The People of Virginia

The original European settlers came in the early 17th century from the midland and southern counties of England. They first settled in Virginia's tidewater (coastal plain). Although the first Blacks arrived in 1619, large numbers of Blacks were imported beginning about 1680. Small landholders moved westward to the Piedmont, where they were joined by a new wave of English and Scottish immigrants.

In the early 1700s, French Huguenots arrived, followed by German workers imported between 1714 and 1717 to work iron furnaces in the Piedmont area. During the 1730s and 1740s, a large number of settlers of Ulster Scot and German descent moved southward from Pennsylvania down the Allegheny Ridges into the Shenandoah Valley.

Beginning in the late 18th century, Virginia lost many residents as families moved westward to new states and territories. There was very little foreign immigration to Virginia after 1800.

Records

Most surviving lists of colonial Virginia immigrants have been published in various sources. Almost all names of colonial immigrants listed in published sources are indexed in P. William Filby, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, described in the United States Research Outline (30972) "Emigration and Immigration" section. The outline lists several other important sources for finding information about immigrants. These nationwide sources include many references to people who settled in Virginia. The Tracing Immigrant Origins Research Outline (34111) introduces the principles, search strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant ancestor's original hometown.

The Biographical Dictionary of Early Virginia, 1607- 1660 lists many immigrants. See the “Biography” section of this outline.

A comprehensive list of about 140,000 immigrants to America from Britain is:

Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1776, and Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775. Novato, Calif.: Brøderbund Software, 1996. (FHL compact disc no. 9 pt. 350; computer number 784052 [does not circulate to Family History Centers].) Includes numerous Virginia immigrants. May show British hometown, emigration date, ship, destination, and text of the document abstract.

The major port in Virginia was Norfolk, but many settlers arrived at Baltimore, Philadelphia, or other ports and then migrated to Virginia.

The Family History Library and the National Archives have many of the post-1820 passenger lists and indexes for Baltimore, Philadelphia, and other major ports. These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog Locality Search under [STATE], [COUNTY], [CITY] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION.

The Family History Library and the National Archives also have incomplete passenger lists for the following ports (all listed under computer number 216254):

• Alexandria, 1820-1865 (FHL film 830231)
• East River, 1830 (FHL film 830232)
• Hampton, 1820-1821 (FHL film 830234)
• Norfolk and Portsmouth, 1820-1857 (FHL film 830236)
• Petersburg, 1820-1821 (FHL film 830238)
• Richmond, 1820-1844 (FHL film 830246)