West Virginia Introduction

United States   West Virginia    Introduction

This set of Wiki pages describes major sources of information about families from West Virginia. As you read these West Virginia Wiki pages, study the United States set of Wiki pages, which will help you understand terminology and the contents and uses of genealogical records.

Records of the Family History Library
The Family History Library has many of the records described in these West Virginia Wiki pages. The library's major holdings include 12,000 microfilms of vital records, court records, newspapers, deeds, surveys, and wills. The library has excellent records for most counties for the 1800s and many vital records to about 1970. There are few records for Lincoln County (whose records were destroyed by fire) and Mingo County (which was created in 1895 from Logan county).

Some of the sources described in this set of Wiki pages list the Family History Library's book, microfilm, and microfiche. These are preceded by FHL, the abbreviation for Family History Library. You can use these numbers to locate materials in the library and to order microfilm and microfiche at

Family History Centers.

Family History Library Catalog
The library's records are listed in the Family History Library Catalog found at the library and at each Family History Center. The catalog is available in a online or microfiche version. To find a record, look in the Place Search of the catalog for:


 * The place where your ancestor lived, such as:
 * UNITED STATES - CENSUS
 * WEST VIRGINIA - GENEALOGY
 * WEST VIRGINIA, KANAWHA - VITAL RECORDS
 * WEST VIRGINIA, KANAWHA, CHARLESTON - NEWSPAPERS


 * The record type you want to search, such as:
 * UNITED STATES - CENSUS
 * WEST VIRGINIA - GENEALOGY
 * WEST VIRGINIA, KANAWHA - VITAL RECORDS
 * WEST VIRGINIA, KANAWHA, CHARLESTON - NEWSPAPERS

The page titles in the West Virginia Wiki pages match the names of record types used in the catalog.