Rappahannock 

Rappahannock County was first founded in 1656 from part of Lancaster County. Many of the first colonists resided in the area and records exist back to the sixteen hundredths. This old county became extinct in 1692 when it was separated to form Essex and Richmond Counties. In 1833, the Virginia General Assembly created the currently existing Rappahannock County, taking land from Culpeper County. It was named after the old Rappahannock River which separates it from Fauquier County. The county seat is Washington, Virginia.

Historical Tidbits: In 1669 Thomas Butler of Rappahannock County bound himself to deliver to George Brown, the captain of the Elizabeth of London, three hogsheads of sweet-scented tobacco belonging to the choicest portion of his crop. Brown was to carry this tobacco to England and there to dispose of it for money sterling. After having laid aside twenty-two pounds for his own use, the amount of a claim which he held against Butler for goods previously sold to him, Brown was to employ whatever remained in buying linen and woolen cloths, shoes and stockings to be conveyed to Butler in Virginia.

Sources: Records of Rappahannock County, original vol. 1668-1672, p. 291.

(Old, Former County) Rappahannock County Records:

• Marriages to 1699

Miscellaneous Wills

• Butler, John
• Kenny, William
• Musgrave, Michael, LWT transcript
• Rowzie, Edward
• Toone, James (1677), LWT, transcript

Indexes to Old Rappahannock County Probate Records

• Deeds, Wills, Settlements 1656-1664; 1662-1672; 1662-1668; 1663-1682

Images of Wills, Estates, Deeds

• 1656 to 1664
• 1663 to 1668
• 1665-1677, No. 1
• 1668-1672, No. 4
• 1671-1672, No. 5
• 1677-1682
• 1688-1692

Indexes

• General Index to Deed Bks 7 and 8, 1684 to 1691
• General Index to Wills, Deeds, 1654 to 1691

Rappahannock County Records

Indexes to Rappahannock Wills and Estates

• Index to Rappahannock County Wills and Estates, Book A, 1833-1842
• Index to Rappahannock County Wills and Estates, Book B, 1842-1849
• Index to Rappahannock County Wills and Estates, Book C, 1849-1855
• Index to Rappahannock County Wills and Estates, Book D, 1855-1866

Digital Images of (current) Rappahannock County Wills and Estates

Wills and Estates, Book A, 1833-1842

Testators: Adams, Easter; Amiss, Philip; Barnes, Leonard; Best, Enos; Bragg, Thomas; Broaddus, Mary; Burgess, Dawson; Butler, Charles; Butler, Elizabeth; Cannon, Reuben; Carders, George; Carn, John; Cheek, Mary; Cheek, Nancy; Conner, Margaret; Daniel, Nancy; Deatherage, George; Dodson, William; Duncan, Frederick; Duncan, George; Eastham, Bird; Farrow, William; Foley, Thomas; Fristoe, Catherine; Gan, William; Gibson, Mary; Gibson, Moses; Gray, Richard; Griffin, Thomas; Grigsby, S.; Hawkins, Nancy; Hawes, Aylette; Hayne, Sarah; Hughes, Thomas; Jeffries, John; Jeffries, Louiza; Jenkins, Elizabeth; Jenkins, Stephen; Jones, William F.; Jordan, Mary; Kemper, Edmund; Kennard, David; Kittle, Jacob; Lilliard, Clara; Lilliard, Elizabeth; Lunsford, William; Madden, Samuel; Mallard, Susanna; Menfee, James; Miller, Jacob; Miller, John; Miller, Lucy; Murdock, Godfrey; Norman, Aley; Parker, Benjamin; Payne, Frank; Poulter, Jane; Pullen, Ann; Pullen, Thomas; Randall, Francis; Robertson, Elijah; Robertson, Mitchell; Ross, Enos; Rudacilla, Philip; Sims, Reubin; Smith, Jeremiah; Smith, John; Snyder, Daniel; Tapp, Vincent; Thornton, Jane; Turner, Lewis G.; Ubz, Solomon; Waters, Landy; Willey, Edward; Willis, Charles; Withers, James Jr.; Withers, Susannah; Wood, James D.; Yates, Lucy

Rappahannock Wills, Book B, 1842-1849

Testators: Berkley, Elizabeth; Brandon, Ezekiel; Brown, George; Brown, William; Browning, John; Calvert, Sylvia; Cheek, George; Corder, John; Duncan, Susan; Fisher, Thomas H.; Green, George James; Green, James; Grigsby, Jane; Haddon, John R.; Hopper, Joshua; Hudson, Robert; Jenkins, Reuben; Jones, Robert; Maddon, Notley; Mason, Catherine; Menefee, Henry; Moore, Lewis Sr.; Mosingo, George; O’Bannon, Bryant; Ritenaur, David; Royston, John; Spiller, Elizabeth; Updike, Daniel; Walden, Lucy; Wood, Burwell K.; Wood, John H.

Rappahannock County Wills, Book C, 1849-1855

Testators: Brooke, Reuben; Brown, William P.; Browning, John; Burgess, Francis; Corley, Richard; Deal, Peter; Gibson, Betsy; Hitt, James; Holland, John; Jeffries, Moses; Jenkins, William; Jetts, Susannah; Jones, Henry; Jordan, Absalom; Lodowick, Zadock; Majors, Sarah; Morrison, John; O’Bannon, James; Paylon, John Sr.; Popham, John; Sims, Abner; Sloane, James; Smith, Caleb; Smith, William; Whitehead, Margaret; Woodard, William

Rappahannock County Wills, Book D, 1855-1866

Testators: Allen, Madison; Amiss, John; Amiss, Joseph; Blackwell, Sarah; Bolen, W. A.; Brady, John; Brown, Margaret; Browning, Cassandra; Cooksey, Elias; Corbin, Joseph; Corbin, William; Courgill, John; Daniel, Silas; Deal, Allen; Dearing, Alfred; Dearing, Thomas E.; Dearing, Thomas E.; Deatherage, Catharine; Deatherage, George; Dodson, Margaret; Fletcher, Peggy; Fletcher, William; Fristoe, Asenath; Hinson, James; Houghton, Benjamin; Hudson, Alexander; Huff, Isaac; Hughes, Benjamin; Jones, Moses R.; Jones, William; Kemper, Elizabeth; Lalouradair, William; Learen, Hugh; Maddox, Nolly; McQuinn, Strother; Menefee, William; Millan, Francis; Miller, Delila; Miller, Nancy; Moon, Mary; Moore, Mary; Newman, Mary; O’Bannon, Mary; Pullen, Jesse; Reid, Mark; Rollins, Thomas; Rominus, John; Silman, Landon; Sisk, Ellen; Slaughter, Reuben; Stringfellow, Benjamin; Tannehill, William; Wall, Thomas; Whitescarver, Francis; Yates, Paul

A Distillery

“A distillery in Rappahannock County, Virginia has tempted twelve stands from the path of honey and wax and made confirmed inebriates of them. Before the distillery was started, their owner, a woman, found the bees very profitable, but their periodic visits to the still have made them comparatively worthless.” Source: The Jones Headlight, Grays Station, Georgia, Saturday, January 7, 1888.