Warren County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

Description
Warren County is located in the Northern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and included in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. It was named after Dr. Joseph Warren, one of the earliest Founding Fathers of America.

Warren County, Virginia Courthouse
Warren County Courthouse 1 East Main Street Front Royal, VA 22630 Phone: 540-635-2435

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

Warren County, Virginia History


The county is named after Dr. Joseph Warren (1741-1775), "American Revolutionary War officer, who sent Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride."

Parent County
1836--Warren County was created 9 March 1836 from Frederick and Shenandoah Counties. County seat: Front Royal

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.

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


 * Lost census: 1890

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Research Guides

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

African American

 * 1865-1872 Freedmen's
 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete

Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Warren County.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
1890 Union Veterans


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

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):


 * Crooked Run Monthly Meeting (1756-1810). Hinshaw published the early records:.
 * Crooked Run Meeting of Quakers (Hinshaws Encyclopedia of Quakers) Virginia Pioneers ($)

Court

 * Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index can be used to search Warren County chancery records for the years 1837-1948. Digital images are available for 1837-1912 and indexed information and originals are available through 1948 - see online catalog or contact Archives Research Services for availability.
 * Post-1940 Warren County chancery records may be available at the Circuit Court Clerk's Office.

Genealogy
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
 * See Warren County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 6+ published books and articles.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * 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;  1000634 Item 1]; digital versions at Ancestry ($), FamilySearch Digital Library, World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]
 * O'Dell, Cecil. Pioneers of Old Frederick County, Virginia. Marceline, Mo.: Walsworth Pub. Co., 1995. . One of the most impressively researched one-place studies in the United States. In a review, Dorman stated "Comprehensive studies such as this appear only rarerly. This volume should be in every Virginia genealogical collection."

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 ; ; digital version at Ancestry ($), FamilySearch Digital Library, World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]

Maps

 * 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.]

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 version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Western District, Warren County on page 136.]
 * 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." ; 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, Warren County, p. 106. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 12th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Companies E and I.


 * - 17th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Warren Rifles).
 * - 18th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company D.
 * - 49th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company E (Warren Blues).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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)

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battles were fought in Warren County:


 * May 23, 1862 = Front Royal, also known as Guard Hill or Cedarville
 * July 23, 1863 = Manassas Gap, also known as Wapping Heights
 * August 16, 1864 = Guard Hill, also known as Front Royal or Cedarville
 * October 19, 1864 = Cedar Creek, also known as Belle Grove


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

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

 * Virginia

Private Papers

 * Virginia,

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Family History Centers

 * Front Royal Virginia Family History Center

Warren County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * VAGenWeb
 * Warren County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List