Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Warren County (Va.) Marriage Records and Vital Statistics Records, 1850-1913. Local government records collection, Warren County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a shipment of court papers from Warren County.

Historical Information

Warren County was named for Joseph Warren, the revolutionary patriot who sent Paul Revere and William Dawes on their famous rides and who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The county was formed from Frederick and Shenandoah counties in 1836.

Scope and Content

Warren County (Va.) Marriage Records and Vital Statistics Records, 1850-1913 contains Registers of Birth and Deaths, 1854-1861; Registers of Birth and Deaths, 1872-1895; and Register of Marriages, 1850-1913.

Prior to 1853, when the Commonwealth began recording vital statistics, Virginia marriages were recorded at the county or city level. Beginning in 1661, in order to be married by license, the groom was required to go before the county clerk and give bond with security that there was no lawful reason to prevent the marriage. The license, issued then by the clerk, was given to the minister who performed the service. Written consent from a parent or guardian was needed for individuals younger than twenty-one years.

Marriage Register starting in 1853 recorded the date and place of marriage, the full names of both parties, the age and condition of both parties before marriage, their places of birth, their places of residence, the names of their parents, the occupation of the husband, the name of the minister performing the ceremony. There are references throughout the volume to both Free African American and African American marriages.

Birth registers contain headings for: date and place of birth; name of child (if named); color (if "colored," whether slave or free); sex; whether born alive or dead; name of father or owner; father's occupation; father's residence (county or locality in the county); mother's name; how many infants at this birth (whether this was a multiple birth); deformities or any circumstances of interest; name of the person giving the information; and the relation of the informant to the person born.

Death registers record: name, race of the deceased(if "colored," whether slave or free); name of the owner, if a slave; sex of the deceased; date and place of death; name of the disease or cause of death; age at death (years, months and days); names of parents of the deceased; place of birth; occupation; marital status; name of person giving the information; and description of the informant (whether a physician, consort, head of the family, or friend.)

Related Material

Additional Warren County Court can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Warren County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Death certificates--Virginia--Warren County
• Marriage--Virginia
• Public records--Virginia--Warren County
• Registers of births, etc.--Virginia--Warren County

Geographical Names:

• Warren County (Va.)--History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Warren County

Adjunct Descriptive Data