Chesterfield County was named for Philip Dormer Stanhope, forth earl of Chesterfield, British statesman and diplomat, and was formed from Henrico County in 1749. Its area is 446 square miles, and the county seat is Chesterfield. The population is 259,903 according to the 2000 census. Lost one marriage register and some loose court papers during the Civil War. See Extended History for More information.
PLEASE READ!! 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.
Chesterfield County Clerk of the Circuit Courthas Marriage Records from 1770 , Land Records from1749 , Probate Records from 1749 and Court Records from 1749 and is located at the County Courthouse on P. O. Box 125,
9500 Courthouse Road,
Chesterfield, VA 23832-0125; 804/748-1241,
Fax: 804/796-5625.
Lost one marriage register and some loose court papers during the Civil War. The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a constitutional official that is elected by the voters of Chesterfield 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.
Below is a list of online resources for Chesterfield County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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.
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.
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. Also you can order birth and death records online quickly and easily via VitalChek! Usually you recieve them in 2-5 days.
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. Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
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.
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 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 Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering HERE
Below is a list of online resources for Chesterfield County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Death Records Indexing Project - partially completed cooperative project with the Virginia Genealogical Society; goal is to create a statewide index to the 1853-1896 locality death registers.
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.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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 Chesterfield County Maps. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Maps by clicking the link below:
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.
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 Chesterfield County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
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 Chesterfield County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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 Chesterfield County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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.
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.
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 Chesterfield County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
J. Henry Brown Monuments Inc., Order Book - a searchable database indexing tombstone inscriptions covering the period 1899-1907. Many of the individuals listed were born before Virginia began keeping vital statistics in 1853.
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.
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 Chesterfield County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Chesterfield County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Virginia Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
part of Henrico Cittie, Henrico Shire, Henrico County
Prior to English colonization, the area was occupied by Native Americans.
During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, English settlers and explorers began settling other areas. One of the more progressive developments in the colony was Henricus, founded under the guidance of Sir Thomas Dale. It was to include a college to help educate Indians, as well as the children of settlers.
1619 was a watershed year for the Virginia Colony. Four large citties (sic) were formed, one of which was Henrico Cittie, and included what is now Chesterfield County. Also beginning in 1619, Falling Creek Ironworks, the first in what is now the United States, were established slightly west on Falling Creek from its confluence with the James River. Both were was wiped out by the Indian Massacre of 1622 and not rebuilt.
In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires (or counties) in the colony of Virginia. One of these became Henrico County, which extended to a large area on both sides of the James River.
[edit] Chesterfield County formed
On May 25th, 1749, the Virginia General Assembly passed the act that separated Chesterfield from Henrico County and created the new county. The county is named for Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. Lord Chesterfield was famous for his "good manners and writings."
Many years later, Chesterfield Cigarettes were named after this county due to the region's historical association with the tobacco industry.
[edit] Early ports, roads, turnpikes and railroads
Prior to the American Revolutionary War, a thriving port town named Warwick was located at the northwestern confluence of Falling Creek and the James River. It was destroyed during that War, and not rebuilt. (It was near the current Dupont facility at Ampthill, and the site is not open to the public.) Another early port town was Port Walthall on the north shore of the Appomattox River. It was located near the current Point-of-Rocks Park.
The Manchester and Falling Creek Turnpike in Chesterfield County was the first graveled roadway of any length in Virginia in 1804. The toll road ran between the coal mining area of Midlothian near the headwaters of Falling Creek and Manchester, generally following the path of the current Midlothian Turnpike (U.S. Route 60}.
Created in 1816, the Virginia Board of Public Works was a governmental agency which oversaw and helped finance the development of Virginia's internal transportation improvements during the 19th century. In that era, it was customary to invest public funds in private companies, which were the forerunners of the public service and utility companies of modern times. Claudius Crozet (1789-1864), a civil engineer and educator who helped found Virginia Military Institute (VMI), was Principal Engineer and later Chief Engineer for the Board of Public Works. He was involved with the planning and construction of many of the canals, turnpikes, bridges and railroads in Virginia, including the area which is now West Virginia.
New turnpikes, were partially engineered and funded by the Board, and operated by private companies which collected tolls. The Manchester and Petersburg Turnpike which generally followed the path of the current Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Routes 1-301), was one of these. A canal was built in Manchester section of Chesterfield. Portions are extant, and may be seen near the south end of Richmond's Mayo Bridge, although it is not as well-known as the much larger James River and Kanawha Canal which ran along the north bank at Richmond, and extended many miles to the west.
In 1831, the Chesterfield Railroad was the first railroad in Virginia, transporting coal from mines near Falling Creek in what is now the Midlothian area to the docks at the fall line at the head of navigation of the James River. Later railroad lines included the Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) (which put the Chesterfield Railroad out of business) and the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, both completed before the American Civil War in which they each played key roles.
Another small line through Chesterfield was a narrow gauge railroad. The Farmville and Powhatan Railroad, later renamed the Tidewater and Western Railroad, extended from Farmville in Prince Edward County to the tiny village of Bermuda Hundred in far eastern Chesterfield. Although long gone, portions of the old rail bed may been seen along Beach road near the entrance to Pocahontas State Park.
After the Reconstruction, the R&D eventually became part of the Southern Railway, and is now part of Norfolk Southern Railway. The Richmond Petersburg Railroad became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. In 1900, a mostly parallel line was built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, with a branch line to Hopewell. Through the "modern merger era of US railroads" (which began around 1960), portions of each eventually became part of the CSX Transportation system.
[edit] American Civil War
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Drewry's Bluff became a key defensive point for Confederate forces to block the Union's vastly superior Navy from taking Richmond by way of the James River. During the Siege of Petersburg (1864-65), a long defensive works through the county was part of the Confederacy's Richmond-Petersburg line of land defenses. Railroad lines passing through Petersburg finally proved the key to the fall of Richmond in 1865, effectively ending the War.
A normal school founded by the state after the American Civil War primarily to help educate freedmen eventually became Virginia State University, located in the Ettrick area near Petersburg and Colonial Heights.
[edit] Former areas, annexation issues
Manchester (directly across the James River from the City of Richmond) was the county seat until 1874, when it was moved to the present location at Chesterfield Court House. The City of Manchester left Chesterfield late in 19th century to become an independent city, and merged with the City of Richmond by mutual agreement in 1910. It is now known as a part of South Richmond.
Colonial Heights was formerly an incorporated town in Chesterfield County, and became an independent city in 1948. Over half a century later, the two neighbors continued to share provision of some governmental services.
Chesterfield County lost territory to the City Richmond through annexations in the 20th century, most notably in 1944 and 1970. In 1970, while an annexation lawsuit by Richmond was being heard, leaders of the two jurisdictions agreed to a compromise, which the court approved. This resulted in Richmond receiving 23 square miles. Some citizens in the annexed area of the 1970 compromise who had been opposed to the annexation, and fought it unsuccessfully for over 7 years afterwards in the courts, ruefully called the 23 square mile zone "Occupied Chesterfield."
Virginia's annexation laws have long been felt by many leaders to be a barrier to regional cooperation among localities. As of 2007, a moratorium on such major annexations has been in place since the late 20th century by actions in the Virginia General Assembly.
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