Madison County, Virginia Genealogy
Guide to Madison County Virginia ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, immigration records, and military records.
Madison County, Virginia | |
Map | |
![]() | |
![]() Location in the state of Virginia, United States Genealogy | |
![]() Location of Virginia in the U.S. | |
Facts | |
Founded | 1792 |
---|---|
County Seat | Madison |
Courthouse | |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Madison County, Virginia History
- 3 Madison County, Virginia Places/Localities
- 4 Resources
- 4.1 Research Guides
- 4.2 African American
- 4.3 Bible Records
- 4.4 Cemeteries
- 4.5 Census
- 4.6 Church Records
- 4.7 Court
- 4.8 Funeral Homes
- 4.9 Genealogy
- 4.10 Immigration
- 4.11 Land
- 4.12 Local Histories
- 4.13 Maps
- 4.14 Military
- 4.15 Miscellaneous Records
- 4.16 Newspapers
- 4.17 Private Papers
- 4.18 Probate Records
- 4.19 Taxation
- 4.20 Vital Records
- 5 Madison County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries
- 6 Madison County, Virginia Genealogy Websites
- 7 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Madison County is located in the North-Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named for the Madison family that owned a tract of land along the Rapidan River. This family produced one of our nation’s early presidents, James Madison[1].
Madison County, Virginia Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Madison County Courthouse
538 South Main Street
P.O. Box 220
Madison, VA 22727-0220
Phone: 540-948-6888
Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce,
probate, court and land records from 1793[2]
Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
1853 | 1793 | 1853 | 1793 | 1793 | 1793 | 1810 |
General compliance year is unknown. |
Madison County, Virginia History[edit | edit source]
The county is named after President James Madison (1751-1836).
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1792--Madison County was created 4 December 1792 from Culpeper County.
County seat: Madison [4]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
- Lost censuses: 1800, 1890
Madison County, Virginia Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[5]
Towns | ||
Unincorporated communities | ||
Census-designated places | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Culpeper | Greene | Orange | Page | Rappahannock
Resources[edit | edit source]
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
- "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Madison County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1973):50-52. FHL Collection; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
African American[edit | edit source]
- 1935-2009 Virginia, African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete
- Heinegg, Paul. "Madison County Personal Property Tax List, 1793-1818," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
- Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Madison County.
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
Images of the Virginia Historical Society's family Bible collection have been digitized:
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
VAGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
VAGenWeb Archives | ||
Tombstone Project | ||
Virginia Gravestones | ||
Billion Graves | ||
See Virginia Cemeteries for more information. |
- 1800-1986 - Virginia, Jewish Cemetery Records Index, ca. 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — index
- 1949-1969 - United States, Cemetery Abstracts, 1949-1969
Vol. 1
- page 146 - Fairview Cemetery, at Hood
- page 149 - Rose Park Cemetery, at Wolfton
Census[edit | edit source]
Historical populations | ||
---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± |
1800 | 8,322 | — |
1810 | 8,381 | 0.7% |
1820 | 8,490 | 1.3% |
1830 | 9,236 | 8.8% |
1840 | 8,107 | −12.2% |
1850 | 9,331 | 15.1% |
1860 | 8,854 | −5.1% |
1870 | 8,670 | −2.1% |
1880 | 10,562 | 21.8% |
1890 | 10,225 | −3.2% |
1900 | 10,216 | −0.1% |
1910 | 10,055 | −1.6% |
1920 | 9,595 | −4.6% |
1930 | 8,952 | −6.7% |
1940 | 8,465 | −5.4% |
1950 | 8,273 | −2.3% |
1960 | 8,187 | −1.0% |
1970 | 8,638 | 5.5% |
1980 | 10,232 | 18.5% |
1990 | 11,949 | 16.8% |
2000 | 12,520 | 4.8% |
2010 | 13,308 | 6.3% |
Source: "Wikipedia.org". |
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 Records[edit | edit source]
Baptist[edit | edit source]
Madison County fell within the bounds of the Culpeper Association. Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
Church of England[edit | edit source]
Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Madison County is available online.[7]
Court[edit | edit source]
Chancery Court
- Indexes and images to Madison County, Virginia Chancery Records 1802-1881 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. Additional records are available at the Madison County Courthouse. These records, which were often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.
Superior Court of Chancery
The Superior Court of Chancery of Fredericksburg (1802-1831) had jurisdiction over certain Madison County court cases. An index has been compiled:
- Indexes of Court Records in the Clerk's Office, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1782-1904. Original records, Fredericksburg City Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Va., microfilmed reproduction available at FHL. [Indexes the following records: District Court law book v. 8, 1782-1792; District Court law books 1790-1793, v. A-F 1789-1811; Superior Court of Law law order books v. G-H 1812-1831; Superior Court of Chancery chancery order books 1814-1831; Hustings Court orders v. A-O 1782-1871; Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery law order books v. A-E 1831-1875; Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chancery chancery order books v. A-D 1831-1872; Circuit Court chancery order books v. A2, B-C 1875-1904; Fredericksburg District Court (1789-1808) had jurisdiction over the following counties: Spotsylvania (including Fredericksburg), Caroline, King George, Stafford, Orange, and Culpeper; Superior Court of Chancery (1802-1831) had jurisdiction over the following localities: city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, Culpeper, Fauquier, Fairfax, Lancaster, Northumberland, Madison, King George, Orange, Prince William, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Essex, and Westmoreland.]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
- 1935-2009 Virginia, African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete
Genealogy[edit | edit source]
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
- See Madison County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 75+ published books and articles, or jump to the surname using the alphabet bar.
'Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
- Holtzclaw, B.C. Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia, 1714-1750. Germanna Record No. 5. Harrisonburg, Va.: The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, 1964. Includes Back, Brumback, Coons, Crim, Fishback, Haeger, Hanback, Hitt, Holtzclaw, Kemper, Martin, Miller, Nay, Rector, Spilman, Utterback, Wayman, Weaver, Young, Whitescarver, and Huffman (2) families. Available at FHL.
- Holtzclaw, B.C. and Charles Herbert Huffman. Second Germanna Colony of 1717. Harrisonburg, Va.: Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, 1965. FHL Book 975.5 D2gd no. 6.
- Holtzclaw, B.C. Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia, 1714-1750. Germanna Record No. 5. Harrisonburg, Va.: The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, 1964. Includes Back, Brumback, Coons, Crim, Fishback, Haeger, Hanback, Hitt, Holtzclaw, Kemper, Martin, Miller, Nay, Rector, Spilman, Utterback, Wayman, Weaver, Young, Whitescarver, and Huffman (2) families. Available at FHL.
Immigration[edit | edit source]
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will a of resident of Madison County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
Land[edit | edit source]
Grants and Patents
- Blankenbaker. 204 patents dated 1722-1739 in what is now Madison County, Virginia (Placed on a Map). DeedMapper, 2004. [In order to view this map, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.]
- Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800. Vol. III. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993. FHL Collection; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Madison County.]
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
- Yowell, Claude Lindsay. A History of Madison County, Virginia. Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Publishing House, c1926. Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
- 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: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Madison County on page 131.]
- 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." FHL Collection 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]
War of 1812[edit | edit source]
Madison County men served in the 82nd Regiment.[8]
- 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. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Madison County, p. 89. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
- Humes, Joseph, Muster roll of Captain Joseph Humes' company, War of 1812 82nd (Madison County). FHL film 32596 Item 6
Civil War[edit | edit source]
- 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 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)
Regiments. Madison County men most often served in regiments (and companies) from their home county. At times, however, individuals and small groups can be found serving in regiment from neighboring counties. Later in the war, Confederate units often reorganized. Men from Madison County can be found in the following regiments:
Asterisk indicates regiments with fifteen or fewer men from Madison.
