Lancaster County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Lancaster County

Parent County
1652--Lancaster County was created in 1652 from Northumberland and York Counties. County seat: Lancaster

Neighboring Counties

 * Essex
 * Middlesex
 * Northumberland
 * Richmond

Church
Church of England


 * Mason, George Carrington. "The Colonial Churches of Northumberland and Lancaster Counties, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr. 1946):137-151; Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul. 1946):233-243. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * "The Early Churches of Northern Neck (Beulah Hinton Marsh)--Aquia Church in Stafford County, Christ Church Lancaster County, Farnham Church in Richmond County, Lamb's Creek Church in King George County, St. Mary's White Chapel in Lancaster County, St. Paul's Church in King George County, Yeocomico Church in Westmoreland County--Baptist Churches of White Marsh in Lancaster, Morattico Baptist, Nomini in Westmoreland, Farnham in Richmond, Hanover Baptist in King George," Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 2 (1952).

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexed images of Lancaster County, Virginia Chancery Records 1722-1936 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

County Court


 * "Rules of Lancaster Court in 1671," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Apr. 1897):264. Available at JSTOR ($).

Family Histories

 * [Ball] Lennon, Rachael M. "A Proposed English Ancestry for Henry Ball (circa 1676-1735) of Middlesex County, Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 78, No. 3 (Jul. 2003):165-172; Vol. 78, No. 4 (Oct. 2003):265-273.
 * [Carter] Ward, Charles Martin. "A Refutation of the Alleged Royal Ancestry of Katherine (Dale) Carter, Wife of Thomas Carter of Lancaster County, Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Jan. 2000):27-29.
 * [Dale] See also Carter.
 * [Dale] " Major Edward Dale: Lancaster County, Virginia, 1655-1694," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Jan. 1909):196-202. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Downing] "Judge Samuel Downing of 'Edgeley,' Lancaster County, Virginia," Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 1 (1951).
 * [Potter] Hunt, John G. "English Origins and Clues" [Potter and Robinson, Virginia], The American Genealogist, Vol. 36 (1960):121-122. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [Reviere] Bryant, William C. Riviere-Riveer-Revere, A Lancaster County, Virginia Line and Riviere-Reviere-Revere-Revier Collateral Lines. Williamsburg, Virginia: W.C. Bryant, 2009.
 * [Robinson] See Potter.
 * [Taylor] "The Taylor Family of Northumberland and Lancaster Counties, Virginia," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Apr. 1927):211-218. Available at JSTOR ($).

Historic Buildings

 * Peirce, Elizabeth Combs. "Courthouses of Lancaster County, 1656-1950," Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 1 (1951).

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Lancaster City and Lancaster County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * Jett, Carolyn. Runaway Slaves (Servants), Lancaster County, Virginia, 1736-1775. Lancaster, Virginia: Mary Ball Washington Museum, 2000.
 * [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=Lancaster&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 Lancaster County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.
 * Ljungstedt, Milnor. "Items from Southern Records" [Showing Family and Trade Connections with Northern Colonies and the Home Countries], The American Genealogist, Vol. 15 (1938):95-104. Available at New England Ancestors ($). [Lancaster Co., VA record surnames: Burgess, Chauncey, Cosens, Davenport, Eustace, Hambleton, Hayward, Hayworth, Howard, Jauncey, Marshal, Smyth.]

Military
Revolutionary War


 * Sutton, Karen Elizabeth. Black, Red and Revolutionary: Free African Americans of Lancaster and Northumberland Counties, Virginia, in the Era of the American Revolution. University of Maryland, 1997.

Minorities

 * Burkett, Brigitte. Lancaster County Virginia, Register of Free Negroes 1803-1860. Richmond, Virginia: B. Burkett, 1999.
 * Philips, John. "Indian Affairs in Lancaster County," [1653] The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jan. 1896):177-179. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Sutton, Karen Elizabeth. Black, Red and Revolutionary: Free African Americans of Lancaster and Northumberland Counties, Virginia, in the Era of the American Revolution. University of Maryland, 1997.
 * "The Treaty of Lancaster, 1744," [Indian] The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Oct. 1905):141-142. Available at JSTOR ($).

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

 * Sadtler, Otis K. "Post Offices in Lancaster County," Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 2 (1952).
 * Tyler, Lyon G. "Burgesses of Lancaster County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Apr. 1897):260-261. Available at JSTOR ($).

Private Papers

 * [Gordon] Gordon, James. "Journal of Col. James Gordon, of Lancaster County, Va.," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Oct. 1902):98-112. Available at JSTOR ($).

Probate
Local Court


 * Watts, Dorothy C and William H. Watts. Index to Ida J. Lee's Abstracts of Lancaster County Virginia Wills 1653-1800. Albuquerque, New Mexico: D.C. Watts and W.H. Watts, 1987.

London Courts


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

Slavery

 * Cowling, Dorothy Norris C. Historical Notes on the Life and Achievements of Blacks in Lancaster County and the State of Virginia (1619-1974). 1991. A Study Sponsored by the Lancaster County African American Historical Society
 * Jett, Carolyn. Runaway Slaves (Servants), Lancaster County, Virginia, 1736-1775. Lancaster, Virginia: Mary Ball Washington Museum, 2000.
 * Van Riemsdijk, Tatiana. "His Slaves or Hers? Customary Claims, a Planter Marriage, and a Community Verdict in Lancaster County, 1793," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 113, No. 1 (2005):46-79. Available at JSTOR ($).

Taxation

 * Jones, Christine Adams and Donna Helmuth. Early Lancaster County Tithables 1652-1720.
 * "Tithables of Lancaster County, Va., 1654," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Oct. 1897):158-169; Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jan. 1898):249-260; Vol. 5, No. 4 (Apr. 1898):429-434. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * "Tithables in Lancaster Co., 1716," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Oct. 1912):106-112. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Indexed images of the 1786 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Lancaster County, Virginia are available online at Binns Genealogy.
 * Indexed images of the 1789 and 1797 Land Tax Lists of Lancaster County, Virginia are available online at Binns Genealogy.

Vital Records
Marriage


 * Headley, Robert K. Married Well and Often; Marriages of the Northern Neck 1649-1800. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2003.
 * "Lancaster County Marriages," [1790s] The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Jan. 1910):176-178. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * "Marriage Bonds in Lancaster County," [1710s-1790s] The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Oct. 1897):103-108; Vol. 12, No. 2 (Oct. 1903):96-103; Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jan. 1904):175-183. Available at JSTOR ($).

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