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Northampton County History and Information |
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Northampton County probably was named for the English county, of which Obedience Robins, a prominent early resident of the Eastern Shore, was a native. The county, which originally included all of the peninsula south of Maryland and which was one of the eight shires established in 1694, was first called Accawmack. The name was changed by legislative action in 1643. The area is 357 square miles, and the county seat is Eastville. The population is 13,093 according to the 2000 census. See Extended History for More information.
The Official County Website is located at http://www.co.northampton.va.us/gov/index.html . Cities, Towns and Communities include Cape Charles, Cheriton, Eastville, Exmore and Nassawadox
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See Also Virginia Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records
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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. |
Northampton County Clerk of the Circuit Court has Marriage Records from 1706 , Land Records from 1632 , Probate Records from 1632 and Court Records from 1632 and is located at the County Courthouse on P.O. Box 36,
5229 The Hornes,
Eastville, VA 23347-0036; 757/678-0465,
Fax: 757/678-5410 .
The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a constitutional official that is elected by the voters of Northampton 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.
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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
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Below is a list of online resources for Northampton County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Northampton County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Vital Records in Virginia
Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won't have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce or Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!
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.
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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 Northampton County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Northampton County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Research In Census Records
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Northampton 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 Northampton 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.
See Also Statewide Records that exist for Virginia
Below is a list of online resources for Northampton County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Northampton County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Northampton County Maps. Email us with websites containing Northampton County Maps by clicking the link below:
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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 Northampton County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Northampton 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.
- Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War 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.
- Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.
- 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.
- Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Virginia units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier.
- Virginia Military Dead Database - ongoing project indexing more than 700 sources and listing approximately 32,326 Virginians who have died in service.
- Northampton County, Virginia Military Books at Amazon.com
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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 Northampton County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Northampton County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Northampton County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Northampton County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
- Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society,
P.O. Box 3602,
Salisbury, MD 21802-3602,
(410) 742-3501
- Genealogy and History of the Eastern Shore (GHOTES), 69 Market Street,
P.O. Box 193,
Onancock, VA 23417;
757-787-8012 (Kerr Place)
- 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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See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Virginia
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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. |
There are many churches and cemeteries in Northampton County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Northampton 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 Northampton County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Northampton County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Northampton County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Northampton County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
- Search 60 Years Of Everton Data
: For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons. Learn More
- Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
- Sites on USGenweb: [ Northampton County ] [ Virginia ] [ Main Page ]
- [GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
- 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.
- Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
- 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.
- Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
- Northampton County, Virginia Family Books at Amazon.com
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he Algonquin Indian Tribe called the region now known as the Eastern Shore Accomack or "on the other side of the water place." There were over 2000 original inhabitants on the Eastern Shore at the time of the first European landings.
The first recorded landing was in 1603 by Captain Bartholomew Gilbert, a nephew of Sir Walter Raleigh. All of the landing party, including Captain Gilbert, was killed by Native Americans.
In June 1608, Captain John Smith from Jamestown made a successful landing on the Eastern Shore. He established trading relationships with the Native Americans and charted the first known mainland map; the earliest copy of this map was published in 1612.
In 1614 land was bought from the Native Americans to use as an outpost for the Virginia Company. The first permanent settlement soon followed in 1620. Northampton County was one of the original eight Virginia shires established in 1634. This area extended south from Maryland and was at that time called Accomack. In 1643, the name was changed to Northampton after the Northamptonshire in England, birthplace of two prominent local citizens. Twenty years later the peninsula was divided into two counties and both historic names came into use. By the 1703 Census, Northampton County had a population of 2081 English settlers.
Local government began on the Eastern Shore in 1632 with commissioners meeting as a court. They gathered in homes of individual members or in privately owned buildings such as taverns. Early court records were kept in clerk homes and have miraculously survived to the present day. These documents are the oldest continuous county court records in the United States, dating from 1632. The first official County seat was located in Townefield or what is now known as Cheriton. The County seat moved several times and was permanently relocated to Eastville in 1731. The Courthouse, which still functions today, was constructed at this time. Almost 40 years later in 1770, the Clerk's Office and Debtor's Prison were added.
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