Local History & Genealogy

Resources at the Library

Local History - The Virginiana Room, housed in the Warrenton Library, has an extensive collection of materials focusing on state and local history and genealogical research. The library also welcomes historical and genealogical research questions by mail or e-mail. Although in-depth research by staff is not possible, staff members can search indexes for some historical and genealogical information.

Local resources include:

• Titles highlighting the history of Fauquier County and its neighboring counties
• Old Timer articles by M. Louise Evans. Well-indexed newspaper column that appeared in the Fauquier Times from 1948 to the late 1950s
• WPA Records: Mid-1930s surveys of historic Fauquier County locales
• Virginia Historic Landmark Commission: Late 1970s inventories of historic Fauquier County buildings and sites
• Biographies of famous Virginians from Fauquier County and surrounding areas
• Numerous family histories with an emphasis on Fauquier County
• Indexes for tombstone inscriptions from Fauquier County cemeteries
• Resources to help you discover the history of your house

Census Records

• Federal Census Records: Fauquier County 1810-1930
• Federal Census Records: Fauquier County Slave Schedules 1850-1860
• Records of state enumerations 1782-1785: Virginia
• Virginia in 1740: Reconstructed Census
• Virginia in 1760: Reconstructed Census

Fauquier County Records on Microfilm

• See the Fauquier County Records chart to determine what vital and court records are at the library or other locations.

Military Information

• Virginia Civil War Regimental histories and rosters
• Biographies of Virginia military leaders: including Turner Ashby and John Mosby
• Local accounts of Fauquier County during the American Revolution and the Civil War
• Civil War Times Illustrated Magazine: 1962-present
• Listings of Civil War soldiers buried in the Warrenton Cemetery
• Information on Revolutionary soldiers
• Richmond Daily Dispatch: 1860-1865

Newspapers and Magazines
Microfilm files and indexes of Fauquier County newspapers and magazines dating from 1817, including, but not limited to:

• Fauquier Citizen: 1989-present
• Fauquier Democrat/Times-Democrat: 1907-present
• Fauquier Democrat Online Index
• Fauquier Magazine: 1989-present
• Index to the True Index newspaper, 1865-1904
• Piedmont Virginian: 1971-1978
• Piedmont Virginian Online Index
• True Index: 1865-1905
• Virginia Cavalcade: 1969-2002

Other Books & Materials

• New to the collection
• Fauquier County
• Fauquier County Genealogy
• Fauquier County History
• Genealogy (general)
• Virginia Genealogy
• Virginia History
• Virginiana Titles

Online Resources and Websites

Online Databases/Indexes

• Ancestry Library - Search census, military, land, immigration, vital records and family trees. Availability of the complete database is limited to in-library use only, but you can search the 1940 Census for free/from home.
• Fauquier Democrat Index - Search by name or event (birth, death, marriage, etc.).
• HeritageQuest Online - Includes census records, local and family histories, an index of genealogical publications, revolutionary war records, the Freedman's Bank records and the U.S. Serial Set.
• Piedmont Virginian Index - Covers life events 1971-1977.
• ProQuest Historical Washington Post: 1877-1993 - Good place to look if you cannot locate a death notice/obituary in the Fauquier Times-Democrat.

Local Resources

• Find A Grave - Fauquier County Cemeteries
• Local Historical Organizations

Virginia Resources

• Encyclopedia Virginia
• Library of Virginia
• Virginia Historical Society
• Virginia Vital Records

Virginia Resources: African-American

• African Americans (Library of Virginia)
• AfriGeneas
• Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County
• Cohabitation Registers (Library of Virginia)
• Database of Virginia Slave Names (Virginia Historical Society)
• Freedmans Bank Records, 1865-1874
• Freedmen's Bureau Records - Virginia
• Freedman's Bureau Virginia Marriages ca. 1815-1866
• Virginia African American Newspapers (Library of Virginia)

General Resources

• American Local History Network
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
• DAR Library
• FamilySearch.org
• In the First Person
• Library of Congress 
• National Archives
• RootsWeb
• Surname Genealogy Search
• USGenWeb Project

Maps

• Historic Maps of Fauquier County
• Piedmont Environmental Council - Fauquier County Maps (includes Civil War Battelfields and historic districts)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps via Library of Congress

Immigration and Migration Records

• Castlegarden.org
• Ellis Island
• Immigrant Ships Passenger Lists
• Migration Trail Maps
• Open Collections Program: Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930

Free Online Courses/How-To Guides

• Introduction to Genealogy
• FamilyTreeMaker Online Classes
• Genealogy.com Classes
• RootsWeb Guide to Tracing Family Trees

Forms

• Ancestry Library Charts & Forms
• Family Tree Magazine Free Forms