Frederick County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Frederick County

Virginia county in the Shenandoah Valley region.





History


The county is named after Prince Frederick of Wales (1707-1751), the son of King George II of Great Britain.

Parent County
1738--Frederick County was created 1 August 1738 from Orange County. County seat: Winchester

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1880
 * Frederick Parish Register baptisms, marriages, and burials are lost
 * Pre-1764 Frederick Parish Vestry Minutes are lost
 * No court records 1738 to 1743

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Frederick County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1966):174-178. Available at ; digital version at New England 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 American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Frederick County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1802," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Frederick County Personal Property Tax List 1803-1836," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Cemeteries

 * Rosenberger, Fietta. "St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery (Old Furnace), Frederick County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):275-279; Vol. 21, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1977):36-42. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Triplett, Ralph L. "Frederick County, Virginia, Cemeteries," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1971):97-98. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Triplett, Ralph L. "Rock Enon Cemetery, Frederick County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1972):63-64. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Triplett, Ralph L. "The Old Johnson Graveyard, Frederick County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1975):45. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * Triplett, Ralph L. "Triplett Cemetery, Frederick County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1971):9-10. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Census
1790 - Lost.

1800 - Lost.

1810


 * 1810 Frederick County, Virginia Census. Beverly, W. Va.: Crickard, 1970., 1979. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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 of England
Frederick Parish was organized in 1744. It was renamed in 1866.

Histories


 * 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. ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * "Frederick Parish And Its Divisions," Proceedings of The Clarke County Historical Association, Vol. XIV (1956-1957):16-26; digital version at Clarke History.
 * Meade, Everard Kidder. "Frederick Parish, Virginia, 1744-1780, Its Churches, Chapels, Ministers and Vestries," Proceedings of the Clarke County Historical Association, Part I: Vol. 5 (1945):18-38 ( 975.598/B1 C4c v. 5 ([1945]); digital version at Clarke History); Part II: Vol. 6 (1946):24-46 ( 975.598/B1 C4c v. 6 ([1946]); digital version at Clarke History). See also "Appendix I: Legislative Record of Frederick Parish," in Vol. 6 (1946):47-49.
 * Reviewed by G. MacLaren Brydon in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 56, No. 1 (Jan., 1948), pp. 102-104. Review: ; digital version of review at JSTOR ($).

Records

A register of baptisms, marriages, and burials cannot be found for Frederick Parish. Vestry minutes, dating from 1764 to 1818, are kept at the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia Library, near Alexandria, Va. The Library of Virginia has a photocopy, which FHL has microfilmed: 31331. Noted Virginia genealogist Victor S. Dunn published abstracts of the records in Volumes 43 to 48+ of the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Indexes may be found at the end of each volume:


 * Dunn, Victor S. "Frederick Parish, Frederick County, Virginia Vestry Book, 1764-1818 (Overseers of Poor)," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Aug. 2005), 179-198; Vol. 43, No. 4 (Nov. 2005):281-290; Vol. 44, No. 1 (Feb. 2006):23-44; Vol. 44, No. 2 (May 2006):119-130; Vol. 44, No. 3 (Aug. 2006):241-260; Vol. 45, No. 1 (Feb. 2007):32-38; Vol. 45, No. 2 (May 2007):156-166; Vol. 45, No. 3 (Aug. 2007):215-222; Vol. 46, No. 1 (Feb. 2008):51-60; Vol. 46, No. 3 (Aug. 2008):222-230; Vol. 46, No. 4 (Nov. 2008):309-319; Vol. 47, No. 4 (Nov. 2009):310-318; Vol. 48, No. 1 (Feb. 2010):71-79; Vol. 48, No. 2 (May 2010):141-150; Vol. 48, No. 3 (Aug. 2010):235-246.

Quakers

 * Brown, Jane Douglas Summers and Jones Memorial Library. Jane Douglas Summers Brown (1903-) Quaker Records: Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Virginia); MS 1515. MSS, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, Va. Available on 26 microfilms through [Includes records of Frederick County Quakers; Brown assisted "William Wade Hinshaw in the writing of the Virginia volume of the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy."]
 * Hutton, James V. "The Quakers Exiled in Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia, 1777-1778," Journal [Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society], Vol. 17 (2005).
 * Joint Committee of Hopewell Friends. Hopewell Friends History 1734-1934: Frederick County, Virginia: Records of Hopewell Monthly Meetings and Meetings Reporting to Hopewell. Strasburg, VA, USA: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1936. ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Court
The Family History Library has a good microfilm collection of Frederick County court order books. The quality of the microfilm; however, obscures the page numbers in some early volumes, making them difficult to use.

Genealogy
More than 75 genealogies have been published about Frederick County families. To view a list, visit Frederick County, Virginia Genealogy.

Historic Residences

 * Quarles, Garland Redd. Some Old Homes in Frederick County, Virginia. Winchester, Virginia : Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, 1990.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will of a resident of Frederick County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * [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=Frederick&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 Frederick County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.
 * Wayland, John Walter. The German Element of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. n.p.: J.W. Wayland, 1979. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Land
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.]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Vol. II. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Frederick County.]
 * Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800. Vol. III. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Frederick County.]
 * Massanutten Area Atlas. Original records, Shenandoah County Archives, Woodstock, Va. Microfilmed reproduction: [This is a bound book of hand drawn maps showing property boundaries for grant map, ca. 1748-1915. It covers parts of Shenandoah, Warren and Page counties.]
 * Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. [Includes Frederick County, Virginia.]

