Category Archives: Research

Preservation of Revolutionary War Veteran Gravesites

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You never know where you are going to find useful information.

I was randomly searching on the Internet, and came across a JLARC (Joint Legislative Audit And Review Commission) Report on the Preservation of Revolutionary War Veterans Gravesites. Why would I be interested in a Virginia government audit? Because this audit just happens to have “Lists of the Revolutionary War Veterans Buried or Recognized at Specific Locations in Virginia” in its appendices. These reports give the first and last names, the birth and death dates (if known), and the location of burial (city/state) in various indexes.

  • Appendix B-1: Index of Revolutionary War veteran burials reported during this review, organized alphabetically by the last name of the veteran
  • Appendix B-2: Listing of veterans reportedly buried within the boundaries of Virginia’s counties, organized alphabetically by the name of the county
  • Appendix B-3: Listing of veterans reportedly buried within the boundaries of Virginia’s independent cities, organized alphabetically by the name of the city
  • Appendix B-4: Listing of the French veterans honored at the French Memorial Cemetery, organized alphabetically by the last name of the veteran
  • Appendix B-5: Listing of veterans honored by the Yorktown Victory Monument Tablet, organized alphabetically by the last name of the veteran
  • Appendix B-6: Inventory of the sources used in compiling these lists of veterans reportedly buried in Virginia

I was delighted to find this report! The link is http://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt264.pdf

I think I’m going to look through the JLARC files and find more historically useful reports!

Spring 2019 Issue of Central Virginia Heritage Available Online

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This issue begins with Joanne L. Yeck’s article, Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way:

“The Fall 2018 issue of Central Virginia Heritage included three Allen family wills transcribed by Jean L. Cooper. These rare documents go a long way toward illuminating one of Buckingham County’s earliest and largest families who migrated west from New Kent County, Virginia, to Henrico/Goochland/ Albemarle/Buckingham counties during the eighteenth century.

“In 1995, Rev. Richard Fenton Wicker, Jr. published a genealogy of this line entitled The Allen Family of England, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas and Illinois, 1600–1995. Over the years, along with many other Allen researchers, I have relied heavily on his solid research. Genealogy, however, is ever evolving and, recently, I learned that some of Rev. Wicker’s conclusions have been disproved based on subsequent findings, including Y-DNA evidence. While it is always best to seek primary documents, secondary sources, such as Rev. Wicker’s book, remain useful and his work is fundamental to this article.

“The patriarch of this Allen line, Capt. William Allen (1692–1751/1752), born in eastern Virginia, was destined to become one of the founders of the newly formed Albemarle County. …”

For the rest of this article, and several others, CVGA members should go to “Members Only” on the menu bar above, and choose “Central Virginia Heritage — Current Issue.” (Note: You have to be logged in to this website in order to see “Members Only.”)

If you have trouble logging in to the site to download your copy, please contact me at the webmaster link at the bottom of this page.

For those who are not members of CVGA, we offer the opportunity to purchase a printed copy of each issue. The Spring 2019 issue is available from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/Central-Virginia-Heritage-Spring-2019/dp/1798551527 for $6.50. Click on the Amazon.com link above or search for “Central Virginia Heritage” on Amazon.com.

Contents of the Spring 2019 issue:

  • Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way: Dissecting Last Wishes in Three Buckingham County Wills, by Joanne L. Yeck
  • Buckingham County 1764 Tithable List & 1782 Personal Property Tax, by Joanne L. Yeck
  • Planning Your Cemetery Research, by Susan DuBar
  • Marriage Announcements in the Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA) June 1893, by Diane Inman
  • New Jersey to Virginia: Murphy–Henry/Hendry—Borden, by Dr. Shelley Murphy
  • Library of Virginia and Virginia Museum of History and Culture Combine Databases of Enslaved Virginians
  • Statue of George Washington by Jean Antoine Houdon
  • Some Musings on the U.S. Census and Birth Dates, by Jean L. Cooper
  • Message from CVGA President, by Patricia Lukas

If you have any articles you’d like to share with CVGA members, please send an email to the editor, eleanordew@gmail.com. — The Editor.

Fall 2018 Central Virginia Heritage Available Online!

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In this issue:  Jean L. Cooper’s article, Crowd-Sourcing With Zooniverse.org:

One of the most interesting websites I recently discovered is www.Zooniverse.org. Zooniverse is a site that offers the opportunity to crowd-source the work involved in
transcribing collections of documents. Some of the projects are scientific in nature,
studying climate, biology, or medicine. Others have to do with language, history, or the arts. Among the projects: Helping transcribe the military records of African-American Civil War Soldiers, and transcribing records in The American Soldier, to provide access to a one-of-a-kind collection of reflections on war and military service by American soldiers who served during the Second World War. …

For the rest of this article, and several others, CVGA members should go to “Members Only” on the menu bar above, and choose “Central Virginia Heritage — Current Issue.” (Note: You have to be logged in to this website in order to see “Members Only.”)

