Difference between revisions of "Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy"

Parent County

1634--Northampton County was created in 1634 as an original shire.
County seat: Eastville ^[2]

Formerly Accawmack County,
Name Changed to Northampton 1643

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

• Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1890

For a list of record loss in Virginia counties see: Virginia Counties with Burned Courthouses

Northampton County, Virginia Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring County

• Accomack

Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy Resources

African American

In 1790, Northampton County had one of the largest free colored populations in the state (464 persons).^[3]

The original Northampton County Register of Free Negroes, 1853-1861 are kept at the County Courthouse. LoV microfilmed these records in 1973. Copy: FHL Film 2047516 Item 4.

• Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.
• Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
• Latimer, Francis Bibbins. The Register of Free Negroes Northampton County, Virginia, 1853 to 1861. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1992. FHL Book 975.515 F2L.
• Virginia Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-1872

Bible Records

Images of the Virginia Historical Society's family Bible collection have been digitized:

• Virginia Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 - browse collection at FamilySearch; free.

Additional Bible records include:

Cemeteries

Many cemetery records are available online at Eastern Shore Stuff.

• Tombstone Transcription Project Northampton County - cemetery transcriptions - USGenWeb

Census

For tips on accessing Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy census records online, see: Virginia Census.

1790 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1890 Union Veterans' Census

• Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website. [Includes this county.]

Church Records

Baptist

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

1. Hungo's (1783)^[4]
2. Lower Northampton (1778)^[4]
3. Machipongo (1807)^[4]

The 10,000 name petition (dated 16 October 1776) has been digitized at the Library of Congress website. It was signed by people from all over Virginia who wanted an end to persecution of Baptists by the Established Church. Baptists and Baptist sympathizers alike signed the petition. To find your ancestor in this record, first check Hall's transcription in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy (Vols. 35-38, with annotations in Vol. 39), which is available online at Ancestry ($). It is also available in book form at the Family History Library: FHL Book 975.5 B2vs v. 35-39. Then proceed to the Library of Congress website to see the original images.

Northampton County fell within the bounds of the Accomac Association.

Church of England

See also Hungars Parish
See also Lower Parish
See also Northampton Parish
See also Occohannock Parish
See also Upper Parish

• Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet & Shepperson, 1945. Available at FHL; digital version at FamilySearch Books Online . [Includes Northampton County.]

Methodist

• Stevenson, Arthur Linwood. Native Methodist Preachers of the Eastern Shore of Virginia: With Supplements Concerning Methodist Preachers and Methodist Preachers' Children Who Have Married on the Shore and a Few Others. [Va.?]: A.L. Stevenson, 1970. Available at FHL.

Quaker

Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):

• Magothy Bay Monthly Meeting (1705-1732)^[5]
• Nassawaddox Monthly Meeting, near Franktown, Va. (1656-1716)^[5]
• Onancock or Occahannock Monthly Meeting (1678-1699)^[5]

Court

General

• Surname index to Northampton/Accomack Book I, 1632-1640, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Chancery Court

• Indexed images of Northampton County, Virginia Chancery Records 1721-1816 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.
• Surname index to Northampton Chancery Court Causes, 1721-1800, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

County Court

• Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.
• Houston, William Robert Montgomery and Jean M. Mihalyka. Colonial Residents of Virginia's Eastern Shore: Whose Ages Were Proved Before Court Officials of Accomack and Northampton Counties. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985. Three copies available at FHL. [Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.]
• Surname index to Northampton County VA Wills Deeds & Orders 1651-1654, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
• Surname index to Northampton County Orders & Wills 1678-1710, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
• Surname index to Northampton County Orders 1748-1758, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Eastern Shore District Court

• Surname index to Eastern Shore District Court 1789-1816, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Minute Books

• Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.
• Surname index to Northampton County Minute Books 1754-1765, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Orphan's Court

• Surname index to Northampton County Orphans Accounts 1731-1813, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Genealogy

More than 225 genealogies have been published about Northampton County families. To view a list, visit Northampton County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Immigration

Headright grants identify many Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy immigrants who arrived before 1720.^[6] The Virginia Immigration article provides tips about using this source.

Additional resources include:

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

• List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe who served labor terms in Colonial Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land and Property

Deeds

• Houston, William Robert Montgomery and Jean M. Mihalyka. Colonial Residents of Virginia's Eastern Shore: Whose Ages Were Proved Before Court Officials of Accomack and Northampton Counties. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985. Three copies available at FHL. [Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.]

Grants and Patents

Land patents (pre-1779), land grants (after 1779) and surveys are available online at the Library of Virginia website. For step-by-step instructions on retrieving these records, read the Virginia Land and Property article.

• Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1666. Vol. I (1934; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1991). Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Northampton County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]

Processioner's Returns

• Surname index to Northampton County Processioner's Returns 1796-1828, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Local Histories

Maps

Migration

• Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1978):121-130. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Northampton County's 1787-1790 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:269-70; 1786 Delinquent Lists appear on 22:122-123.]

Military

Colonial Militia

• Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Northampton County militia officers and/or soldiers; see place name index.]
• Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Northampton County militia officers; see place name index.]

French and Indian War

• Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Northampton County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]
• Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Northampton County, see p. 95-96.]
• Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Northampton County militia officers; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

Regiments. Service men in Northampton County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Northampton County supplied soldiers for the:

- 9th Virginia Regiment

Additional resources:

• 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: FHL Book 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Northampton County on page 132.]

War of 1812

Northampton County men served in the 27th Regiment.^[7]

• 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 Book 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Northampton County, p. 96. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy:

- 39th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies A, B, C, D, and K.^[8]

Records and histories are available, including:

• Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865

• Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers 1861-1865

• Surname index to The Eleventh Census of the United States 1890 - Special Schedule - Union Veterans and Widows Bundle 180, which includes Northampton County, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Native Americans

• Berkeley, William. "The Indians of Northampton County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Oct. 1896):82-83. Digital version at JSTOR - free.

• Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County, Virginia Court Orders and Minutes Relating to Free African Americans and Indians, 1654-1795," Free African Americans.com.

Naturalization

Newspapers

The Virginia Newspapers Project identifies local Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy newspapers.

Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. 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

Philip Alexander Bruce's book Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century (Vol. II, 1896, p. 334 footnote 1) includes a list of early English merchants in Northampton County.

• Surname index to Northampton County, VA Cattlemarks 1665-1742, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Private Papers

Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007

• [Custis] Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Transcript from the Custis (Thompkins) Bible," see pp. 328-329.]

Probate Records

A free index to Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy wills and administrations (1632-1800) is available at the Library of Virginia website.

Local Court

• Houston, William Robert Montgomery and Jean M. Mihalyka. Colonial Residents of Virginia's Eastern Shore: Whose Ages Were Proved Before Court Officials of Accomack and Northampton Counties. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985. Three copies available at FHL. [Ages taken from court, land, and probate records.]
• Surname index to Northampton County VA Wills Deeds & Orders 1651-1654, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.
• Surname index to Northampton County Orders & Wills 1678-1710, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

District Court

• Surname index to Eastern Shore District Court Wills & Deeds 1800-1806, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Probate Court

• Digital Images of Northampton County Wills, 1640 to 1645.  See names of Testators. [http://www.virginiapioneers.net/counties/countynorthampton

London Courts

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

Taxation

How can Virginia tax lists help me?

