Westmoreland County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Westmoreland County

Parent County
1653--Westmoreland County was created 5 July 1653 from Northumberland County. County seat: Montross

Boundary Changes
In 1662, Westmoreland County and Northumberland County were temporarily joined into a single county, see: Mrs. Milnor Ljungstedt, "Westmoreland and Northumberland Joined," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan. 1924):46-47. Available at JSTOR.

Neighboring Counties

 * Charles County, Maryland
 * Essex
 * King George
 * Northumberland
 * Richmond
 * St. Mary's County, Maryland

Cemeteries

 * "Old Tombstones in Westmoreland County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Oct. 1898):93-98. Available at JSTOR.
 * "Inscriptions on Old Tombstones in Westmoreland and Northumberland Counties," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jul. 1900):25-31. Available at JSTOR.
 * Beale, G.W. "Early Tombs in Westmoreland, Richmond, and Northumberland Counties," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Oct. 1902):123-130. Available at JSTOR.
 * "Early Tombs in Westmoreland, Richmond, and Northumberland Counties," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jan. 1903):191-195. Available at JSTOR.

Church
Church of England


 * Ljungstedt, Mrs. Milnor. "Westmoreland Parishes," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Jul. 1926):258. Available at JSTOR.
 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of Westmoreland and King George Counties, Virginia, Part I," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 56, No. 2 (Apr. 1948):154-172. Available at JSTOR.
 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of Westmoreland and King George Counties, Virginia, Part II," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Jul. 1948):280-293. Available at JSTOR.

Court
Indexes and images to Westmoreland County, Virginia Chancery Records 1753-1902 (incomplete) are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, which were often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Family Histories
Bibliography


 * [Ashton] Fitzhugh, Norman S. "Captain John Ashton of Westmoreland County, Virginia, and Some of His Descendants," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr. 1934):151-155. Available at JSTOR.
 * [Butler] "Letters from Lawrence Butler, of Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Mrs. Anna F. Cradock, Cumley House, near Harborough, Leicestershire, England [1780s]," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul. 1932):259-267; Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct. 1932):362-370; Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan. 1933):24-32; Vol. 41, No. 2 (Apr. 1933):111-116. Available at JSTOR.
 * [DeButts] Russell, George Ely. "DeButts Family of Maryland and Virginia," The Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Fall 1998):131-188.
 * [Kelly] Kelly, J.Y. "Kelly of Westmoreland Co.," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Oct. 1906):129-131. Available at JSTOR.
 * [Newton] Cochran, Charles F. "Early Generations of the Newton Family of Westmoreland County, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jul. 1928):293-302; Vol. 37, No. 1 (Jan. 1929):87-91; Vol. 37, No. 2 (Apr. 1929):179-184; Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul. 1929):283-288.
 * [Washington] Tyler, Lyon G. "Col. John Washington: Further Details of His Life from the Records of Westmoreland Co., Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jul. 1893):38-49. Available at JSTOR.

Historic Buildings

 * [Photograph] "The Colonial Mansion and Grounds at Wakefield Near Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 14, Index to Vol. 14 (Jan. 1934). Available at JSTOR.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Cople Parish, Leeds [Leedstown], and Westmoreland 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=Westmoreland&placeOfIndentureColony=&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 from Europe ]who served labor terms in Colonial Westmoreland County, Virginia (work in progress), Courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land

 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia County Records, New Series. Vol. I, Westmoreland County. Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey: The Genealogical Association, 1913. Digital book available at Ancestry. [Includes land grants.]
 * Fleet, Beverley. Virginia Colonial Abstracts: Westmoreland County, 1653-1657. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1961. Digital book available at Ancestry. [Includes deeds.]

Local Histories

 * Wright, T. R. B. Westmoreland County, Virginia: Parts I and II: A Short Chapter and Bright Day in its History. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, Printers, 1912. Digital book available at Ancestry.

Military

 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia County Records, New Series. Vol. I, Westmoreland County. Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey: The Genealogical Association, 1913. Digital book available at Ancestry. [Includes militia records.]

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.

Probate
Local Court


 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia County Records, New Series. Vol. I, Westmoreland County. Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey: The Genealogical Association, 1913. Digital book available at Ancestry. [Includes wills.]
 * Fleet, Beverley. Virginia Colonial Abstracts: Westmoreland County, 1653-1657. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1961. Digital book available at Ancestry. [Includes wills.]
 * Westmoreland County, Virginia Wills, 1654-1800. Database available at Ancestry.

London Courts


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

Slavery

 * "Slave Owners, Westmoreland County, Va., 1782," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Jan. 1902):229-235. Available at JSTOR.

Taxation

 * 1791 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Westmoreland County, Virginia are indexed online at Binns Genealogy.

Vital Records
Marriages


 * King, George H.S. "Some Westmoreland County Marriages 1691-1692," The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan. 1943):85. Available at JSTOR.

Voting

 * "Polls in Westmoreland County for Election of Burgesses [1744-1761]," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jul. 1899):32. Available at JSTOR. Identifies candidates by name, but not voters.

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