Culpeper County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Culpeper County





History


The county was named after Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper (1635-1689), Colonial Governor of Virginia from 1677 to 1683. The family name was also spelled "Culpeper."

Parent County
1748--Culpeper County was created 23 March 1748 from Orange County. County seat: Culpeper

Variant Spellings

 * Culpepper

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

Getting Started
If you are researching families who lived in Culpeper County, Virginia between the 1760s and 1790s, the Sparacios' books are a great time saver. They comprehensively index several publications covering that period:


 * Sparacio, Ruth Trickey and Sam Sparacio. Surname Index of Antient Press Publications. 14+ vols. McLean, Va.: R. &amp; S. Sparacio, Antient Press, 1993-. 975.5 P22s v. 1-2; publisher's website: Antient Press.

African Americans

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Culpeper County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1802, 1803-1823," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Hodge, Robert A. Some Pre-1871 Vital Statistics on Colored Persons of Culpeper County, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Virginia: R.A. Hodge, 1978.

Cemeteries
For a detailed list, including addresses, phone numbers, and external links, see Culpeper County, Virginia Cemeteries.

The following is a list of cemeteries in Culpeper County:

References


 * Wulfeck, Dorothy Ford. Culpeper County, Virginia, Will Books B and C, Court Suits, Loose Papers, Inscriptions. Naugatuck, Conn.: D.F. Wulfeck, 1965. Available at FHL. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1966):35-36. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Census
1890 Union Veterans


 * Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website. [Includes residents of this county.]

Church

 * Thomas, Arthur Dicken, Angus McDonald Green and Culpeper Historical Society. Early Churches of Culpeper County, Virginia: Colonial and Ante-bellum Congregations. Culpeper, Virginia: Culpeper Historical Society, 1987. Available at FHL.

Baptist


 * Daughters of the American Revolution. Culpeper Minute Men Chapter (Culpepper, Virginia). History of Crooked Run Baptist Church, Culpeper County, Virginia: Names and Dates from Garnett Cemetery, the Corbin-Major Cemetery, Wrenn Inscription, MSS., 1950, available at FHL.
 * Finnell, Woolsey. Reverend Daniel Brown of Culpepper County, Virginia and Allied Families, Webster, Finnell, McCain, Pemberton. [Tuscaloosa?] Ala.: W. Finnell, 1954. Available at FHL. [Baptist preacher.]

Church of England


 * Slaughter, Philip. A History of St. Mark's Parish, Culpeper County, Virginia: With Notes of Old Churches and Old Families, and Illustrations of the Manners and Customs of the Olden Time. Baltimore, Md.: Innes &amp; Co., Printers, 1877. Original edition available at FHL; digital versions at Ancestry ($) and BYU Family History Archives. 1990 reprint available at FHL.

Lutheran


 * Blankenbaker, John. "Hebron" Baptismal Register of the German Lutheran Church in Culpeper/Madison Counties, Virginia 1750 to 1849: Transcribed, Translated and Indexed from the Church Records with a Commentary on the Relationships of the Sponsors to the Parents. Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania: J. Blankenbaker, 2004. Available at FHL.

Chancery Court
The county's chancery causes from 1829 to 1913 — 164,000 images in all — are now available to view online at the Library of Virginia web site, one of 36 counties with chancery court records on-line as part of the Virginia Memory Collection.


 * Wulfeck, Dorothy Ford. Culpeper County, Virginia, Will Books B and C, Court Suits, Loose Papers, Inscriptions. Naugatuck, Conn.: D.F. Wulfeck, 1965. Available at FHL. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1966):35-36. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

District Court of Fredericksburg

The District Court of Fredericksburg and later the Superior Court of Chancery had jurisdiction over certain Culpeper County court cases. An index has been compiled:


 * Indexes of Court Records in the Clerk's Office, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1782-1904. Original records, Fredericksburg City Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Va., microfilmed reproduction available at FHL. [Indexes the following records: District Court law book v. 8, 1782-1792; District Court law books 1790-1793, v. A-F 1789-1811; Superior Court of Law law order books v. G-H 1812-1831; Superior Court of Chancery chancery order books 1814-1831; Hustings Court orders v. A-O 1782-1871; Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery law order books v. A-E 1831-1875; Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery chancery order books v. A-D 1831-1872; Circuit Court chancery order books v. A2, B-C 1875-1904; Fredericksburg District Court (1789-1808) had jurisdiction over the following counties: Spotsylvania (including Fredericksburg), Caroline, King George, Stafford, Orange, and Culpeper; Superior Court of Chancery (1802-1831) had jurisdiction over the following localities: city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, Culpeper, Fauquier, Fairfax, Lancaster, Northumberland, Madison, King George, Orange, Prince William, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Essex, and Westmoreland.]

Loose Papers


 * Wulfeck, Dorothy Ford. Culpeper County, Virginia, Will Books B and C, Court Suits, Loose Papers, Inscriptions. Naugatuck, Conn.: D.F. Wulfeck, 1965. Available at FHL. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1966):35-36. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Superior Court of Chancery

See District Court of Fredericksburg

DNA
DNA has been collected for purported descendants of the following Culpeper County, Virginia residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.


 * [Harrison] Descendant of William Harrison, b. 1756 Culpeper County, Virginia, d. 1822 Madison County, Virginia. Y-DNA 37 Marker Test, FTDNA (labelled H-75, Lineage 1). Genetic signature available online, courtesy: The Harrison DNA Project, World Families Network. [Descendant of Irish Warlord Niall of the Nine Hostages.]
 * [Lear] Multiple descendants of John Lear, d. 1782 Culpeper County, Virginia. Y-DNA 37 and 67 Marker Tests, FTDNA. Genetic signatures available online (labelled Lineage A: L-3, L-4, L-5, L-9), courtesy: The Lear-Lohr-Lair DNA Project, World Families Network.

Genealogy
More than 50 genealogies have been published about Culpeper County families. To view a list, visit Culpeper County, Virginia Genealogy.

Immigration

 * [http://www.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=Culpeper&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 Culpeper County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Vol. II. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Culpeper County.]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800. Vol. III. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Culpeper County.]

Local Histories

 * Jones, Mary Stevens. An 18th Century Perspective, Culpeper County. Culpeper, Virginia: Culpeper Historical Society, 1976. Available at FHL.
 * Green, Raleigh Travers. Genealogical and Historical Notes on Culpeper County, Virginia. Embracing a Revised and Enlarged Edition of Dr. Philip Slaughter's History of St. Mark's Parish. Culpeper, VA, USA: Regional Publishing Company, 1900. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books (full-view); and World Vital Records ($). 1964 reprint available at FHL; 1958 reprint reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1959):137-138. Reprint available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Slaughter, Philip. A History of St. Mark's Parish: Culpeper County, Virginia, with Notes of Old Churches and Old Families, and Illustrations of the Manners and Customs of the Olden Time. Baltimore: Innes &amp; Co., printers, 1877. Available at FHL. Digital versions available at Ancestry ($);Family History Archives; and World Vital Records ($).

Maps

 * Scheel, Eugene M. Culpeper, a Virginia County's History Through 1920. Culpeper, Va.: Culpeper Historical Society, 1982. Available at FHL. [Features include "old roads, mills, stores, plantations, churches, ruins, cemeteries, battles, historic sites, early stream names and boundaries." ]

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1976):29-34. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Culpeper County's 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on p. 29-31.]

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Culpeper County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]
 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view). [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Culpeper County, see pp. 70, 74, 108.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Culpeper County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

Dunmore's War

 * Augusta, Bedford, Botetourt, Culpeper and Fincastle Payrolls and Public Service Claims, 1775: Also Known as Dunmore's War: Enlarged and Photocopied. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library, 2004. Available at FHL.

