Spotsylvania County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Spotsylvania County



Parent County
1720--Spotsylvania County was created 2 November 1720 from Essex, King and Queen and King William Counties. County seat: Spotsylvania

Neighboring Counties

 * Caroline
 * Culpeper
 * Hanover
 * Louisa
 * Orange
 * Stafford

African American

 * Fitzgerald, Ruth Coder. A Different Story: A Black History of Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Spotsylvania, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: Unicorn, 1979. Available at FHL.
 * Haley, Alex. Roots. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1976. Available at FHL. [Includes author's descent from Kunta Kinte, born in the spring of 1750 at Juffure, Gambia, captured and brought to the United States in 1767, and sold into slavery in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.]

Church
Baptist


 * Dunaway, Thomas Sanford and Walter Jorgensen Young. An Historical Sketch of Massaponax Baptist Church of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, from 1788 to 1938: First Hundred Years, Compiled and Read at Her Centennial Celebration, September 30, 1888. Fredericksburg, Va.: Carmichael, 1938. Available at FHL.

Church of England


 * Slaughter, Philip and R.A. Brock. History of St. George's Parish in the County of Spotsylvania, and Diocese of Virginia: With a Biography of the Author and a Continuation, Embracing the History of St. George's and Trinity Churches to the Present Time. 1890; reprint, Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1998. Reprint available at FHL.

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. In addition to finding a direct ancestor’s surname listed, and watching to see if more recent publications make additions and corrections to earlier works, this list is also useful for determining if genealogists have published accounts, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, for any members of an ancestor’s “FAN Club” [Family, Associates, and Neighbors]. Checking publications about those individuals can lead you to new information about your own ancestry. Be mindful that compiled genealogies may contain errors.

General


 * Cerny, Johni and Gary J. Zimmerman. Before Germanna. 12 vols. Bountiful, Utah: American Geneal. Lending Library Publishers, 1990. Available at FHL. [Discusses families of German immigrants who settled in Spotsylvania and Orange counties, Virginia.]
 * Felder, Paula S. Forgotten Companions: The First Settlers of Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburgh Town (with Notes on Early Land Use). Fredericksburg, Virginia: Historic Publications of Fredericksburg, 1982. Available at FHL.

