Statewide Resources

Authoritative starting points by category. For how-to method, use Research Guides. For local detail, open a county page.

Archives & government

Library of Virginia
Cornerstone free stacks for Virginia film, chancery, and research guides.
LVA Chancery Records Index
Relationship-rich equity causes across city* and county lines.
Virginia Untold (LVA)
African American narrative and document collections at LVA.
Library of Congress
Maps, newspapers, and manuscript division leads.
National Archives (NARA)
Federal series and research guidance for U.S. records.
National Archives at Philadelphia
Federal series useful for Mid-Atlantic research.

Library of Virginia — Research guides
Subject guides for land, newspapers, African American research, and more.

Virginia Memory
Digitized manuscripts, photos, and records from LVA and partners.

Virginia Chronicle
Historic newspapers; confirm title start/end years before citing continuity.
Chronicling America (LOC)
Additional historic newspaper coverage.
Virginia Chronicle
Historic newspapers from the Library of Virginia.

Appomattox Court House NHP
1865 surrender context — parole lists as identity tools only.
Richmond National Battlefield
Capital campaign context; city* vs county edges matter.
USCT / Civil War Soldiers database (NPS)
Military identity leads.
Yorktown / Colonial NHP
Revolutionary campaign context.

FamilySearch — Virginia wiki
Catalog paths and research outline for Virginia series.
HathiTrust
Digitized published histories and abstracts (leads).
Internet Archive
Published county histories and older abstracts.
WorldCat
Locate published abstracts and county histories.

VAGenWeb
Volunteer county pages and abstracts — verify every cite on film.
USGenWeb Archives — Virginia
Volunteer abstracts; verify book/page on original film.
USGenWeb Archives — Virginia
Volunteer abstracts; verify book/page on original film.

LVA Land Office Patents & Grants
Colonial and early republic land grant research paths.

Encyclopedia Virginia
Topic and place context only — not a substitute for clerk volumes.
Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Historic registers and place context.

Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records
Major Northern Virginia clerk research center.

American Civil War Museum
War context for capital-region research caution.
Jamestown Rediscovery
Early colonial context (not a vital substitute).
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Manuscripts, exhibits, and research orientation.

Binns Genealogy (tithables & tax lists)
Published tithable/tax list finding aids — verify originals.

Start Here: Researching Virginia Ancestors
A practical path from “I have a name and a place” to records that actually exist in Virginia.
Counties, Independent Cities & Formation
Why your ancestor is “missing” from a county that did not exist yet—and how cities differ from counties.
Virginia Archives & Repositories (quick start)
Quick orientation to LVA, local clerks, and digital portals.
Independent cities* research method
Virginia’s unique city jurisdictions—how to avoid the same-name county trap.
Courthouse & city clerk visit checklist (Virginia)
City* and county offices may both be required.
Burned and thin courthouse series in Virginia
War, fire, and lost volumes—rebuild with LVA substitutes and neighbors.
Census methodology for Virginia research
City* vs. county enumeration, FAN clubs, and decade-by-decade method.
Census Research in Virginia
Federal schedules, gaps, and how to use census evidence with Virginia jurisdictions.