Richmond

Richmond County Genealogy, Wills, Estates, Court House Records

Richmond County, Virginia was formed in 1692 out of Old Rappahannock County. Its county seat is Warsaw. The county is located on the Northern Neck (not to be confused with Richmond, the city). The county seat is Warsaw, Virginia. It is the historical site of many first colonists and this fact is reflected in the last wills and testaments. The document was very important for our days beccause it reveals so much about the decedent, which is welcome information to the genealogist. The will is a “must” document to search. In fact, the first thing which you do when you go to court house records is to search the probate records. This is where all of the information resides. True, there are many books written abstracting county wills for the State of Virginia, however, the abstracts simply do not contain the ” juice; necessary to dig deep into the lives of your families. The colonial wills, particularly, reveal just about everything, from the location of the homeplace, the burial grounds for the family, the church or religion, and an express division of land, plantations, personal notes, and a vast inventory of all of the items of the estates. After all, every Virginian was in business for himself and contributed a great deal to the community.

The estate records provide names of friends, neighbors, distant relatives, names of heirs in English estates, and much much more. A family tree is incomplete without the actual last wills and testaments of all of your family members. The digitized documents on Virginia Pioneers are actual copies from the county clerk. Originals no longer exist, however, the clerk copies each and every will and all of its detail into the county will book.

Digital Images of Miscellaneous Wills, Estates, Deeds

1699-1709
1699-1724
1709-1717
1784-1798
1794-1822

Digital Images of Wills 1717-1725

Digital Images of Wills 1788-1794

Traced genealogies and family histories of Richmond County are available to Members!

Peachy

Digital Images of Wills 1753-1767

Battle Abbey in Richmond

The Battle Abbey in Richmond was created in 1907 according to The Atlanta Journal dated June 2, 1907. It was created as a Veteran’s Memorial due to the generous gift of Charles Broadway Rouse of $100,000, however, not without long and vexatious litigation. The gift was promised on the condition that an additional $100,000 be raised. Finally, the funds were raised and the memorial was built. Among the relics given was a cane of General Robert E. Lee presented to Lee by Company D, 8th Virginia Cavalry.

Skirmish between the Virginia Militia and the British during the War of 1812

Few people remember that in October of 1814, a force of British troops came up the Coan River and marched to Heathsville. They proceeded to march up through the Neck to Richmond where they pillaged, burned, and destroyed. Upon reaching North Farnham Church, County, a skirmish was fought between the raiders and the Virginia militia, leaving bullet holes in the walls of the church to mark the battle. The War of 1812, Rarely Discussed