R E S E A R C H   G U I D A N C E

West Virginia
Research Outline
   

Table of Contents
Records Of The Family History Library
Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
Land And Property
Maps
Military Records
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Periodicals
Probate Records
Taxation
Vital Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions

PROBATE RECORDSLook this term up in the glossary.

Probate records of West Virginia have been kept by the county courts. You can obtain copies of the complete probate packetsLook this term up in the glossary. by contacting the county clerk's office in the appropriate courthouse. Some probate matters have been recorded in deed booksLook this term up in the glossary. and court order booksLook this term up in the glossary..

The Family History Library has copies of many calendars of willsLook this term up in the glossary., order booksLook this term up in the glossary., witnessLook this term up in the glossary. books, bondsLook this term up in the glossary., fee books, inventoriesLook this term up in the glossary., appraisalsLook this term up in the glossary., and bills of saleLook this term up in the glossary. from most counties. From Kanawha County, for example, the library has 208 microfilms of fiduciary settlements for 1871 to 1968, and 121 films of wills for 1820 to 1968.

The following publications index early wills and estate settlements:

Johnston, Ross B. West Virginia Estate Settlements 1753-1850. Fort Worth, Tex.: American Reference Publishers, Inc., 1969. (FHL book 975.4 S2j.) This is arranged by counties and is indexed.

Torrence, Clayton. Virginia Wills and Administrations, 1632-1800. 1930. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965. (FHL book 975.5 P22t; film 844943)


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TAXATIONLook this term up in the glossary.

A set of annual land tax assessment records from 1782 to 1900 is available at the State Auditor's Office (Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305-0300). Duplicate copies are usually found at the county clerk's offices in the land books.

The Virginia State Library has the original personal property tax books for West Virginia counties from 1782 to 1863. The West Virginia Archives and History Library has tax books from 1863 to 1935. See the Virginia Research Outline for information on pre-1863 tax records.

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the nineteenth century tax records of most counties.

The 1787 personal property lists have been published as a substitute for the 1790 census (see the “Census” section) in Netti Schreiner-Yantis and Florence Speakman Love, comps., The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Names of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years. 3 vols. (Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987; FHL book 975.5 R4sn).

As a substitute for the missing 1800 Virginia census, use the abstracts of the personal property tax lists of 1800 for the 13 counties in the area that became West Virginia. These have been published in Steven A. Bridges, Virginians in 1800: Counties of West Virginia (Trumbull, Conn.: Steven A. Bridges, 1987; FHL book 975.4 R4b).

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