Bibliography


 * [Allman] Wise, Erbon W. Wise Footsteps from England and Ireland: An Ancestral Study of Wise and Allied Families. Sulphur, Louisiana: E.W. Wise, 1995. Available at FHL.
 * [Amburgey] Snow, Joy L. Amburgey History: Descendants of Conrad Johannes Amburgey (1682-????) of Germany to U.S.A. Marshfield, Missouri: J.L. Snow, 2009. Available at FHL.
 * [Ball] Vogel, Doris Glade. My Ball Lineage in America. 3 vols. Holcomb, Illinois: D.G. Vogel, 1986. Available at FHL.
 * [Ballard] See also Smith.
 * [Ballard] Miller, Lynne D. Virginia Ballard Families. Lincolnton, North Carolina: L.D. Miller, 2000. Available at FHL.
 * [Beckham] Beckham, Rosemary. Beckham Genealogy: Putting Together What Time Has Torn Apart. New Braunfels, Texas: R. Beckham, 1986. Available at FHL.
 * [Blaydes] Blaydes, Mary Douglas Meriwether. More than Skin Deep or Spotsylvania Ancestors of Maxey Lee Blaydes and Some of Their Connections: or Spotsylvania Ancestors of Maxey Lee Blaydes and Some of Their Connections. Lexington, Kentucky: M.D. Blaydes, 1979. Available at FHL.
 * [Bowling] See Musselman.
 * [Buckner] Turner, Mayme Gertrude Yager and E. LaMar Buckner. Buckner Family Research and Allied Families. MSS., 1992, available at FHL.
 * [Chew] Chew: Family History. 1956?. Available at FHL.
 * [Clore] Yowell, Claude Lindsay, B.C. Holtzclaw, Charles Herbert Huffman, and Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia. Clore, Yager, and Utz Descendants - 1717 Colonists. Harrisonburg, Virginia: Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, 1967. Available at FHL.
 * [Coyle] King, George Harrison Sanford. "McCoyle - Coyle, Spotsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1981):217. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * [Crawford] Rasco, William E. Our Crawford Cousins, the Past 250 Years: The Descendants of John Crawford, 1735-1765, with Links to the Bradfields, Farrars, Jeffersons, McCartneys, Bonners, Johnsons, Jones and Slaughters. Cullman, Alabama: Gregath, 1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Davenport] Davenport, John Scott and Carol White. The Pamunkey Davenports of Colonial Virginia. Hopkinsville, Kentucky: Pamunkey Davenport Family Association, 1998. Available at FHL.
 * [DeButts] Russell, George Ely. "DeButts Family of Maryland and Virginia," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):131-188.
 * [Dillard] Dillard, Carlton Marion. Fielding Dillard (1771-1818) of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and Oglethorpe County, Georgia, and Descendants. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1997. Available at FHL.
 * [Duerson] See Morris and Blaydes.
 * [Durrett] Durrett, Arthur Thurmond. Durrett Family History, ca. 1609-1949. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Ellis] Carter, J.T. and Mrs. J.T. Carter. Ellis Family Genealogy, 1760-1960. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Ethington] Ethington Family Organization and Harold Dean Ethington. DNA Signature of the American Ethington Families: Ethington, Etherington, Edenton, Etherton, Edrington. Sandy, Utah: Ethington Family Organization, 2002. Available at FHL.
 * [Faulconer] Mann, J. William. Faulconers of Virginia: and Related Families of Spotsylvania and Orange Counties, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: J.W. Mann, 198-?. Available at FHL.
 * [Faulconer] Faulconer, Thomas J. Some of the Descendants of James Faulconer: A Soldier of the American Revolution. Indianapolis, Indiana: T.J. Faulconer, 1987. Available at FHL.
 * [Foster] Boss, Lula Reed. Line of Anthony Foster of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Gar] Prewitt, Lorene Bond. Dear Granddaughter. MSS., Bartholomew County Library, Columbus, Indiana; also available at FHL.
 * [Gholson] Gottschalk, Kathrine Cox. Ancestry of Nancy Powell Hawkins (Mrs. William Beverly Hawkins), 434 Erie Ave., Sheboygan, Wisconsin. MSS., National Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C. Available at FHL.
 * [Gordon] Hodges, Frances Beal Smith. Gordons of Spotsylvania County, Virginia: with Notes on Gordons of Scotland. Wichita Falls, Texas: Wichita Multigraphing Co., 1934. Available at FHL. [2 copies at FHL.]
 * [Gosney] Shields, Beth. The Gosney Family in America: 300 Years of History, Bloodlines and Collateral Families. 2 vols. Seminole, Florida: B. Shields, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * [Gresham] Stoffel, Carol D. Vehar. Gresham, Any Way You Spell It: Lineage Book. Troy, Michigan: C.D.V. Stoffel, [1988?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Harrison] Morgan, Richard S. John Harrison (1754-1821), Revolutionary Soldier and Early Settler of Louisville. Centre Hall, Pennsylvania: R.S. Morgan, 1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Hawkins] Wulfeck, Dorothy Ford. Hawkins of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Kentucky: Court Records, Queries, Brief Lineages, Genealogical Notes. Naugatuck, Connecticut: D.F. Wulfeck, 1963?. Available at FHL.
 * [Helm] Bruch, Virginia Sullivan. Proud Wanderers: My Mother's Family -- Helm: With Allied Lines Blakemore, Buck and Neville. 2 vols. Alexandria, Va.: V.S. Bruch, 1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Herndon] Herndon, John Goodwin. The Herndon Family of Virginia. 2 vols. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Engineers Publishing, 1947-1952. Available at FHL.
 * [Holladay] Holladay, Alvis Milton. The Holladay Family. Brentwood, Tn.: A.M. Holladay, Sr., 1983. Available at FHL.
 * [Holt] Sullivan, Elsie Smiley. Our Ancestors. Rossville, Georgia: E.S. Sullivan, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Hull] Herndon, John W. The Hull Family of Northumberland &amp; Spotsylvania Counties, Virginia: Together with the Hull Family that Moved to Northern Mississippi in 1838; Notes on Hulls Living Elsewhere than in Virginia, and Notes on Some Allied Families. MSS., Alderman Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, microfilmed in 1948; also available at FHL.
 * [Hume] Brockman, William Everett. Early American History: Hume and Allied Families. 2 vols. 1916; Minneapolis, Minnesota: W.E. Brockman, 1926. 1926 reprint available at FHL.