If you have trouble logging in to the site to download your copy, please contact me at the webmaster link at the bottom of this page.

For those who are not members, we offer the opportunity to purchase a printed copy of each issue. The Fall 2018 issue is available from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1723791210 for $6.50. Click on the Amazon.com link above or search for “Central Virginia Heritage” on Amazon.com.

Contents of the Fall 2018 issue:

  • Fall Conference of the Virginia Genealogical Society and the Central Virginia Genealogical Association, to be held 5-6 Oct., 2018, in Charlottesville, VA;
  • The Genealogical Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution;
  • Preservation Grants for Presbyterian Churches;
  • Obituary: Charles R. Moore;
  • Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire;
  • Census Instructions;
  • Are You Missing Most of the Available Genealogy Information?;
  • Benjamin Bartley, Free Negro Registration, 1808;
  • Three Allen Wills from Buckingham County;
  • The Southall Family of Virginia;
  • Crowd-Sourcing on Zooniverse.org;
  • Fredericksburg National Cemetery;
  • Rockingham County Cemetery Indexes.

As a little extra gift, the online edition contains an extra, one-page guide to Basic Steps for African American Slave Research, courtesy of Dr. Shelley Murphy.

If you have any articles you’d like to share with CVGA members, please send an email to the editor, eleanordew@gmail.com. — The Editor.

Oct. 14, 2017: Learning about VirginiaChronicle.com

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The Library of Virginia has an extensive collection of digitized newspapers that can be accessed online. However, only some of them are searchable. Learn how you can help make them all searchable by transcribing these valuable records and maybe add some context to your own family history.

The meeting will take place from 1:30 pm-3:30 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The address of the Church is 1275 Timberwood Blvd., Charlottesville, VA. It is located on the corner of Airport Road and Timberwood. Coming from U.S. 29, the entrance is on the right (north) side of Airport Road immediately before you reach the church. Drive to the back of the building where you will see the entrance to the Family History Center.

Hope to see you there!

Free Access to Revolutionary War Records, July 1-15, 2017 on Fold3.com

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Access Revolutionary War Records for Free*

Revolutionary War Signing for Payment VouchersDo you have ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War? Now is the perfect time to learn more about them, as Fold3 is giving free access* to our Revolutionary War Collection July 1–15.

There are 20+ titles in our Revolutionary War Collection. Popular ones include:

Revolutionary War Pensions
The records in this collection include entire pension files for soldiers and sailors who served in the Revolutionary War. Unlike selected records, which were typically chosen subjectively for genealogical content, these records reveal more details about each veteran’s history and service, as well as more information about his family, state of health, and life after the war. Every name mentioned in the pensions has been indexed, not just the soldier’s name, which makes finding people even easier.

Revolutionary War Service Records
These are compiled service records for the regular soldiers of the Continental Army, and for the militia, volunteers, and others who served with them. The records are arranged under the designation “Continental Troops” or a state name, then by organization, and then alphabetically by a soldier’s surname. Records consist of card abstracts of entries relating to each soldier from original records. Also included are regimental lists including muster rolls, pay lists, and caption cards.

Revolutionary War Rolls
The primary function of the many Revolutionary War rolls maintained by the American Army was to provide basic information about the identities, numbers, condition, equipage, and pay status of the men and units that comprised the Army in order to facilitate administrative control. Browse these rolls by state and name of organization (regiment, battalion, guard, company, etc.). Find names of soldiers with the help of annotations supplied by other Fold3 users and feel free to add your own. Thousands of records from 138 rolls of microfilm provide names and details about the men who fought for independence.

Final Payment Vouchers Index for Military Pensions, 1818–1864
Pension payment records are not typically found in pension application files. These cards were created as an index for the final payments made to either the veteran or his widow. They provide additional details on where a family may have moved in the early- to mid-19th century, death dates of veterans, widows, or dependent children, and sometimes the maiden name of a widow.

Get started searching or browsing the Revolutionary War Collection on Fold3!.

*Access to the records in the featured collections will be free until July 15, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Free access requires registration for a free Fold3 account. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using a paid Fold3 membership.

 

Spring 2017 Central Virginia Heritage Available!

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Hi all — I was aiming at March 1st as the publication date for the Spring issue, but I managed to make it a Valentine’s Day baby instead!

First, a snippet from the article by Bernadette Whitsett-Hammond & Edwina St. Rose, titled “Preserving the Daughters of Zion Cemetery in Charlottesville, VA.”

“The Daughters of Zion Cemetery, located near Oakwood Cemetery in Charlottesville, VA, was established in 1873 by members of the Daughters of Zion, a women’s benevolent organization that sought to support the needs of African Americans following Reconstruction. One of the important efforts conducted by the Daughters of Zion was to provide a place of dignified burial as an alternative to segregated cemeteries such as Oakwood Cemetery…”

For the rest of this article, and several others, CVGA members should go to “Members Only” on the menu bar above, and choose “Central Virginia Heritage — Current Issue.” (Note: You have to be logged in to this website in order to see “Members Only.”)

