Chesterfield County, Virginia
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| − | ''[[United States|United States | + | ''[[United States|United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]] [[Virginia]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go to]]'' '''Chesterfield County''' |
| − | <br>'''Chesterfield County, Virginia''' genealogy and family history research page. Guide to '''Chesterfield County''' (established 1749) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries. | + | <br>'''Chesterfield County, Virginia''' genealogy and family history research page. Guide to '''Chesterfield County''' (established 1749) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries. |
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For a detailed list, including addresses, phone numbers, and external links, see ''[[Chesterfield County, Virginia Cemeteries]]''. | For a detailed list, including addresses, phone numbers, and external links, see ''[[Chesterfield County, Virginia Cemeteries]]''. | ||
| − | The following is a list of cemeteries in Chesterfield County:<ref>[http://www.topozone.com/states/Virginia.asp?county=Chesterfield&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;feature=Cemetery USGS Map], Topozone.com</ref> | + | The following is a list of cemeteries in Chesterfield County:<ref>[http://www.topozone.com/states/Virginia.asp?county=Chesterfield&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;feature=Cemetery USGS Map], Topozone.com</ref> |
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Revision as of 03:14, 16 January 2013
United States
Virginia
Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County, Virginia genealogy and family history research page. Guide to Chesterfield County (established 1749) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.
| Chesterfield County, Virginia | |
| Map | |
| | |
![]() Location in the state of Virginia | |
![]() Location of Virginia in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | 1749 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Chesterfield |
| Courthouse | |
County Courthouse
Chesterfield County Courthouse
9500 Courthouse Road
P O Box 125
Chesterfield, Va 23832
Phone: 804-748-1241
Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1771,
land records from 1749, divorce, probate and court records[1]
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1853 | 1771 | 1853 | 1810 | 1749 | 1749 |
History
The county was named after British statesman Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773).[2]
Parent County
1749--Chesterfield County was created 1 May 1749 from Henrico County.
County seat: Chesterfield [3]
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
- Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Neighboring Counties
Resources
African American
- Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-1872
- Heinegg, Paul. "Chesterfield County Tithables, 1747-1821," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
- Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at FHL; digital version at FamilySearch Books Online . [Includes information from Chesterfield County.]
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:
- [Bass] King, George Harrison Sanford. "Bass Family Bible, Chesterfield County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1965):81-83. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
Cemeteries
For a detailed list, including addresses, phone numbers, and external links, see Chesterfield County, Virginia Cemeteries.
The following is a list of cemeteries in Chesterfield County:[4]
|
|
|
- Tombstone Transcription Project Chesterfield County - cemetery transcriptions - USGenWeb
Census
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 14,214 | ||
| 1800 | 14,488 | 1.9% | |
| 1810 | 9,979 | −31.1% | |
| 1820 | 18,003 | 80.4% | |
| 1830 | 18,637 | 3.5% | |
| 1840 | 17,148 | −8.0% | |
| 1850 | 17,489 | 2.0% | |
| 1860 | 19,016 | 8.7% | |
| 1870 | 18,470 | −2.9% | |
| 1880 | 25,085 | 35.8% | |
| 1890 | 26,211 | 4.5% | |
| 1900 | 18,804 | −28.3% | |
| 1910 | 21,299 | 13.3% | |
| 1920 | 20,496 | −3.8% | |
| 1930 | 26,049 | 27.1% | |
| 1940 | 31,183 | 19.7% | |
| 1950 | 40,400 | 29.6% | |
| 1960 | 71,197 | 76.2% | |
| 1970 | 76,855 | 7.9% | |
| 1980 | 141,372 | 83.9% | |
| 1990 | 209,274 | 48.0% | |
| 2000 | 259,903 | 24.2% | |
For tips on accessing Chesterfield County, Virginia census records online, see: Virginia Census.
1783 Enumeration
- Chesterfield County Heads of Families - 1783 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 49.
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
Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
- Bethel (1799).
- Chesterfield (1773)[5]
- Salem (1794).[5]. A history is available: FHL Book 975.5 A1 no. 244. Includes a list of persons buried in the cemetery. A list of members was published in Virginia Settlers (Winter 1996): FHL Book 975.5 D2c.
- Skinquarter (1778)[5]
- Spring Creek (1790)[5]
- Tomahawk (1777)[5]
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.
Chesterfield County fell within the bounds of the Middle District Association.
Church of England
See also Dale Parish
See also King William Parish
See also Manchester Parish
Court Records
Genealogy
More than 100 genealogies have been published about Chesterfield County families. To view a list, visit Chesterfield County, Virginia Genealogy.
Immigration
Bermuda Hundred has been a port since colonial times. Unfortunately, no official passenger lists survive for the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.
- Ljungstedt, Milnor. "Items from Southern Records" [Showing Family and Trade Connections with Northern Colonies and the Home Countries], The American Genealogist, Vol. 15 (1938):95-104. Digital version at American Ancestors. [Chesterfield Co., VA: Branch.]
- List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe who served labor terms in Colonial Chesterfield County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.
During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 7 British aliens, many of whom had families, living in Manchester and Chesterfield County.[6]
Land and Property
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.
- Bannister. 604 patents dated 1638-1790 in what is now Chesterfield County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2002. [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
- Cox, T. Bransford, John B. Watkins, and Chesterfield County (Va.). Board of Supervisors. Chesterfield County, Virginia, Its History and Present Condition: Prepared Under the Supervision of John B. Watkins, as Authorized by the Board of Supervisors of the County, August, 1906. Richmond, Va.: Williams Printing Co., 1907. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books (full-view).
Maps
Migration
- Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Chesterfield County's 1788 Delinquent List appears on pp. 115-116.]
Military
French and Indian War
- Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Chesterfield County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]
- Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Chesterfield County, see pp. 70, 107.]
- Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Chesterfield County militia officers; see place name index.]
Revolutionary War
Regiments. Service men in Chesterfield County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Chesterfield County supplied soldiers for the:
Chesterfield residents recommended for military commissions during the Revolutionary War.[7]
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 versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Chesterfield County on page 129.]
- 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
Chesterfield County men served in the 23rd Regiment.[8]
- Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2007. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. FHL Collection 975.5 M2djL. [Includes Chesterfield County.]
- 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, Chesterfield County, pp. 67-68.]
- Chesterfield, County Virginia, County Clerk, Muster rolls, 1861-1865, 1812-1813 (Richmond, Virginia, Virginia State Library and Archives, 1992) FHL Film 1929610 30926 Item 2
Civil War
Regiments. Service men in Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County, Virginia:
- Information about the following regiments can be found FHL book 975.5594 H2L titled Chesterfield, An Old Virginia County.
- - 1st Regiment, Virginia Militia Cavalry (Confederate)
- - 1st Regiment, Virginia Reserves (Confederate) (Chesterfield Reserves)
- - 2nd Regiment, Virginia Artillery (Confederate)
- - 3rd Regiment, Virginia Artillery (Confederate)
- - 4th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate)
- - 5th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate)
- - 6th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (Alstadt Grays).[9]
- - 14th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (Chesterfield Central Guards) and Company I (Chester Grays) (Southern Braves).[10]
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
Civil War Battles
The following Civil War battles were fought in Chesterfield County.
- May 15, 1862 = Drewry's Bluff, also known as Fort Darling or Fort Drewry[11]
- May 6-7, 1864 = Port Walthall Junction[12]
- May 9, 1864 = Swift Creek, also known as Arrowfield Church[13]
- May 10, 1864 = Chester Station[14]
- May 12-16, 1864 = Proctor's Creek, also known as Drewry’s Bluff or Fort Darling[15]
- May 20, 1864 = [http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/va054.htm Ware Bottom Church[16]
Naturalization
Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929
Newspapers
The Virginia Newspapers Project identifies local Chesterfield County, Virginia 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.
Probate Records
A free index to Chesterfield County, Virginia wills and administrations (-1800) is available at the <a href="http://lva1.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b-clas08&local_base=CLAS08">Library of Virginia</a> website.
Digital Images of Chesterfield County Wills 1774 to 1785. See names of Testators. Virginia Pioneers
Digital Images of Chesterfield County Wills 1785 to 1800. See names of Testators. Virginia Pioneers
Research Guides
- "A Guide to the Counties of Virignia: Chesterfield County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1963):174-176. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?
- [1747-1821] Chesterfield County, Virginia Lists of Tithables and Insolvents, 1747-1821. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; also available on microfilm at FHL.
- [1747-1821] Heinegg, Paul. "Chesterfield County Tithables, 1747-1821," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
- [1747-1778] Chesterfield County - the Colonial Tithe Lists 1747-1778, CD, available for purchase at Binns Genealogy.
- [1756] Kolbe, J.C. "Chesterfield Tithables, 1756," The Southside Virginian, Vol. 2.
- [1756] Pritchett, John W. Southside Virginia Genealogies. CD. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007. Available at FHL; digital version at Virginians - The Family History of John W. Pritchett. [Includes annotated 1756 tithe list of Chesterfield County.]
- [1762] Hart, L.H. "Chesterfield Tithables, 1762," The Southside Virginian, Vol. 3.
- [1786, 1788] 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. [Sources for this publication are the 1786 personal property tax list and a partial reading of the 1788 personal property tax list (only published names that do not appear on 1786 list). Chesterfield County is included in Vol. 2.]
- [1788] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Chesterfield County's 1788 Delinquent List appears on pp. 115-116.]
- [1790, 1801] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1801 Personal Property Tax Lists of Chesterfield County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
- [1791, 1802] Indexed images of the 1791 and 1802 Land Tax Lists of Chesterfield County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
- [1800] "Chesterfield County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1971):254-258; Vol. 16, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1972):23-28; Vol. 16, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1972):89-95. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
- [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. Chesterfield County is included in Vol. 1.]
Vital Records
Indexes to Chesterfield County, Virginia births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Courtesy: FamilySearch - free.
Marriage
- 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
- 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
- Knorr, Catherine Lindsay. Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns of Chesterfield County. Pine Bluff, Ark., 1958.
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. |
Societies and Libraries
Family History Centers
Websites
- Chesterfield County, Virginia USGENWEB
- Family History Library Catalog
- Cyndi's List
Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites
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Genealogy courses: Learn how to research from an expert in Fun Five Minute Genealogy Videos. |
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Virginia Pioneers. A fee website, however, you can view names of testators under "counties" for free. Virginia Pioneers ($)
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Chesterfield County, Virginia. Page 712 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia Contributors, "Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield," in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_Chesterfield, accessed 12 January 2012.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ USGS Map, Topozone.com
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 254. Digital version at Google Books.
- ↑ Kenneth Scott, British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812 (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979), 320-333. FHL Book 973 W4s; digital version at Ancestry ($).
- ↑ J.T. McAllister, Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: McAllister's Data (Hot Springs, Va.: McAllister Pub. Co., 1913), 27-28. Digitized by Internet Archive.
- ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 68. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.
- ↑ Michael A. Cavanaugh, 6th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1988). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 43.
- ↑ Edward R. Crews and Timothy A. Parish, 14th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1995). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 117.
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 16 August, 2012)
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 2 August 2012).
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 7 August 2012).
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 16 August, 2012)
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 2 August 2012).
- ↑ Heritage Preservation Services, Civil War Battle Summaries by State, (accessed 7 August 2012).
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