Infantry:
- - 2nd Virginia Militia
- - 7th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate) - Company A (The Richardson Guards) and Company K (The Madison Grays) had many men from Madison County while Companies A, C, E, F, G only had eight or fewer men from Madison County. See also 7th Battalion, Virginia Infantry, Local Defense (1st Nitre Battalion) (Confederate)
- - 10th Regiment Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company L (Jeff Davis Guards).[9]
- - 13th Regiment Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
- - 34th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company L (Fray's Artillery) (Madison Artillery).[10]
- - 38th Regiment Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
- - 49th Regiment Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
- - 82nd Regiment Virginia Militia
- - 108th Virginia Militia
- - 135th Virginia Militia
- - Quartermaster Department
Cavalry:
- - 1st Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. I mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 2nd Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. K mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 4th Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company C (The Madison Invincibles)
- - 5th Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. H mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 6th Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. F mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 7th Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. B mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 11th Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. A mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 12th Regiment Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. G mustered eleven troopers from Madison County
- - 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. F mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 39th Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), Co. D mustered one trooper from Madison County
- - 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Confederate), this battalion, known as Mosby's Rangers, mustered four troopers from Madison County
Artillery:
- - 1st Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery (Hardaway's) (Moseley's) (Confederate)
- - 1st Regiment Virginia Artillery (Richmond Howitzers)
- - 4th Battalion Virginia Heavy Artillery (Confederate)
- - 13th Virginia Artillery
- - Charlottesville Light Artillery (Confederate)
- - King William Artillery (Confederate)
- - Rockbridge Artillery, No. 2 (Confederate)
- - Letcher's Battery Light Artillery
- - Capt. Rice's Company Virginia Light Artillery
- - 1st Battalion Virginia Reserves (Madison Reserves)
- Information about the history of the companies in these regiments can be found in:
- - FHL book 975.538 H2w For Home and Honor
- - FHL book 975.5 M2vr v. 29 titled A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861-1865
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 1940-1945 - Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images
Miscellaneous Records[edit | edit source]
- 1607-2007 - Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
The Virginia Newspapers Project identifies local Madison County, Virginia Genealogy newspapers.
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 the Virginia Gazette and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia.
Private Papers[edit | edit source]
- Mallory, James. Journal of James Mallory, Son of Uriel Mallory, Jr. and Melinda Welch; Grandson of Capt. Uriel Mallry, Sr. and Hannah Cave, and of Major Nathaniel Welch and Elizabeth Terrell, of Virginia, Begins April 20, 1834, Madison County, Virginia, Ends November 12, 1877, Talladega County, Alabama. MSS., microfilmed 1962. FHL 328801
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
A free index to Madison County, Virginia Genealogy wills and administrations (1793-1800) is available at the Library of Virginia.
London Courts
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes will a of resident of Madison County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
Taxation[edit | edit source]
How can Virginia tax lists help me?
- 1797-1817- Madison County Land Tax Lists 1797-1817 (images); digital version in Tax List Club at Binns Genealogy ($).
- 1793-1818- Heinegg, Paul. "Madison County Personal Property Tax List, 1793-1818," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
- 1799- Images of the 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Madison County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
- 1800- Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Jul. 1995); Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct. 1995). FHL Collection
- 1815 - Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. FHL Collection [The source for this publication is 1815 land tax. Madison County is included in Vol. 4.]
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Indexes to Madison County, Virginia Genealogy births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Most records can also be ordered electronically online as well. Courtesy: FamilySearch. See also How to order Virginia Vital Records
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1853-1866 - Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1912-1913 - Virginia, Birth Certificates, 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — index and images
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
- 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
- 1785-1940 - Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
- 1793-1905 - Madison County Marriage Index 1793-1905. Batch M868782 at FamilySearch - free.[11]
- 1853-1935 - Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1936-1988 - Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images
Divorce[edit | edit source]
- 1918-1988 - Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1912-1987 - Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — index and images
Vital Record Substitutes[edit | edit source]
The Virginia Historical Society's Marriage and Obituary Index, 1736-1820 (newspaper abstracts) is available at FamilySearch. Images of the original index cards are browseable, arranged alphabetically by surname.
For birth, marriage, and death record substitutes, see Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records. |
Madison County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Madison County, Virginia Genealogy Websites[edit | edit source]
- Madison County, Virginia GenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
- Madison County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
- RootsWeb Mailing List: GERMANNA_COLONIES-L
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://madisonva.com/history-of-madison-county/
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Madison County, Virginia. Page 717 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Madison County, Virginia . Page 710-723 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 715-720.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Madison_ County,_Virginia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_County,_Virginia#Communities accessed 16 February 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 229-230. Digital version at Google Books.
- ↑ William Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia, 2 vols. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1861). Digital versions at Internet Archive: Vol. I and Vol. II.
- ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 133. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.
- ↑ Terrence V. Murphy, 10th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 55.
- ↑ Johnny L. Scott, 34th Virginia Infantry (Appomattox, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1999). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 135.
- ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/3/37/Igivirginia.pdf.