 * [Jarman] Campbell, Shirley O'Neal. The Jarman Family of Spotsylvania, Orange, &amp; Albemarle Counties of Virginia. S.O. Campbell, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * [Jones] Cox, Mary Joan Tucker. Breezing through the Jones Tree: John Paul Jones and I. M.J.T. Cox, 1995. Available at FHL.
 * [Key] Key, Marcus M. The Keys of Colonial Virginia: Early Generations and Migrations. Decorah, Iowa: Anundsen Pub., 1998. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Key] Key, Marcus M. The Keys of Colonial Virginia: Early Generations and Migrations. Fredericksburg, Virginia: M.M. Key, 2003. Available at FHL.
 * [Leavell] Lineages, Inc. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Research Report: Leavell (6422-BWH Lange). 1986. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Lee] Thompson, Ann Jones and Forrest Alexander Wolfe. John Lea &amp; Anne Carter Descendants from Virginia to North Carolina. Shelby, North Carolina: Broad River Genealogical Society, 1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Lewis] Lewis, George A. Lewis Congress, 1694-1894: Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of Their Residence in Virginia by the Lewis Family of Bel-Air, Spotsylvania County, September 4th, 1894. Frankfort, Ky.: Geo. A. Lewis, Printer, 1894. Available at FHL.
 * [McCloud] McCloud, Robert Davis and Kenneth Lee McCloud. The McCloud/McLeod Descendants of William McCloud (1759-1820) of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Fayetteville, North Carolina: R.D. McCloud, 1996. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [McCoyle] See Coyle.
 * [McWhirt] McWhirt, Cynthia Christine. The Descendants of John McWhirt, Saddler. Los Angeles, California: C.C. McWhirt, 1982. Available at FHL.
 * [Martin] Dunn, Mrs. Wallace and Martha R. Johns. Dunn Family Genealogy, ca. 1770-1984. Richfield, Kansas: Mrs. W. Dunn, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Marye] Marye, William Bose. "Records of the Marye [of Spotsylvania County] and Staige [of York County] Families of Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 10 (1933):141-149. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [Marye] Eberhart, Edith Whitcraft and Adaline Marye Robertson. The Maryes of Virginia, 1730-1985. Arlington, Virginia: E.W. Eberhart &amp; A.M. Robertson, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Mastin] Mastin, Victor E. A Partial History of Certain Mastin--Rathbun--Dye Families: Mastins - Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Kansas; Rathbuns - New York, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas; Dyes (Two Groups) - New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri. Des Moines, Iowa: V.E. Mastin, 1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Morris] Morris, Clyde L. Our Virginia Ancestors: Morris Family-Spotsylvania County, Duerson Family-Spotsylvania County, Sale Family-Caroline County, Thomas Family-Caroline County and Others Hockaday, Brock, Black, Long, Carneal. Fairfax, Virginia: C.L. Morris, 1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Musselman] Musselman, Carl P. and Mildred H. Musselman. Musselman-Powell &amp; Bowling Families of Spotsylvania &amp; Stafford Counties, Virginia. Glen Allen, Virginia: C.P. Musselman, 1993. Available at FHL.
 * [Parks] White, Richard K. Descendants of Thomas Parks of Virginia. 4 vols. Salt Lake City, Utah?: R.K. White, 199-?. Available at FHL.
 * [Payne] Payne, John C., Toney L. Payne, and Gale Payne Nagy. The Big Payne Book: A History of the Payne Family of Virginia, Western North Carolina, Tennessee, and Missouri. J.C. Payne, 2007. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Posey] Posey: Family Genealogical Data. MSS., Corydon Public Library, Corydon, Indiana; also available at FHL.
 * [Powell] See Musselman.
 * [Roberts] Vanice, William Roberts and Stanley Royce White. Roberts, a Family in Virginia and Kentucky from 1705: The Descendants of John Roberts, the Common Ancestor of this Family. 1977. Available at FHL.
 * [Sandidge] See Gholson.
 * [Scurlock] Scurlock, J.D. Scurlock Family Records. MSS., 1934, available at FHL.
 * [Smith] Miller, Lynne D. Wyatt-Ballard-Smith Families. Lincolnton, North Carolina: L.D. Miller, 2000. Available at FHL.
 * [Sparks] Bidlack, Russell E. [Russell E. Bidlack Genealogical Collection]. MSS., microfilmed in 2005. Available at FHL.
 * [Spotswood] Campbell, Charles. Genealogy of the Spotswood Family in Scotland and Virginia. Albany, New York: J. Munsell, 1868. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Stubblefield] Vick, Mrs. J. Wells and Mrs. Edmon L. Crow. The Brown and Stubblefield Families: And the Allied Families of Priest, Lofland, Hackley, Mott, Shippey, Clarke, Boswell. MSS., available at the National Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C., microfilmed in 1971; also available at FHL.
 * [Stubblefield] Stubblefield, John S. George Stubblefield, 2nd: b. Spotsylvania County, Va., c[a]. 1738, d. Frederick County, Va., 1801. St. Joseph, Michigan: J.S. Stubblefield, 1976. Available at FHL.
 * [Tatom] Tatom, Walter J. and John Plath Green. Stephen Tatom and His Descendants. Dallas, Texas: W.J. Tatom &amp; J.P. Green, 1971. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Thornton] See Posey.
 * [Todd] Todd, Orene Dickinson. Dear Cousins: An Intimate Visit with Five Generations of Todds. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 2001. Available at FHL.
 * [Utz] See Clore.
 * [Warren] Meyer, Harold Irving. Warren Family Notes. MSS., Library of Virginia, also available at FHL.
 * [Watts] Heinemann, Charles Brunk. Watts Families of the Southern States, ca.1635-1933. MSS., 1934, available at FHL.
 * [Watts] Heinemann, Charles Brunk. Edward Watts Family of Virginia and Kentucky: (Watts Book 1). 1934. Available at FHL.
 * [Wilhite] Broyles, Cathy B. Wilhite--Wilhoit, 1825-1982. Chuckey, Tenn.: C.B. Broyles, 1982. Available at FHL.
 * [Willis] Willis, Byrd Charles and Richard Henry Willis. A Sketch of the Willis Family, Fredericksburg Branch. Richmond, Va.: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1909. Available at FHL.
 * [Yager] See also Clore.
 * [Yager] Wilder, Virginia. Descendants of Nicholas Yager, 1676-1764. Utica, Kentucky: McDowell Publications, 1982. Available at FHL.