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. 975.59 H2c 1963;; digital version at Ancestry ($); BYU Family History Archives and World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]
 * Clem, Gladys Bauserman. Stories of the Shenandoah. Staunton, Va.: n.p., 1948. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Davis, Julia. The Shenandoah. New York: Farrar &amp; Rinehart, c1945. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Gordon, Armistead C. In the Picturesque Shenandoah Valley. Richmond: Garrett &amp; Massie, c1930. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Hutton, James Vernon. Local History Articles, Frederick County, Virginia. Winchester, Virginia: n.p., 1979. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Ingersoll, Ernest. To the Shenandoah and Beyond: The Chronicle of a Leisurely Journey through the Uplands of Virginia and Tennessee, Sketching Their Scenery, Noting Their Legends, Portraying Social and Material Progress, and Explaining Routes of Travel. New York: Leve &amp; Alden, 1885. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * MacDonald, Rose Mortimer Ellzey. Clarke County, a Daughter of Frederick: A History of Early Families and Homes. Berryville, Va.: Blue Ridge Press, 1979. Original edition and supplement available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 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 Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * Paxton, Alexander Sterret. Memory Days in which the Shenandoah Valley is Seen in Retrospection: With Glimpses of School Days and the Life of Virginia People of Fifty Years Ago. New York: Neale Pub. Co., 1908. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Strickler, Harry Miller. Massanutten, Settled by the Pennsylvania Pilgrim, 1726: The First White Settlement in the Shenandoah Valley. n.p.: n.p., c1924. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps

 * Geertsema, Galtjo and Cecil O'Dell. Northern Neck of Virginia, Old Frederick County: A Historical Map Emphasizing the Period from 1725 to 1745: To Illustrate Pioneers of Old Frederick County, Virginia by Cecil O'Dell. C. O'Dell, 1995. Available at.
 * Massanutten Area Atlas. Original records, Shenandoah County Archives, Woodstock, Va. Microfilmed reproduction available at . [This is a bound book of hand drawn maps showing property boundaries for grant map, ca. 1748-1915. It covers parts of Shenandoah, Warren and Page counties.]

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Frederick 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 ; 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 Frederick County, see pp. 79-82, 108.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Frederick County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]
 * Ward, Flora Lusk et al. Officers and Men of Frederick County, Virginia, Militia in the Year 1756. MSS., available at.

Revolutionary War
Frederick County, Virginia and Captain Daniel Morgan's Independent Rifle Company contributed soldiers to the 11th Virginia Regiment in 1777.


 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. ; digital version at Google Books (full-view). [Includes a chapter titled "A Partial List of Capt. Daniel Morgan's Rifle Company of Winchester, Frederick Co., Va., July 14, 1775," see p. 171.]
 * Hale, Laura Virginia. A Bicentennial Remembrance: The Revolutionary Years, 1776-1781, in Old Frederick County, Virginia. L.V. Hale, 1978. Available at.
 * Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. Men and Events of the Revolution in Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia. Winchester, Virginia, 1975. Available at.
 * 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, Frederick County on page 134.]
 * 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, Frederick County, p. 81. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * Civil War Battles in Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia, 1861-1865. Winchester, Virginia: The Commission, 1960?. Digital book available at Ancestry ($).

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.

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 Winchester silversmiths.]

Private Papers

 * [Barton] Davis, Bruce G. "Barton Family Bible, Frederick County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1964):28-30. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * [Byrd] Meade, Everard Kidder. "The Papers of Richard Evelyn Byrd, I, of Frederick County, Virginia. A Note on a Valuable Collection of Family Letters and Other Documents with Extracts Therefrom," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr., 1946), pp. 106-118. Available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).

Probate
Local Court

SamPubCo has created a free online resource that serves as a good starting place to search for Colonial Frederick County wills:


 * Frederick County, Virginia Will Testators Index, Books 1-3

Other Frederick County probate resources include:


 * Kangas, M. N. Frederick County, Virginia, Wills &amp; Administrations, 1795-1816. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. Available at . Digital book available at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * "Wills in Frederick County, Va., Prior to 1805," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Apr. 1910):204-212. Available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).

London Courts


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

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1746] Frederick County 1746 rental, Library of Virginia, Miscellaneous Microfilm 4,624.
 * [1750] Frederick County 1750 rental, Library of Virginia, Miscellaneous Microfilm 4,624.
 * [1758] Quisenberry, A.C. "Election of Col. Geo. Washington, 1758," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 6(1898):162-173. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1759] Frederick County 1759 rental, Library of Virginia, Miscellaneous Microfilm 4,624.
 * [1764] Frederick County 1764 rental, Library of Virginia, Miscellaneous Microfilm 4,624.
 * [1782] Personal Property Tax Lists, 1782, Frederick Findings, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Fall 1990); Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
 * [1782-1802] Heinegg, Paul. "Frederick County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1802," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Frederick County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1791] Indexed images of the 1791 Personal Property Tax Lists of Frederick County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Images of the 1800 Personal Property Tax List of Frederick County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] "Frederick County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1979):8-14; Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):97-103; Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1979):168-172; Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1979):266-270; Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1980):5-8; Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr. 1980). Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($). [Vol. 24, No. 2 refers to the City of Winchester.]
 * [1803-1836] Heinegg, Paul. "Frederick County Personal Property Tax List 1803-1836," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at . [The source of this publication is the 1815 land tax. Frederick County is included in Vol. 4.]

Vital Records
Birth


 * Fridley, Beth, comp. Frederick County Virginia Birth Records, 1855-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage


 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake. Frederick County, Virginia, Marriages, 1771-1825. Smithfield, Virginia: Davis, 1979. Available at . Digital book available at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Societies and Libraries

 * Stewart Bell, Jr. Archives Room, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, Virginia [Collection includes a vast amount of genealogical material.]

Websites

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