Most genealogists who have done research in the south are familiar with the term "burned county." Records may have been lost in an early court house fire, flood, or as a casualty of the Civil War. Many records still exist in Virginia but you may not find all the record groups with which you are used to working.
Over the next few weeks, we will feature articles about a number of Virginia repositories across the state as well as some of the more well known repositories in nearby Washington, DC. The articles will be presented by region, so if you are considering a research trip in Virginia before or after the NGS 2014 Family History Conference, you can plan your research trip in advance. The regions will include Central Virginia, Eastern Shore, Northern Neck, Northern Virginia, Piedmont, Shenandoah Valley, Southwest Virginia, Tidewater, and Washington, D.C.
The articles have been compiled by Kate Parker, Conference Publicity Chair, for the Virginia Genealogical Society, the host society for the NGS 2014 Family History Conference. The articles have been written by each repository, so questions about the hours or specific collections should be addressed to the repository. If you miss a post, you can find all the entries to date under
Research on the conference blog.
Shenandoah Valley
Stewart Bell Jr. Archives
Handley Regional Library
100 W. Piccadilly St.
P.O. Box 58 (22604)
Winchester, VA 22601
http://www.handleyregional.org/, go to “Our Services” then “Family & Local History”
archives@handleyregional.org,
540-662-9041 ext. 17
Hours: Monday & Tuesday, 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.; Wednesday, 1:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.; Thursday, 10:00 a.m.‒1:00 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Library system is closed 2–3 May 2014 for Winchester’s Apple Blossom Festival
Winchester, Virginia, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley, is home to the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives. The Archives are located at the Handley Library in historic downtown Winchester. For over thirty years, this has been a haven for genealogists looking for clues about their ancestors who lived in and migrated through the northern Shenandoah Valley.
In 2013 Archivist Rebecca A. Ebert received the Virginia Genealogical Society Commonwealth Award for Stewart Bell Jr. Archives. This award recognizes societies or organizations within the state for performing outstanding service in the promotion of genealogical study.
Be Prepared
You may locate holdings ahead of your visit on the library’s online catalog at
Handley Regional Library. Digital cameras, laptops, and external USB drives are permitted; the copier and two microfilm readers have USB ports. You can purchase books and maps with a check or cash. Photocopies cost 15 cents per any size copy. Bring single dollar bills, if possible.
General Holdings
Onsite finding aids help researchers locate the Archives’ holdings, which include material on most counties in the northern Shenandoah Valley. The amount and depth varies from county to county. Frederick County sources are predominantly pre-twentieth century and include family genealogies, county histories, atlases, maps, selected business records, Winchester city directories, microfilmed copies of court order and minute books, census schedules, deed indexes, church records, cemetery inscriptions, obituary transcriptions, Bible records, newspapers, and birth, death, marriage, deed, and will records from 1743. Before 1743, records can be found in Orange County for which there are record compilations in the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives.
Manuscripts
Researchers have access to over 650 linear feet of manuscripts, ephemera, and maps. The collections are described in 619 inventories. The full text of collection inventories can be searched on the Internet. If you enter a fairly specific term, such as “Thomas Fairfax,” the corresponding collection inventory will appear in the results list. You can access inventories directly from the “family and local history” page at
Handley Regional Library. You will find descriptions of manuscript material in an alphabetical card file in the research room.
Maps
A notebook listing map holdings (mostly copies) is available in the research room. The subject headings used to organize these are Frederick County, Winchester City, Virginia, Valley counties, state, Civil War, and topographical.
Chancery Causes and Tax Records
Frederick County Chancery Court records (1745–1903) and personal property tax and land tax records (1782–1850) along with other county records are available on microfilm in our research room. Additional years are on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Digital images of Chancery Court cases are online at the Library of Virginia website (1860–1912); Winchester City Chancery Court Cases (1787–1936) have also been scanned. You can access an interactive chancery court index online at
Virginia Memory.
Photographs
Over 20,000 photographs of people, places, and events have been scanned into a searchable database. Researchers can search using keywords to find groups of photos. You can use this database only in the research room, not online. However, the Library website displays 10,000 of these photographs on its website and adds more each week. Anyone can e-mail the Archives for information about obtaining copies and permission to publish.
Virginia Repositories—Introduction of Series and Shenandoah Valley