Immigration

 * Cerny, Johni and Gary J. Zimmerman. Before Germanna. 12 vols. Bountiful, Utah: American Geneal. Lending Library Publishers, 1990. Available at FHL. [Discusses families of German immigrants who settled in Spotsylvania and Orange counties, Virginia.]
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Spotsylvania County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * [http://immigrantservants.com/search/advancedResults.php?surname=&givenName=&varientSurnameSpellings=&gender=&dateOfBirthDay=&dateOfBirthMonth=&dateOfBirthQuantifier=&dateOfBirthYear=&placeOfBirthParish=&placeOfBirthTown=&placeOfBirthCity=&placeOfBirthCounty=&placeOfBirthColony=&placeOfBirthNation=&occupations=&religions=&orphan=&familyPosition=&immigrationYearQualifier=&immigrationYear=&portOfDepartureTown=&portOfDepartureCity=&portOfDepartureCounty=&portOfDepartureNation=&placeOfArrivalTown=&placeOfArrivalCounty=&placeOfArrivalColony=&shipName=&convict=&yearOfIndentureQualifier=&yearOfIndenture=&lengthOfIndentureYears=&lengthOfIndentureMonths=&yearOfFreedomQualifier=&yearOfFreedom=&placeOfIndentureTown=&placeOfIndentureCity=&placeOfIndentureCounty=Spotsylvania&placeOfIndentureColony=Virginia&agentSurname=&agentGivenName=&agentTitle=&masterSurname=&masterGivenName=&masterTitle=&residenceParish=&residenceTown=&residenceCity=&residenceCounty=&residenceColony=&residenceNation=&landowner=&literate=&spouseSurname=&spouseGivenName=&spouseMarriageDateDay=&spouseMarriageDateMonth=&spouseMarriageDateQualifier=&spouseMarriageDateYear=&spouseMarriageLocationParish=&spouseMarriageLocationCounty=&spouseMarriageLocationColony=&spouseMarriageLocationNation=&deathDateDay=&deathDateMonth=&deathDateQualifier=&deathDateYear=&deathLocality=&deathCounty=&deathColony=&deathState=&testate=&proofServantStatus=&proofConvictStatus=&headright=&preServitudeSources=&postServitudeSources=&comments=&family=&sourceCitations=&interestedResearchers= List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Colonial Spotsylvania County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.
 * Ljungstedt, Milnor. "Items from Southern Records" [Showing Family and Trade Connections with Northern Colonies and the Home Countries], The American Genealogist, Vol. 15 (1938):95-104. Available at New England Ancestors ($). [Spotsylvania Co., VA residents: Byrne, Johnson, Lynn, White.]

