Virginia Archives, Societies & Publications

It is a good idea to familiarize personally with just about any repository in Virginia that you simply might travel to by communicating with to the best suited archive or library in advance.

Most, if not all, Virginia repositories have written and published content that present its collections as well as research policy.

Virginia archives and historical organizations usually have On-line sites that provide equivalent details. Several also contain down loadable data for some or parts of their collections.

Table of Contents hide
List of Virginia Archives
List of Virginia Libraries & Museums
List of Virginia Historical & Genealogical Societies
Regional and State Societies
County, Township and City Societies
Religious and Ethnic Societies
Virginia Newspapers & Publications
Newspapers
Periodicals
Books

List of Virginia Archives

List of Virginia Libraries & Museums

List of Virginia Historical & