Virginia Historical Society

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:fpollard@vahistorical.org fpollard@vahistorical.org] (Frances Pollard, Chief Librarian)

Address:


 * Virginia Historical Society
 * 428 North Boulevard
 * Richmond, Virginia 23220

Telephone:


 * • Main: 804.358.4901
 * • Library: 804.342.9677
 * • Genealogy information: 804.342.9649
 * • Fax: 804.355.2399

Librarians can also provide limited assistance to researchers over the phone 804.342.9677. Hours: Monday - Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed federal holidays. Public transportation, maps, and directions:


 * Parking: Free parking in the VHS lot behind the museum.
 * Map and Directions to the Virginia Historical Society

Internet sites and databases:


 * Virginia Historical Society home page
 * Virginia Historical Society Genealogical Research Page.
 * Virginia Historical Society Online Catalog: Search Library and Manuscript collections.
 * Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, tables of contents, indexes, online access tips
 * "Unknown No Longer." A Database of Virginia Slave Names.

Collection Description

 * Although the Virginia Historical Society has genealogical materials, the Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, is the principal library for genealogical research in Virginia and serves as the official archival repository of the Commonwealth. County records (including deeds, wills, and marriage records), military service records, church records, Land Office records(patents and grants), tax records, census records, and large collections of genealogical notes and charts are located there.
 * Nevertheless, the VHS does have numerous materials and collections helpful to genealogists, such as a wide range of objects, including books and bound serials, Confederate imprints, sheet music, broadsides, newspapers, family and personal papers, Bible records, county histories, census records, business and organizational records, genealogical materials, notes and charts, maps, paintings, prints, postcards, weapons, militaria, glass plate negatives, and 19th–21st century photographs.
 * They have Ancestry.com; various indexes such as Virginia Historical Index; Census Records; Land Records; Ship Passenger Lists and Immigration Lists; Military Records; wills, Marriages and obituaries; county court records; bible records; genealogical notes; birth and death records; newspapers; maps; and African-American genealogy.

Tips

 * Admission to the research library and museum is free.
 * It should be noted that most of our collections have not been digitized and thus are not available for viewing online. Please note that we have closed stacks. This means that researchers must fill out call slips in order to request and examine materials from the library collections. More information about library procedures.
 * The VHS researchers can provide Research Services (maximum of one hour) for a prepaid fee of $25.00. This includes a limited number of photocopies.
 * Fill out this form to Research by mail.
 * Fill out this form to Research online.
 * Submit your Request for photocopies of library and manuscript materials online.

Guides

 * Books and Research Guides at the VHS
 * Research Page for genealogists. What is available on this page: you can ask a librarian about the collections; links to various services they offer; list of Guides on topics such as African American, Virginia's Civil War: A Guide to Manuscripts at the VHS, genealogical resources, finding aids for manuscripts and archives, photographs, and resources for researching Richmond properties; Reading Room and Library information; and Other Resources they offer.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a record at the , a similar record may be available at one of the following.

Similar Collections


 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, Mormon records.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana) has a premier genealogical periodical collection, genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, American Indians, African Americans, Canadians.

Neighboring Collections


 * Library of Virginia, digital sources, databases, vital, military, newspapers, periodicals, tax, history, land records.
 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees.
 * Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Washington DC, Revolutionary War and colonial period, including family and local histories, cemetery transcriptions, Bible records, 15,000 genealogical membership applications.
 * Maryland State Archives, census, court, church, vital, military, probate, land, tax, immigration, naturalizations.