.org/special-collections-tina-brayton-collection/ Tina Brayton Collection]''''' which is equivalent to the ''[[Draper Manuscript Collection]] '' but larger and with a better index, and many compiled genealogies of '''Virginia''', Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia families.<ref name="DB113" /> <ref>[http://scgensoc.org/special-collections-tina-brayton-collection/ The Tina Brayton Collection] in ''Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz County'' (accessed 3 January 2014).</ref><br><br>|2=1}}

{{Block indent|[[Williamsburg Virginia FamilySearch Center]]<br>2017 Newman Road<br>Williamsburg, VA 23188 USA<br>Telephone: 757-220-0266 or 757-232-1417|2}}

{{Block indent|Each center is staffed by volunteers and has varying hours and services. Telephone in advance to verify their hours.|3}}