• [1662-1664, 1675-1677] Northampton County, Virginia Tithables, 1662-1664, 1675-1677. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; also available on microfilm at FHL.
• [1662-1677, 1720-1769] Bell, John B. Northampton County, Virginia, Tithables [1662-1677, 1720-1769] 2 vols. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1993. Available at FHL.
• [1666] Robertson, T.B. "List of Tithables in Northampton County, Va., August 1666," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 10 (1902/1903):194-196, 258-263. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
• [1666] Wise, Jennings Cropper. Ye Kingdome of Accawmacke or the Eastern Shore of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century. 1911; reprint, Baltimore, 1968. [Includes 1666 tithables list for Northampton County.]
• [1704] "Virginia Quit Rent Rolls, 1704," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 28 (1920):207-218, 328-339; Vol. 29 (1921):18-28, 337-343, 402-412; Vol. 30 (1922):21-30, 280-285, 341-347; Vol. 31 (1923):70-75, 153-163, 215-231, 314-318; Vol. 32 (1924):69-75, 144-158, 281-287, 338-343; Vol. 33 (1925):47-50, 359-370; Vol. 34 (1926):113-119, 252-258, 313, 321. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Northampton County appears in 34:313-321.]
• [1704] Quit Rent Rolls, 1704, Heritage Quest, Vol. 35 (Jul. 1991).
• [1782] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Available at FHL. [1782 personal property tax list of Northampton County.]
• [1782-1814] Heinegg, Paul. "Northampton County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
• [1786-1790] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1978):121-130. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Northampton County's 1787-1790 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:269-70; 1786 Delinquent Lists appear on 22:122-123.]
• [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Northampton County is included in Vol. 2.]
• [1788, 1800] Indexed images of the 1788 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Northampton County, Virginia are available online at Binns Genealogy.
• [1789] Robertson, Thomas B. "Poll Vote of Northampton County, Va., 1789," William and Mary College Quarterly, 1st Series, Vol. 26 (1917):109-110. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
• [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul. 2001); Vol. 45, No 4 (Oct. 2001).
• [1810] Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Northampton County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
• [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Northampton County is included in Vol. 3.]

Vital Records

Indexes to Northampton 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 - free. See also How to order Virginia Vital Records

Birth

• 1853-1870 - Northampton County Birth Index 1853-1870. Batch C868607 at FamilySearch - free.^[9]

Marriage

• 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
• 1700s-1800s - Northampton County, Virginia Marriages (VAGenWeb) - free.
• 1702-1853 - Northampton County Marriage Index 1702-1853. Batch M868606 (broken link) at FamilySearch - free.^[9]
• 1706-1854 - Nottingham, Stratton. The Marriage License Bonds of Northampton County, Virginia from 1706 to 1854. Onancock, VA: S. Nottingham, 1929. Available at FHL; digital versions at FamilySearch Books Online - free; World Vital Records ($).
• 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
• 1853-1922 - Northampton County Marriage Index 1853-1922. Batch M868616 (broken link) at FamilySearch - free.^[9]
• 1854-1922 - Surname index to Northampton County VA Marriages 1854-1922, courtesy: Petersrow Publishers.

Death

• 1853-1870 - Northampton County Death Index 1853-1870. Batch B868607 at FamilySearch - free.^[9]

Vital Record Substitutes

The Virginia Historical Society's Marriage and Obituary Index, 1736-1820 (newspaper abstracts) is available for free online. 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.

Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

Northampton County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

• Northampton County, Virginia USGENWEB
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Northampton County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
• Cyndi's List
• Virginia Pioneers ($)
  

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Northampton County, Virginia. Page 718 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
3. ↑ Ninth Census of the United States: Statistics of Population, Tables I to VIII Inclusive (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1872), 70. Digital version at Internet Archive; FHL Book 973 X2pcu.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 365. Digital version at Google Books.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Jay Worrall, The Friendly Virginians: America's First Quakers (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Publishing Company, 1994), 537-539. FHL Book 975.5 K2wj.
6. ↑ John Frederick Dorman, "Review of Cavaliers and Pioneers," in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1980):221. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 24 (1980)
7. ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 157. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.
8. ↑ G.L. Sherwood and Jeffrey C. Weaver, 20th and 39th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1994). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 105.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/3/37/Igivirginia.pdf.