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 371 patents dated 1666-1803 in what is now Spotsylvania County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2004. [Names of those who received land patents, dates, land descriptions, and references may be viewed free of charge (click "Index" next to the county listing); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.]

Local Histories

 * Coleman, Lee Richelieu and Frasia Davis Trice. An Economic and Social Survey of Spotsylvania County. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia, 1934. Available at FHL.
 * Felder, Paula S. Forgotten Companions: The First Settlers of Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburgh Town (with Notes on Early Land Use). Fredericksburg, Virginia: Historic Publications of Fredericksburg, 1982. Available at FHL.
 * Fitzgerald, Ruth Coder. A Different Story: A Black History of Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Spotsylvania, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: Unicorn, 1979. Available at FHL.
 * Goolrick, John T. Fredericksburg and the Cavalier Country: America's Most Historic Section, It's Homes: It's People and Romances. Richmond, Va.: Garrett &amp; Massie, 1935. Available at FHL.
 * Warner, Thomas Hoskins. History of Old Rappanhannock County, Virginia, 1656-1692: With Introduction, 1608-1656, Including the Present Counties of Essex and Richmond and Parts of Westmoreland, King George, Stafford, Caroline and Spotsylvania Counties. Tappahannock, Virginia: P.P. Warner, 1965. Available at FHL.

Military
French and Indian War


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Spotsylvania County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Spotsylvania County militia officers, soldiers, and veterans; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War


 * Krick, Robert K., J. Roger Mansfield, and Merle C. Strickler. Spotsylvania County Patriots, 1774-1786. 1976?. Available at FHL.
 * Revolutionary Service Record of William Warren (b. 1745) of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and Orange County, North Carolina, in Milton Rubincam, Miscellaneous Wills and Genealogical Notes. 1947. Available at FHL.

Civil War


 * There are many accounts of the Civil War battle fought in Spotsylvania County available at the Family History Library. Keyword search for Spotsylvania Civil War.

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette(1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburgwebsite. In addition, Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have created a database of all runaway advertisements for slaves, indentured servants, transported convicts, and ship deserters listed in this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Petitions

 * Virginia. General Assembly. Legislative Petitions, 1776-1833. Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Available at FHL. [Includes Spotsylvania County Petitions 1776-1820.]

Private Papers

 * [Dangerfield] King, George Harrison Sanford. "Bible Record of Colonel William Daingerfield of 'Coventry,' Spotsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Gazette, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1975):243-247. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * [Durrett] Harter, Mrs. Bert. "Bible of Jonathan Durrett, Spotsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Gazette, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1961):28-30. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Probate
Local Court


 * Will of Thomas Warren of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, 1749, in Milton Rubincam, Miscellaneous Wills and Genealogical Notes. 1947. Available at FHL.
 * Will [and Codicil] of John Waller of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, 1753, MSS., Library of Virginia; also available at FHL.
 * "Wills from Spotsylvania County, Virginia" [Edward Carter, John Gilbert, Edward Herndon] in The Pennsylvania Traveler-Post, Vol. 9 (1972). Available at FHL.

London Courts


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Spotsylvania County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Spotsylvania County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1978):290-292. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Taxation
At first glance, researchers might conclude that Virginia tax lists contain very little family history data, though one soon learns that valuable genealogical conclusions can be drawn from these records, nicknamed "annual censuses," such as: relationships, approximate years of birth, socio-economic status, identification of neighbors, the ability to distinguish between persons of the same name, evidence of land inheritance, years of migration, and years of death.

Virginia began enumerating residents' payments of personal property and land taxes in 1782. These two types of taxation were recorded in separate registers. Personal property tax lists include more names than land tax lists, because they caught more of the population. The Family History Library has an excellent microfilm collection of personal property tax lists from 1782 (or the year the county was organized) well into the late nineteenth century for most counties, but only scattered land tax lists. Microfilm collections at The Library of Virginia include land tax lists for all counties and independent cities for the years 1782 through 1978, as well as personal property tax lists for the years 1782 through 1930 (and every fifth year thereafter). Taxes were not collected in 1808.

Some tax records are available online or in print, though published abstracts often omit useful details found only in the original sources. Statewide indexes can help genealogists identify specific counties where surnames occurred in the past, providing starting points for research.


 * Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Spotsylvania County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. [This publication is based on the 1815 land tax. Spotsylvania County is included in Vol. 4.]

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog