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Prince George County History and Information

County History | Court Records | Vital Records | CENSUS Records | TAX Records | Military Records | Church & Cemetery |
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Prince George County was named for Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne of England.  It was formed from Charles City County in 1702.  Its area is 298 square miles, and the county seat is Prince George.  The population is 33,047 according to the 2000 census.  Prince George is one of the Commonwealth's Burned Records Counties.  Most county court records were burned during the Civil War.  A few record books survived and, proving that there is always hope, the volume in which deeds and wills were recorded between 1710 and 1713 was found within the last decade. See Extended History for More information.

The Official County Website is located at http://www.princegeorgeva.org . Cities, Towns and Communities include Burrowsville, Disputanta, Fort Lee (a military base), Garysville, Jordan Point, New Bohemia and Newville

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Click Here to Search Virginia Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records!
Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Prince George County Court Records

See Also Virginia Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

Prince George County Clerk of the Circuit Court has Marriage Records from 1865, Land Records from 1710, Probate Records from 1713 and Court Records from 1714 and is located at the County Courthouse on P. O. Box 98, 6601 Courts Drive, Prince George, VA 23875-0098; 804/733-2640, Fax: 804/861-5721 . Most county court records were burned during the Civil War.  A few record books survived and, proving that there is always hope, the volume in which deeds and wills were recorded between 1710 and 1713 was found within the last decade.

Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a constitutional official that is elected by the voters of Prince George County. The Clerk is charged with responsibilities that include judicial and non-judicial duties.

The Clerk provides administrative support for Circuit Court by preparing, recording, and maintaining court orders, subpoenas, and pleadings. The Clerk's Office also manages juries, disposal of evidence, collection of criminal fines and costs. Inquiries concerning the Court's procedures and policies and the records should be directed to the Clerk's Office, which serves as a repository for the Court's records.

Non-judicial duties include the authority to probate wills, grant administration of estates, appoint guardians, issue marriage licenses. The Clerk acts as the Register of Deeds by recording all deeds, deeds of trust, real estate liens, releases and powers of attorney.

The Clerk acts as the county archivist by maintaining records of the Court, real estate, probate and numerous other county records. Records management is an immense and critical responsibility of the Clerk's Office due to the volume and types of records.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include: Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850, Virginia County Records, Volume VI, Volume VII and Volume IX

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Court Records by clicking the link below:

  • Prince George County, Virginia Court Books at Amazon.com
  • Virginia Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
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Click Here to Search Virginia Birth, Marriage & Death Records!
Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.

Prince George County Vital Records

See Also Vital Records in Virginia

  Vital Statistics include the official recordation of marriages, births, and deaths. Bible records, cemetery records, and church records are private sources that may supplement the official records.

A law requiring the systematic statewide recording of births and deaths was passed by the General Assembly on April 11 1853. Every commissioner of revenue registered births and deaths in his district annually and forwarded the information to the clerk of court, who then supplied the information to the state Auditor of Public Accounts. This law continued in effect until 1896. The Auditor turned the lists over to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 1918 and the registers were later transferred to the state archives. The Library of Virginia has copies of surviving birth and death records for the period 1853 to 1896 and marriage records prior to 1936.

Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records is located at The Shops at Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, Suite 275, Richmond, VA 23220; Ph: (804) 662-6200. The mailing address is VDH, Office of Vital Records, and Health Statistics, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, Virginia, 23218-1000. They have the following records:

  • Births and Deaths: 1853-1896 and June 1912 to present. Birth cards are no longer available. Only the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Richmond have records between 1896 and June 14, 1912.
  • Marriage Records: 1853 to the present. If the records are not available from the State office, they should be available from the Clerk of Court in county where the marriage license was issued.
  • Divorce Records: 1918 to the present. If the records are not available from the State office, they should be available from the Clerk of Court in county where the marriage license was issued.
  • Ordering Vital Records Online- You can also order Order Electronically Online to obtain a certified copy of a birth, marriage, death or divorce record with a credit or debit card and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering from VitalChek Express Certificate Service.

Birth records are public information 100 years after the date of the event; death, marriage, and divorce records, 50 years after the event. Due to limited resources they are unable to conduct geneology searches. Contact the Library of Virginia for assistance at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/.

For all birth records, please allow 10 business days. All marriage records, death records, divorce records, non-automated birth records and documents requiring amendments, please allow a delivery time of 4 to 6 weeks. Marriage and divorce records are available at the Circuit Court in which the event took place. Recent death records are available at the local health department where the death certificate was filed. You can also Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering HERE

The fee to search for a birth, Marriage or Death certificate is $12.00, which includes one certified copy of the certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find." Make checks and money orders should be made payable to "State Health Department ". Please do not send cash. Credit Cards may be uses by using VitalChek services. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to:Vital Records, VDH, Office of Vital Records, and Health Statistics, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, Virginia, 23218-1000 . You can download an application online for Birth, Death, Marriage or Divorce Certificates. You can also Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering HERE

There are a few online databases for Marriage Records which include: Virginia Marriages, 1740-1850, Virginia Marriages to 1800, Virginia Marriages before 1824 and Virginia Marriages, 1851-1929

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

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Click Here to Search Virginia Voter Lists & Census Records!
Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable

Prince George County Census Records

See Also Research In Census Records & Statewide Records that exist for Virginia

  Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Prince George County, Virginia are 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Prince George County, Virginia are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Census Records by clicking the link below:

  • Prince George County, Virginia Census Books at Amazon.com
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Prince George County Maps & Atlases

 

Virginia Antique Maps & Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Virginia and other states.

You can view rotating animated maps for Virginia showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps

You can view rotating animated maps for Virginia showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Maps. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Maps by clicking the link below:

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Click Here to Search Virginia Military Records!
Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.

Prince George County Military Records

See Also Military Records in Virginia

The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American. Read more detailed information on Virginia Military Records and the various wars.

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Military Records by clicking the link below:

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Prince George County Tax Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Virginia's tax records are a rich—and largely untapped—resource. During the Colonial period, there were three basic forms of taxation: the quitrent, the parish levy, and the poll tax.

The quitrent was a land tax that had its roots in English manorial society where “the land obligations due the manor, such as plowing and haying the lord's land, were computed to an annual money payment. Upon payment, the obligations were `quit' for the year.” Those living south of the Rappahannock River paid a quitrent to the Crown. An original, incomplete list of land owners for the region in 1704 is in the Public Record Office in London and has been published several times, not always reliably.

Residents of the Northern Neck, between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, paid quitrents to the agents of Lord Fairfax. Many original rent rolls of the Fairfax proprietary are housed at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Extant original rent rolls and facsimiles for Virginia are available at The Library of Virginia.

The parish levy was an annual tax paid by all tithables for support of their ministers, maintenance of the parishes' glebe lands (the parsonage and lands producing income for the parish), and support of the poor of the parish.

The poll tax, except for a brief period from 1645 to 1648, was the main source of revenue for the colony of Virginia. The annual poll tax was computed by dividing the total expenses of the colony and individual counties by the total number of tithables. The result was levied on each tithable.

Tithables were variously defined during the colonial period. The first definition, in 1624, was “every male head above sixteen years of age.” All agricultural workers were added in 1629. In 1643 all males and black females aged sixteen or over were tithables. Imported male servants of any age were added in 1649.

The definition of “tithable” was rewritten in 1658. Tithables included free males aged sixteen or over, imported blacks of either sex, imported white male servants, and Indian servants of either sex; white women employed in agriculture were added in 1662. Complaints from planters with increasing numbers of indentured servants and slaves led to a revision in 1680 that declared Virginia-born male slaves taxable at age twelve and imported male servants taxable at age fourteen; nonwhite women and free males remained taxable at age sixteen.

The laws of Virginia were revised in 1705. From then until 1782, all males and nonwhite females aged sixteen or over were tithables. Wives of free nonwhite males were added in 1723.

Virginia's tax system changed after the Revolutionary War to include taxing land and personal property in 1782, with further revision in 1787. The bulk of those tax lists prior to 1850 survive and are available on microfilm at The Library of Virginia.

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

  • Prince George County, Virginia Tax Books at Amazon.com
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Prince George County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Virginia Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

  • Prince George County Historical Society, 6400 Courthouse Road, P.O. Box 452, Prince George, VA 23875
  • Local Virginia Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
  • The Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000; 804-692-3500
  • Virginia Genealogical Society, 5001 West Broad Street, Suite 115, Richmond, Virginia 23230-3023; Telephone (804) 285-8954
    Please note that because of our close proximity to the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Historical Society, the Virginia Genealogical Society does not maintain a research facility or surname material.
  • Virginia Historical Society, 428 North Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220, Phone: 804.358.4901
    Mail: P.O.Box 7311, 23221-0311;Hours: Monday-Saturday 10-5 / Sunday 1-5 (galleries only)
  • Virginia Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
  • Virginia Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com
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Click Here to Search Virginia Obituary Records!
This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

Prince George County Church & Cemeteries

See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Virginia

There are many churches and cemeteries in Prince George County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Prince George County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Unlike New England, colonial Virginia left few early church records. The first Virginians were members of the Church of England, or Anglican church, which became the Episcopal Church in 1786. Early parish registers are incomplete and challenging to use. Parish boundaries changed rapidly and are hard to pinpoint.

Since colonial times, many religious groups have established congregations in Virginia, including Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Quaker or Friends, to name a few. Except for the Quakers, few of these groups kept records containing such genealogical information as birth, marriage, and death dates. A number of church vestry books and registers have been published and are available at The Library of Virginia and the FHL.

The list of published tombstone inscriptions for Virginia, if a comprehensive list existed, would be lengthy. The DAR has compiled an extensive collection of Virginia tombstone inscriptions. The collection, along with other cemetery record publications, can be found at the DAR Library in Washington, D.C., The Library of Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, and the FHL.

Cemetery interment registers and gravestone inscriptions may often be sources of useful information for Virginia researchers. The state government does not have a long, uninterrupted, centralized file of birth and death records that are readily accessible to researchers. Wars, floods, and fires have destroyed the vital record of many of Virginia's counties. Oftentimes, information found in cemetery records and on gravestones cannot be found anywhere else. When looking for a specific cemetery in Virginia, you may wish to start with the following comprehensive resource.

Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Prince George County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

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Click Here to Search Virginia Family Tree Records!
The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

 

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Prince George County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Prince George County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Extended History

 

Prince George County was established in 1702 and was named in honor of Prince George of Denmark, Husband of England's reigning monarch, Queen Anne. It was formed from Charles City County, one of the original eight shires, and its boundaries stretched from south of the James River down to the North Carolina line.

Boundary definition of Prince George County was not completed until 1703.  This area was one of the earliest settled regions of Virginia. It was first visited by the English in May of 1607, when Captain Christopher Newport led a crew of twenty-one men in search of the best location for their permanent settlement. As they sailed up the James River to the mouth of the Appomattox River, Newport noted that the area now known as Prince George would be a suitable location for the settlement. When he returned to the anchored fleet, he found that his impatient followers had already unloaded and begun settlement at Jamestown, without waiting for his advice.

In 1616, John Martin, one of the men who arrived in 1607, was among the first to receive a permanent land grant in the Prince George area. He was granted Brandon, a vast tract of land along the James River. Martin's Brandon was later sold to three men, one of whom was Richard Quiney whose son Thomas married Judith Shakespeare, daughter of William Shakespeare. The property later passed to Nathaniel Harrison in 1720. It was at this time that Thomas Jefferson, a good friend of Harrison's son, designed the main part of the house as it stands today. Brandon remained in the Harrison family until 1926 when it passed to Robert Williams Daniel. Brandon's Palladian-style mansion and renowned gardens are home to the Daniel family today, making this state and national landmark which is still an active farming operation the longest continuous agricultural enterprise in the U.S.

Another plantation in Prince George which was established by the early settlers is Flowerdew Hundred, a 1,000 acre tract of land acquired around 1619 by Sir George Yeardley. Since King James I had stressed the immediate need for mills and bakehouses in the new land, Yeardley built at Flowerdew the first wind driven grist mill in English N. America. In 1978 a post windmill overlooking the James River at Flowerdew Hundred was built to commemorate the original mill of 1621. It was commissioned by David A. Harrison III, Flowerdew's current owner, and was constructed by English millwright Derek Ogden. Over the years, Flowerdew has undergone several archaeological investigations conducted by the Flowerdew Hundred Foundation. This Virginia Historic Landmark, which is also on the National Register of Historic Places, currently serves as the location of the annual Prince George Heritage Fair.

Prince George also includes the distinction of having the first privately owned farm in America, the William Cawson property where John Randolph of Roanoke was born. Nearby is located Appomattox Manor which until recently was the oldest property in America bearing the same family name of the original patentee, Captain Francis Eppes.

Prince George is also the home of the oldest Episcopalian church still standing and still being used as a house of worship in America. Merchants Hope Church was completed in 1657 and was named after the Merchants Hope Plantation which was located west of Martin's Brandon. Even though the church has undergone renovation and restoration, it is virtually the same structure today as it was when it was built 50 years after Jamestown was settled.

Another historic church which was originally in Prince George but has since been annexed by Petersburg is Old Blandford Church built in 1735. This church stands in Blandford Cemetery where approximately 30,000 Confederate soldiers as well as many early Prince George residents are buried. Blandford Church houses an art treasure of Memorial Windows contributed by 15 Confederate States to honor their dead.

Merchants Hope Church also played a part in Bacon's Rebellion. In 1676 at Jordan Point, Bacon and many outraged settlers protested against edicts of the royal governors and demanded home rule. They met at Merchants Hope Church where they signed petitions to Governor Berkeley demanding help against Indian attacks. Berkeley dismissed their petitions leaving Bacon and 211 volunteers to take matters into their own hands.

Prince George produced native son Richard Bland, who played a prominent role in events leading to the American Revolution. He published the earliest defense of the Colonists' attitude regarding taxation, served as Virginia's delegate in the First and Second Continental Congress, was a respected political leader and an authority on Virginia's history. It is fitting that Thomas Jefferson would regard him as a most learned and logical in public affairs.

Prince George did not escape the Revolutionary War. In the campaign of 1781, Cornwallis, Phillips, and Benedict Arnold were active in the area, passing through the country's estates and fields. The house at Brandon bears bullet scars from this war and was lucky enough to escape attempts by a British ship to damage it.

Edmund Ruffin was another one of Prince George's distinguished sons. He was a pioneer soil chemist, helped establish the first Virginia State Board of Agriculture in 1840, and earned the title "Father of Agricultural Chemistry". Fifty years later he acquired the reputation of having fired the first shot on Ft. Sumter.

During the Civil War, Prince George played a vital historical role. Appomattox Manor, in that area of the county known as City Point, served as General Grant's Headquarters and pentagon of the Union Army. It was here where Lincoln spent the last three out of four remaining weeks of his life in 1865.

After Cold Harbor, Grant needed to move his army into position for the siege of Petersburg and searched the James River for an appropriate place to cross. Flowerdew Plantation was chosen as the site where the Union Army would construct a 2100 foot long pontoon bridge in June of 1864. Two-fifths of the Army of the Potomac crossed this bridge at Wilcox Landing to Flowerdew, traveled through the Prince George Courthouse area, and prepared to take Petersburg.

The historic Battle of the Crater was also fought in Prince George, since that area did not become part of Petersburg until 1956. By the end of July 1864, Union activists under Union Generals Butler and Burnside planned a massive explosion to blow a hole in Confederate lines around Petersburg. This large explosion had a disastrous end for the Union troops, and more than 5000 men were lost on both sides.

In September of 1864, Confederate scouts had detected a three-thousand-head beef herd held in a Union cattle pen at Coggins Point on the James River. Confederate General Wade Hampton, acting on a suggestion by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, hatched a plan to pull off the Great Cattle Raid. He and his troops advanced to the area, engaged the enemy, surrounded the cattle herd, and drove them out of Union control southward behind Confederate lines. Thanks to Hampton's men and some real Virginia cowboys, hungry Confederate soldiers were able to enjoy their well-earned beefsteak feast.

Since the county served as a field of operations for both the Union and Confederate Armies, many buildings suffered extensive damage. The Prince George Courthouse was ransacked and burned with many of its record books and documents destroyed or carried away by treasure-seekers. Private estates such as Brandon and many county churches were also seized, ransacked, and damaged.

Prince George's role and contribution to the military and defense of our nation did not end after 1865. During WWI in June 1917 the U.S. Army began building Camp Lee which was to serve vital infantry training ground for American soldiers on their way to Europe. Camp Lee was also a pivotal training ground during WWII where it became the center of both basic and advanced training of quartermaster personnel. In 1950 it was redesignated Fort Lee, and its primary mission today is focused on quartermaster and logistics training disciplines.

Patrick Copeland had planned the very first public school in the area, but the Indian Massacre of 1622 destroyed the possibility. A real public school was not established until 1871 in Brandon, and by the end of that year, twelve other schools had been set up in the county. The Prince George County School System has grown and prospered since those early plantation days and can boast such graduates as Texas Rangers Manager Johnny Oates, Los Angeles Rams football player Larry Brooks, Air Force Colonel John McBroom, and many other nationally known former residents

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