Clarke County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Clarke County, Virginia ancestry, family history and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, immigration records, and military records.

Clarke County Virginia Courthouse
Clarke County Courthouse P.O. Box 189 102 N. Church Street Berryville, Virginia 22611-0189 Phone: 540-995-5116

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1836

Clarke County Virginia History


The county was named after George Rogers Clark (1751-1818), a prominent military officer in the Revolutionary War.

Parent County
1836--Clarke County was created 8 March 1836 from Frederick County. County seat: Berryville

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Virginia County Boundary Maps" (1617-1995) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Variant Spellings

 * Clark

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.


 * Lost census: 1890

Research Guides

 * Dorman, John Frederick. "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Clarke County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1964):23. ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).


 * Good, Rebecca H. and Rebecca A. Ebert. Finding Your People in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1998. 4th ed.

African Americans
Freedmen's

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

The following is a list of cemeteries in Clarke County:

Census
1890 Union Veterans


 * "Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.

Baptist

 * Chappelear, Nancy. "Berryville Baptist Church Cemetery Records," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1966):66-68. Digital version at American Ancestors ($)..
 * Berryville Baptist Church Records, 1841-1860. . Includes meeting minutes and membership lists.

Church of England
See also Frederick Parish


 * Chambers, Benjamin Duvall. Old Chapel and the Parish in Clarke County, Virginia: A History from the Founding of Frederick Parish, 1738 to the Centenary of Christ Church, Millwood, 1932. Washington: unknown, 1932. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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

Land and Property
Grants and Patents


 * Dunn. 165 patents dated 1734-1790 in what is now Clarke and Frederick Counties, 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

 * Cartmell, T. K. Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants: A History of Frederick County, Virginia (Illustrated) from Its Formation in 1738 to 1908, Compiled Mainly from Original Records of Old Frederick County, Now Hampshire, Berkeley, Shenandoah, Jefferson, Hardy, Clarke, Warren, Morgan and Frederick. n.p.: n.p., c1909. Available at ; ; ($); Ancestry; and World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]
 * Gold, Thomas Daniel. History of Clarke County, Virginia and Its Connection with the War Between the States: With Illustrations of Colonial Homes and of Confederate Officers. Berryville, Va.: C.R. Hughes, 1914. Available at ; digital version at Google Books (full-view). 1962 reprint also available at.
 * Henry Howe, Historical Collections Of Virginia 1845
 * MacDonald, Rose Mortimer Ellzey. Clarke County, a Daughter of Frederick: A History of Early Families and Homes. Berryville, Va.: Blue Ridge Press, 1979. Original edition and supplement available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Norris, J. E.. History of the Lower Shenandoah Valley Counties of Frederick, Berkeley, Jefferson and Clarke: Their Early Settlement and Progress to the Present Time, Geological Features, a Description of Their Historic and Interesting Localities, Cities, Towns and Villages, Portraits of Some of the Prominent Men, and Biographies of Many of the Representative Citizens. Chicago: A. Warner, 1890. Original edition available at ; 1972 reprint available at ; digital version of original edition at ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Maps



 * Scheel, Eugene M. Clarke County. Warrenton, Va.: Piedmont Press, 1990. Available at . [Features include "old roads, mills, stores, plantations, churches, ruins, cemeteries, battles, historic sites, early stream names and boundaries." ]

Revolutionary War

 * 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, Western District, Clark County [sic] on page 134.]

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, Clarke County, p. 68.]

Civil War

 * - 1st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate).
 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Nelson Rifles), Company I (Clarke Rifles)
 * - 6th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company D (Clarke Cavalry).
 * - 11th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry. Company K.
 * - 23rd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company D.

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * Clarke County Virginia Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battles were fought in Clarke County.


 * July 17-18, 1864 = Cool Spring, also known as Island Ford, Parkers Ford, Snickers Ferry, or Castleman’s Ferry
 * September 3-4, 1864 = Berryville


 * Maps of Civil War battles in Virginia: 1861 and 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

 * Virginia

Newspapers
Online Newspapers


 * 1899-1910 - Clarke Courier at Chronicling America - free.

Occupations

 * Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. Available at . [Includes a section on Berryville watchmakers.]

Probate Records

 * 1826-1845; 1845-1852 - Images of Wills and Inventories Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1845 - 1852 - Indexes to Wills and Inventories 1845-52 Virginia Pioneers ($)

Birth

 * 1878-1896 - Fridley, Beth. Clarke County, Virginia Births, 1878-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1836-1933 - Clarke County Marriage Index 1836-1933. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Death

 * 1853-1896 - Fridley, Beth. Clarke County, Virginia Deaths, 1853-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

Family History Centers
Clarke County Historical Association - P.O.Box 306, 32 E Main St., Berryville, VA 22611--URL: www.clarkehistory.org--has searchable online catalog on website. Open Thurs-Sat 11-4--540-955-2600--archives@clarkehistory.org

Clarke County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Clarke County, Virginia USGENWEB
 * Clarke County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Clarke County Historical Association
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List