James City County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; James City County



County Courthouse
James City County Circuit Court 5201 Monticello Avenue Suite Six Williamsburg, VA 23188-8218 (757) 564-2242

The James City County Courthouse houses records for both the City of Williamsburg and James City County, which are separate municipalities. Deeds for each municipality are maintained separately and may have different numbering schemes (e.g., six digit instrument numbers for Williamsburg deeds and nine digit instrument numbers for James City County deeds).

Parent County
1634--James City was created in 1634 as an original shire or county. County seat: Williamsburg

Record Loss
Like many county courthouses in Virginia during the Civil War, the James City County Courthouse was burned in 1864. Consequently, few court records from prior to that date exist, although a few records from the 1850s are housed in the current Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse. Deed Book 1 and Will Book 1 both include some records from the 1850's.

Neighboring Counties

 * Charles City
 * Gloucester
 * King and Queen
 * Isle of Wight
 * New Kent
 * Surry
 * York

Church
Nancy Chappelear, Bruton and Middleton Parishes, James City County, Virginia, Parish Register, 1662-1797 (Chappelear &amp; Baird, 1966) 50 pgs (included in Family History Library Collection)

Records from Bruton Parish Church are housed in Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. The collection is open, and includes records from as far back as 1662, and as recent as 1986.

Court
The Clerk's Office in the Circuit Court has a variety of City of Williamsburg and James City County records including deed and will books, twenteith-century tax records, tax assessors, maps, plats, military induction records, marriage records, death records, order books and other documents related to the modern period. A searchable computer-based index exists for deeds, marriages and wills, as follows:

You must visit the courthouse reading room in person (8:30 - 4:00 p.m., Monday thru Friday) in order to search the computer index. Recent records are added to the index within about a week.

The Clerk of Circuit Court does not accept mail in requests. However, all James City County records are available on microfilm through Interlibrary Loan via the Library of Virginia. Scanners are not permitted; cameras may or may not be allowed. A copier is available.

Local Histories
Martha W. McCartney, James City County: Keystone of the Commonwealth (Virginia Beach, Va: Donning Company/Publishers, 1997), 640 pgs (click here for a summary)

Wikipedia entry on James City County

Military
The Clerk's Office in the Circuit Court has military induction records.

Newspapers
The Virginia Gazette

There are two distinct publication timeframes for newspapers titled The Virginia Gazette.

The was paper was first published weekly in Williamsburg, Virginia during much of the 18th century, when Williamsburg was the capital of the colony. Beginning in 1766, another printer launched a competing publication by the same name. In total, three different publishers used the name "Virginia Gazette" during the Colonial era, and are listed separately in the digital collection, grouped by publisher. Digitized images of the paper can be viewed on-line through the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Digital Library. The collection is indexed for publication years 1736 to 1780. Williamsburg Regional Library has microfilm of the Colonial era collection, as well.

More recently, the Virginia Gazette was revived in 1930 by publisher J.A. Osborne as part of the first Colonial Williamsburg renovation.

The Richmond Dispatch

Digitized images of the paper through the Library of Congress. Collection covers from 1900 to 1903.

The Times (Richmond, Va)

Digitized images of the paper through the Library of Congress. Collection covers from 1901 and 1903.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Digitized images of the paper through the Library of Congress. Collection covers from 1907 to 1910.

Probate
York County Probate Records

This collection includes digitized images of the probate records from York County during the colonial period. York county abuts James City County, and these records include information from Williamsburg, Virginia. The images are provided by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The records can be digitally searched.

The records management room in the County's Government Complex contains microphils of the Board of Supervisor's Meeting Minutes from September 10, 1887 on. Microfilm of the Board of Supervisor's Meeting Minutes are also available on microfilm through the Library of Virginia.

Research Guides
Researching Seventeenth Century Virginians

Researching Williamsburg Area Virginians

Researching Revolutionary Era Virginians

These three research guides were prepared by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg.

Jamestown Related Records
The Jamestown Records of the Virginia Company of London: Part of the Thomas Jefferson Collection at the Library of Congress

Local Resources
The Williamsburg Regional Library

The WRL is the central library for the City of Williamsburg and James City County

Swem Library at The College of William &amp; Mary

Swem Library is the central research library for The College of William and Mary.

The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library

This library is operated by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Its contains secondary and primary materials on the colonial history of Virginia.

The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

The Omohundro Institute is a joint research institute between The College of William &amp; Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, focusing on academic research on early American history.

State Resources
Virginia Genealogical Society

Virginia Historical Society

The Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia has an extensive collection of documents related to James City County including: """Board of Supervisor Minutes: Sept. 1887 to 1908, Court Minutes: 1871-1882, Clerk's Guide to Sampel Forms for Certain Court Records, undated, Chancery Execution Book: 1868-1916, Chancery Minutes: 1871-1873, Chancery Order Books: 1889-1903, Chancery Rules: 1872-1911, Execution Book: 1866-1916, Judgment Docket: 1865-1903, Law Execution Book: 1866-1882, Circuit Court Order Book: 1879-1885, James City County and Williamsburg Fiduciary Bond Book: 1865-1908, James City County and Williamsburg Plat Books: 1891-1918, Birth Register: 1866-1884, Death Register: 1864-1884, School Commissioners Records: 1819-1861, Tax Book: 1768-1769, Deed and Will Books: 1854-1861, 1865-1874 Land Tax Lists: 1782 on, Personal Property Tax Lists: 1782 on, Agricultural Census Records: 1850-1880, Census Records: full run, Slave Schedules: 1850 and 1860, Processioners Records: 1890-1891, 1903-1904 James City County/Williamsburg Rolls of Registered Voters: 1900-1965, James City County/Williamsburg Contracts for Personal Property: 1900-1918"

Web Sites

 * Official James City County Website
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog