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This county available for adoption, for information please contact the State Coordinator Jeff Kemp

The area that became Augusta County was settled primarily by the Scots-Irish in the early 1730s.  Formed from Orange County, Augusta County was created in 1738 by an Act of the General Assembly which provided that its territory should remain a part of Orange County until there were sufficient inhabitants to support a local government. The first Court was held in 1745. The primary religion of the area was Presbyterian and the early settlers lost no time in forming the Triple Forks of the Shenandoah Congregation. The Tinkling Spring Meeting House, the simple log structure shown above, was the first Presbyterian church in the Shenandoah Valley.

Augusta County is located in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is the second largest county in Virginia by total area, and it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro.

Adjacent counties are: Pendleton County WV (North), Rockingham County VA (Northeast), Albemarle County VA (East), Nelson County VA (Southeast), Rockbridge County VA (Southwest), Bath County VA (West), Highland County VA (Northwest)
 
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Lists, Message Boards, Queries & Lookups
Currently there are no offers to do 'Look-Ups', If you have resources that pertain to Augusta County history or genealogy and would like to help other researchers by looking in those resources for information on their ancestor, please contact us.

A Mailing List allows members to post their own items which are then sent to all of the other mailing list members, also called subscribers. A Message Board is a website or web page where users can post comments about a particular issue or topic and reply to other users' postings. Queries are research questions that you post to a particular website, mailing list, or message board so that other researchers can help you solve your research problems. All of these are useful tools to help you with your research.

Six Steps to Writing a Sucessful Genealogy Query  Use your browser back button to return to this site.

Old Rootsweb Mailing List for Augusta County  As of March 2020 this list became read only, but may still be useful to see who else was researching a common ancestor or surname.

Rootsweb's Unknown County Message Board  This can be used to post queries if you do not know what Virginia county your ancestor had lived.

Rootsweb's Augusta County Message Board  This should be used to post new queries for ancestors who have a connection to this county.

Old Archived Queries from August 1996 to July 1999  Please note that the contact information for these old queries may no longer be valid, we do not have alternate contact information for these people.

On-Site Records & Information
Cemeteries

Beverly Patent Map & Index

USGenWeb Archives for Augusta County  Wills, Deeds, Obits, Pensions Records, and much more.

Augusta County Churches

“CORRECTING” the family of Edward Erwin, Jr.

Pleasants Family photos & letter

The Todds of Augusta County, Virginia

“The Protestant and Herald” December 1, 1842 

Heizer Family Photos

Tribute to Katherine G. Bushman Certified Genealogist and the authority on Augusta County families

Augusta County Maps

Court records for Caldwell surname

Court records for Doak surname


The Valley Manuscript

1909 Augusta County Confederate Pension List

Sorrells of Augusta County

Scot/Scott Surname Court Records

Augusta County Photos
Family Research Websites
These are all Off-Site, please use your browser back button to return to this site. Please note that many are only accessible through the web archive, there may be links that no longer work and the same with email addresses, we do not have any further contact information.

The HUNTERS of Naked Creek 
 
General Resources & Research Tools
Augusta County Courthouse
Clerk of the Circuit Court
P.O. Box 689
Staunton, VA 24402-0689
Phone: (540) 245-5321.
Will respond only to written requests with SASE; will make copies and bill you. Records available at the Clerk's office.

Augusta County Library
Route 2, Box 600
Fishersville, VA 22939
Phone: 540-885-3961
Located in the old Fishersville Schoolhouse, at the intersection of U. S. Route 250 and State Route 608.

Staunton Public Library
19 S. Market Street (Augusta and Churchill Avenue)
Staunton, VA 24401

Waynesboro Public Library
600 South Waynes Avenue
Waynesboro, VA 22980

Augusta County Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 436
Fishersville, Virginia 22939

Augusta County Historical Society
P.O. Box 686
Staunton, VA 24402

Vital Records Information Virginia state and county records.
 
The USGenWeb Phenomena  From the NGS/CIG Digest

Are You a Genealogist or a Collector of Genealogies? Read full text by Scott Simpson (Use you browser back button to return to this page)


Augusta Parish Chapter, NSDAR
701 Donaghe Street
Staunton, VA 24401-2838
Local DAR chapter assists women with research in finding their American Revolution patriot or soldier. Contact organizing regent Janie Sherman certified genealogist. Virginia DAR website.

New Center for History and Art in Staunton

Museum of American Frontier Culture
1290 Richmond Avenue
Staunton, VA 24401

Dear Myrtle Mailing List on Rootsweb, old posts are still viewable but new posts & subscriptions are no longer allowed.

Duke University Special Collections
County Lineage
 

Charles River Co Chickacoan Indian District

name changed to

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York Co (1642/43) Northumberland Co (1648)

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New Kent Co (1654) Lancaster Co (1651)

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King and Queen Co (1691) Rappahanock Co (1656-1692) defunct

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| King William Co (1702) Essex Co (1692)

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Spotsylvania Co (1721)

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Orange Co (1734)

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Augusta Co (1745)

 

Bibliography
A great reference for Augusta County researchers is Lyman Chalkley's Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Setttlement in Virginia, Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County, 1745-1800 (Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966). A valuable resource for Augusta County researchers.

Wilson, H. McKnight. (1954). The Tinkling Spring, headwater of freedom: a study of the church and her people, 1732-1952. Fishersville, Va.: Tinkling Spring and Hermitage Presbyterian Churches.

The Finley's of Sonoma County California, by Carmen J Finley, 1997. this book gives the family history of three separate Finley families who settled in Sonoma County, California prior to 1900. Their ancestors are traced back to two John Finleys living in Augusta County, Virginia in the early to late 1700s. William Asa Finley and John Finley of Sonoma County were descendants of John Finley who lived on South River in Beverley Manor from about 1737 to 1765, while Harrison Finley of Sonoma County is a descendant of John and Thankful (Doak) Finley who lived on Middle River from the late 1730s to 1791.

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