Clarke County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Clarke County

Virginia county in the Shenandoah Valley region.

County Courthouse


Clarke County, Virginia

P.O. Box 189 102 N. Church Street Berryville, Virginia 22611-0189

540-995-5116

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage,

divorce probate court

land records from 1836

History


The county was named after George Rogers Clark (1751-1818), a prominent military officer in the Revolutionary War.

Parent County
1836--Clarke County was created 8 March 1836 from Frederick County. County seat: Berryville

Variant Spellings

 * Clark

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Research Guides

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

Cemeteries
For a detailed list, including addresses, phone numbers, and external links, see Clarke County, Virginia Cemeteries.

The following is a list of cemeteries in Clarke County:

Census
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
Church of England

See also Frederick Parish


 * 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. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Genealogy
Several genealogies have been published about Clarke County families. To view a list, visit Clarke County, Virginia Genealogy.

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.]

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 ($); BYU Family History Archives and World Vital Records ($). [3 copies at FHL.]
 * Gold, Thomas Daniel. History of Clarke County, Virginia and Its Connection with the War Between the States: With Illustrations of Colonial Homes and of Confederate Officers. Berryville, Va.: C.R. Hughes, 1914. Available at ; digital version at Google Books (full-view). 1962 reprint also available at.
 * Henry Howe, Historical Collections Of Virginia 1845
 * 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 ($).

Maps

 * Scheel, Eugene M. Clarke County. Warrenton, Va.: Piedmont Press, 1990. Available at . [Features include "old roads, mills, stores, plantations, churches, ruins, cemeteries, battles, historic sites, early stream names and boundaries." ]

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 versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Western District, Clark County [sic] on page 134.]

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, Clarke County, p. 68.]

Civil War

 * Clarke County Virginia Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows

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 Berryville watchmakers.]

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Clarke County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1964):23. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Vital Records
Birth


 * Fridley, Beth. Clarke County, Virginia Births, 1878-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

Death


 * Fridley, Beth. Clarke County, Virginia Deaths, 1853-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Clarke Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * Clarke County Historical Association
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List