Revolutionary War

 * Blankenbaker, John. The Culpeper Classes. Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania: J. Blankenbaker, 1999. . [In 1780 and 1781 the Virginia Legislature passed an act requiring the counties to supply a specific number of men for the Continental Army. These men would be divided into classes or divisions within the militia, each under an officer. Culpeper County had 106 classes with a total of 3,000 men.]
 * Godby, Jeannette. A List of Classes in Culpeper County for January 1781 for Recruiting the States Quota of Troops to Serve in the Continental Army. MSS., 1936.
 * List of Militia Classes and Index for Culpeper County, Virginia, for 1781. MSS., Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; reproduction:
 * Ross, Edward. Your Affectionate Cousin: The Rosses of Culpeper County, Virginia, and San Jacinto County, Texas. Houston, Texas: Thornhouse Press, 1994. ["This is the story of the descendants of Daniel Ross -- a veteran on the British side of the American Revolution -- through two of his sons, William (in Virginia) and Wesley (in Texas)"--Acknowledgements.]
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Culpeper County on page 129.]
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

War of 1812

 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Culpeper County, p. 68.]

Civil War

 * Grimsley, Daniel A. Battles in Culpeper County, Virginia, 1861-1865: And Other Articles. Culpeper, Va.: Raleigh Travers Green, 1900. ; digital version at Google Books (full-view).

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. In addition, Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have created a database of all advertisements for runaway 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.

The book An Index for Bell and Howell Microfilm Miscellaneous Titles and Dates, Culpeper, Va. Fredericksburg, Virginia: R.A. Hodge, 198-? is available on microfiche at through the FHL. The book indexes the Culpeper Observer, the Culpeper Times, the Piedmont Advance, and the Culpeper Enterprise from June 24, 1859 through September 21, 1899, and The Exponent, the Culpeper Times, and the Culpeper Exponent from June 9, 1882 through February 8, 1889.]

Private Papers

 * Collection of Papers from Culpeper Co., VA: Dealing with the Payne, Tull, Stewart, Ficklin and Related Families, 1848-1859. Available at FHL.
 * Daughters of the American Revolution. Culpeper Minute Men Chapter (Culpepper, Virginia). Copy of Some Family Bible Records Found in Culpepper County, Culpepper, Virginia. MSS., 1945-1946, available at FHL. [Family Bibles of: Daingerfield, Farish, Ellis B. Long, David Wright Kelly, R.T. Kelly, Richard Payne, Rust, Tutt, George Williams, and Wood.]

Probate
Wills


 * Dorman, John Frederick, Culpeper County, Virginia: Will Book A, 1749 - 1770. Washington, District of Columbia: [J.F. Dorman], 1956. Available at FHL; digital verstion at World Vital Records ($).
 * Green, Susanna Thornton and James W. Green. The Will of Robert Green of Culpeper County, Va. 1895; reprint with supplements, 1957. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1958):91-92. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Wulfeck, Dorothy Ford. Culpeper County, Virginia, Will Books B and C, Court Suits, Loose Papers, Inscriptions. Naugatuck, Conn.: D.F. Wulfeck, 1965. Available at FHL. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1966):35-36. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Culpeper County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1964):63-66. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1782-1823] Heinegg, Paul. "Culpeper County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1802, 1803-1823," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1783] Norris, Mary Boldridge. Property Tax List of Culpeper County, Virginia: And Names of Slaves, 1783. Raleigh, N.C.: n.p., 1936. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [1783] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Available at FHL. [1783 personal property tax list of Culpeper County.]
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Culpeper County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1788-1789] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1976):29-34. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Culpeper County's 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on p. 29-31.]
 * [1791] Indexed images of the 1791 Personal Property Tax List of Culpeper County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] "Culpeper County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1972):185-190; Vol. 16, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1972):277-280; Vol. 17, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1973):29-32; Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1973):93-100. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [1801] Images of the 1801 Personal Property Tax List of Culpeper County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Culpeper County is included in Vol. 4.]

Vital Records
Marriage


 * King, George H.S. "Some Culpeper County Marriages," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):176. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [Identifies marriage license fees some men paid in 1751 and 1754. These entries were found in the Chancery Suit Clayton v. Gray, File #49, Fredericksburg District Court.]

Death

Beth Fridley has published abstracts of Culpeper County death records online at Ancestry:


 * Culpeper County, Virginia Deaths, 1854 - 1879 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Culpeper County, Virginia Deaths, 1880-96 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).

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