Clarke County, VirginiaEdit This Page

George Rogers Clark (1751-1818)

The county was named after George Rogers Clark (1751-1818), a prominent military officer in the Revolutionary War.^[2]

Parent County

1836--Clarke County was created 8 March 1836 from Frederick County.
County seat: Berryville ^[3]

Boundary Changes

Variant Spellings

• Clark^[4]

Record Loss

• Lost census: 1890

Clarke County Virginia Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

Clarke County Virginia Genealogy Resources

Research Guides

• Dorman, John Frederick. "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Clarke County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1964):23. FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

• Good, Rebecca H. and Rebecca A. Ebert. Finding Your People in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1998. 4th ed. FHL Book 975 D27e 1998

African Americans

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

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:^{[5] [6] [7]}

Census

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

• 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

Baptist

• Chappelear, Nancy. "Berryville Baptist Church Cemetery Records," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1966):66-68. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 10 (1966).
• Berryville Baptist Church Records, 1841-1860. FHL Film 986285. Includes meeting minutes and membership lists.

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 FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Court

Genealogy

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

Land and Property

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 FamilySearch Books Online; FHL US/CAN Book 975.59 H2c 1963; FHL US/CAN Film 1000634 Item 1($); BYU Family History Archives and World Vital Records ($). [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 FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view). 1962 reprint also available at FHL.
• 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 FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
• Norris, J. E.. History of the Lower Shenandoah Valley Counties of Frederick, Berkeley, Jefferson and Clarke: Their Early Settlement and Progress to the Present Time, Geological Features, a Description of Their Historic and Interesting Localities, Cities, Towns and Villages, Portraits of Some of the Prominent Men, and Biographies of Many of the Representative Citizens. Chicago: A. Warner, 1890. Original edition available at FHL; 1972 reprint available at FHL; digital version of original edition at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Maps

• Scheel, Eugene M. Clarke County. Warrenton, Va.: Piedmont Press, 1990. Available at FHL. [Features include "old roads, mills, stores, plantations, churches, ruins, cemeteries, battles, historic sites, early stream names and boundaries."^[8]]

Military

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: FHL Collection 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. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Clarke County, p. 68.]

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Clarke County, Virginia 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 Clarke County, Virginia:

- 1st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate).

- 2nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Nelson Rifles), Company I (Clarke Rifles)

- 6th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company D (Clarke Cavalry).^[9]

- 11th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry. Company K.^[10]

- 23rd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company D.^[11]

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
• Clarke County Virginia Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battles were fought in Clarke County.

• July 17-18, 1864 = Cool Spring, also known as Island Ford, Parkers Ford, Snickers Ferry, or Castleman’s Ferry^[12]
• September 3-4, 1864 = Berryville[13]

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

Naturalization

• Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

Newspapers

The Virginia Newspapers Project identifies local Clarke County, Virginia newspapers.

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 FHL. [Includes a section on Berryville watchmakers.]

Probate Records

Taxation

Vital Records

Indexes to Clarke County, Virginia births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Courtesy: FamilySearch - free.

Birth

• 1878-1896 - Fridley, Beth. Clarke County, Virginia Births, 1878-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage

• 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
• 1836-1933 - Clarke County Marriage Index 1836-1933. Batch M868742 at FamilySearch - free.^[14]

Death

• 1853-1896 - Fridley, Beth. Clarke County, Virginia Deaths, 1853-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Available at Ancestry ($).

Vital Record Substitutes

For birth, marriage, and death record substitutes, see Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records.

Clarke County Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Clarke County Virginia Genealogy Websites

• Clarke County, Virginia USGENWEB
• Family History Library Catalog
• Clarke County Historical Association
• Cyndi's List

Clarke County Virginia Genealogy References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Clark County, Virginia. Page 712 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ Wikipedia Contributors, "Clarke County, Virginia," in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke_County,_Virginia, accessed 13 January 2012.
3. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
4. ↑ 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), 134. Digital version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: FHL Book 973 X2pc 1840.
5. ↑ USGS Map, Topozone.com
6. ↑ US GenWeb, submitted by Walter K. Whitfield
7. ↑ US GenWeb, US GenWeb, submitted by Ed Surface
8. ↑ "Historic Prince William Sponsors New Historic Map by Eugene Scheel," The Newsletter of the Prince William County Genealogical Society, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Aug. 1991):10.
9. ↑ Michael P. Musick, 6th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1990). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 66.
10. ↑ Richard L. Armstrong, 11th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 52.
11. ↑ Richard B. Kleese, 23rd Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1995). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 118.
12. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 16 August, 2012)
13. ↑ Heritage Preservation Services,Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 2 August 2012)
14. ↑ 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.

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