Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Dept. of Health. West Virginia Vital Statistics, 1853-1863. Accession 38788, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Virginia Dept. of Health.

Biographical Information

The state of West Virginia was formed on 13 May 1862 and consisted of the following fifty counties that were formerly in Virginia: Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Marion, McDowell, Mercer, Monongalia, Monroe, Morgan, Nicholas, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood and Wyoming.

Scope and Content

Contains registers of births, deaths and marriages of counties in Virginia that were later incorporated into West Virginia in 1863. Birth Registers include: date of birth, name, color, and sex of the child, place of birth, father's name, occupation and residence, name of mother, any deformities or circumstances of interest, and the source of the information. Death registers include: full name, race, and sex of the deceased, date, place and cause of death, name of parents, birthdate and occupation of the deceased, name of the coroner and the source of the information. Marriage registers include: date and place of the marriage, full names of husband and wife, age and condition, place of their births, place of residence, names of their parents, occupations, and the name of the person performing the ceremony.

Unfortunately, most of these records are incomplete with gaps in coverage from county to county. In particular, please note that the birth registers for McDowell County are absent from the collection. Also please note that the original materials are in poor condition. Please use microfilm. Note that the microfilm was made from poor originals and that the best possible image has been achieved considering the condition of the original materials.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by county name.