Alexandria City

Alexandria City, Virginia - Genealogy, Wills, Estates - Where to Find Original Documents

The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town. A portion of adjacent Fairfax County, Virginia is named Alexandria, but is under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County and separate from the city; the city is sometimes referred to as the City of Alexandria or Alexandria City to avoid confusion. In 1920, The General Assembly of Virginia voted to incorporate what had been Alexandria County as Arlington County, Virginia. The surviving courthouse records for Alexander | City begin in 1800 and are inclusive of old wills and testaments, detailed inventories, orphan records, and so on.

Wills, Appraisements, Inventories, Guardianships, Estates 1815 to 1821

Rebecca

Indexes to Probate Records Wills and Inventories 1800 to 1804

Wills and Inventories 1800 to 1804; 1804 to 1807; 1807 to 1810

Images of Wills,Inventories, orphans | Records, Book A, 1800 to 1804

Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, orphans | Records, Book B, 1804 to 1807

Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, orphans Records, Book C, 1807 to 1810

Images of Wills, Bonds, Orphans, Affidavits 1810 to 1815

Images of Wills, Inventories, Appraisements, Orphans, Affidavits 1821 to 1831

The Good Ship "Metamora"

The good ship Metamora of Alexandria, John Hunter, builder and owner. He was the founder of the Hunter Shipyard, “the most complete private establishment of the kind in the country.”

Bellhaven

In March of 1752, a committee reporting to the House of Burgess rejected the proposition from the Town of Alexandria to change the name of that town to Bellhaven. There had been much talk about this, and for long the town at Hunting Creek was the only designation. The town was first built on part of a land patent of the Alexander family and was named Alexandria. The Alexander family, was both numerous and important (the head of the clan bearing the title Lord Stirling). Prior to that time, George Washington dated some letters to Bellehaven. Within a year, a village had become a town with the marketplace located exactly in the middle. The first courthouse of the frame was built on the east side of lot No. 43, at the intersection of Cameron and Fairfax Streets. South of the Town House on Fairfax stood the jail, stocks, and whipping post for the use of those who failed to keep the law. Directly behind these buildings the market square, or green, occupied all of lot No. 44. Here the town militia drilled, here were held the carnivals, and public gatherings, and here was the larder of Alexandria. To this day the market square caters to the appetites of hungry townsmen. Across Royal Street, facing the square, stood the City Tavern or Coffee House; southward on the same side of the street was the Royal George, after the Revolution called George Tavern. Already substantial wharves and warehouses appeared along the waterfront, and private houses and stores were beginning to fill the empty lots. In June 1754, the trustees ordered that various lots not built upon be put up at auction and sold to the highest bidder. They were in earnest about this dereliction on the part of purchasers, and seven lots were forfeited at this time. Among those paying such a penalty was the half-brother of George Washington, Augustine.

The past is not too far afield. The anciently weathered remains of a 300-year-old ship buried in Alexandria, Virginia (old town) were first noticed in December of 2015 at the construction site for a new hotel. This vessel is believed to have been built in Massachusetts after 1741 and traveled to the Virginia coast. As time passed, this shipwreck was used as a landfill. Three additional vessels were later discovered in the area, all buried just feet away from one another. The artifacts included jewelry, tokens from Newgate Prison in London, and Spanish and Irish coins.

Newgate Prisoners
and a New Start

The Famous Newgate Prison was demolished in 1904. Originally located at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall, the prison was rebuilt during the 12th century and stood at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. Remnant of cells is said to lie in the basement of a rated Victorian Gin Palace. The tavern was built as a drinking den for laborers working on the nearby viaduct bridge. It played a major role in the colonization of the colonies as certain prisoners were sent to the colonies instead of being incarcerated in the crowded cells. Indeed, London found its solution of ridding itself of undesirables. So what happened to the prisoners once they arrived in Virginia? Pardoned felons served from fourteen years to life on the American plantations. Meanwhile, others who could not afford to pay passage to America indentured themselves into service for periods of seven years onward. At the end of service, they were given 50 acres of land.

The Braddock House

Alexandria City, Virginia - Genealogy, Wills, Estates - Where to Find Original Documents

Wills, Appraisements, Inventories, Guardianships, Estates 1815 to 1821

Indexes to Probate Records Wills and Inventories 1800 to 1804

Images of Wills,Inventories, orphans | Records, Book A, 1800 to 1804

Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, orphans | Records, Book B, 1804 to 1807

Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, orphans Records, Book C, 1807 to 1810

Images of Wills, Bonds, Orphans, Affidavits 1810 to 1815

Images of Wills, Inventories, Appraisements, Orphans, Affidavits 1821 to 1831

The Good Ship "Metamora"

Bellhaven

Newgate Prisoners
and a New Start

Join Our Newsletter

Biographies of Revolutionary War Soldiers

Alexandria City

Alexandria City, Virginia - Genealogy, Wills, Estates - Where to Find Original Documents

Wills, Appraisements, Inventories, Guardianships, Estates 1815 to 1821

Indexes to Probate Records Wills and Inventories 1800 to 1804

Images of Wills,Inventories, orphans | Records, Book A, 1800 to 1804

Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, orphans | Records, Book B, 1804 to 1807

Images of Wills, Inventories, Estates, orphans Records, Book C, 1807 to 1810

Images of Wills, Bonds, Orphans, Affidavits 1810 to 1815

Images of Wills, Inventories, Appraisements, Orphans, Affidavits 1821 to 1831

The Good Ship "Metamora"

Bellhaven

Newgate Prisonersand a New Start

Join Our Newsletter

Biographies of Revolutionary War Soldiers

Newgate Prisoners
and a New Start