For those who are not members, we offer the opportunity to purchase a printed copy of each issue. The Spring 2017 issue is available from Createspace.com/6566260 for $6.50. Click on the CreateSpace.com link above or search for “Central Virginia Heritage” on the Createspace.com Store site.

If you have trouble logging in to the site to download your copy, or if you have trouble with the CreateSpace.com site, please contact me at the webmaster link at the bottom of this page.

Contents of the Spring 2017 issue:

  • The Blue Ridge Heritage Project, by Bill Henry … page 1
  • Freedmen’s Bureau Transcription Project Completed … page 4
  • The Rushes of Chestnut Grove, by Regina Rush … page 5
  • Polish Genealogical Society of America … page 10
  • A Letter From the Editor … page 10
  • Ehart’s Mill in Earlysville, by Everette M. Huff … page 11
  • 2017 Legacy Family Tree Webinar Series Announced … page 12
  • Midwest African American Genealogy Institute Celebrates Milestone Year! … page 13
  • Preserving the Daughters of Zion Cemetery in Charlottesville, VA, by Bernadette Whitsett-Hammond & Edwina St. Rose … page 14
  • Research at the American Baptist Historical Society … page 15
  • Blanket Lists for 1817 & 1818 in the Account Book of John George Woolfolk for Shepherd’s Hill Plantation, 1811-1819 … page 16
  • DNA Talk Rescheduled to March 14, 2017 … page 16
  • The Times-Dispatch Genealogical Column: The Duke Family of Virginia … page 17
  • Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, VA), by Jean Cooper … page 20
  • A Simple Way To Read Old Tombstones … page 20
  • The Bible Comes Back to the Family! by Shelley Murphy … page 21
  • The Clark Allison Story, by Diane Inman … page 23
  • Packing list for a genealogical trip … page 24
  • Molecular Genealogy of a Mongol Queen’s Family and Her Possible Kinship with Genghis Khan, by Gavaachimed Lkhagvasuren, et al. … page 25
  • President’s Column, by Patricia Lukas … page 26

If you have any articles you’d like to share with CVGA members, please send an email to cvgaboard@gmail.com, Attention: The Editor.

Central Virginia Heritage (online edition), Winter 2016 Available Now

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A snippet from Sam Towler’s article, “Albemarle County Chancery Cases Preservation Project”:

In the 1970s, Albemarle County sent most of the chancery cases in its files which ended before 1912 to the Library of Virginia. The Library of Virginia preserved all the cases they received and put them in acid-free folders to prevent deterioration.  With the Albemarle County Clerk’s approval, I have been working on a project to preserve the post-1900 cases that Albemarle still had at the Courthouse in Charlottesville by unfolding the documents and putting the papers in acid-free folders provided by the Clerk’s Office.

For the rest of this article, and several others, go to “Members Only” on the menu bar above, and choose “Central Virginia Heritage — Current Issue.” (Note: You have to be logged in to this website in order to see “Members Only.”)

For those who are not members, we offer the opportunity to purchase a printed copy of each issue. The Winter 2016 issue is available from CreateSpace.com/6782694 for $6.50. Click on the CreateSpace.com link above or search for “Central Virginia Heritage” on the Createspace.com Store site.

If you have trouble logging in to the site to download your copy, or if you have trouble with the CreateSpace.com site, please contact me at the webmaster link at the bottom of this page.

Table of Contents for the Winter 2016 issue:

  • Division of the Negro Property of the Estate of William Morris of Louisa County, Virginia, 1832 … page 1
  • Albemarle County Chancery Cases Preservation Project … page 4
  • Last Will and Testament of Benjamin Franklin, of St. Anne’s Parish, Albemarle Co., VA … page 6
  • Early Broadus Wood High School History … page 7
  • The Wyatt Family of Albemarle County, Virginia … page 9
  • Reductions in Service at the Library of Virginia … page 11
  • The Times-Dispatch Genealogical Column: The Walker Family of Virginia … page 12
  • Castle Hill … page 16
  • James Govan Estate Settlement and Division of Slaves (1831-1835), Hanover Co., VA … page 18
  • List of the Hire of Negroes [of the Heirs of] Richard Terrell of Louisa Co., VA (1771) … page 19
  • Funeral Home Records Available Online … page 20
  • Letter from Edward Govan to Mary Govan Hill, near Fredericksburg, VA (1831) … page 22
  • Slaves of John Ambler (April 1829) at his Plantations in Amherst and Louisa Counties … page 23
  • President’s Column, by Patricia Lukas … page 24

P.S. Wouldn’t you like to see your research published in this beautiful magazine? Send it to any of the CVGA officers on the About CVGA page.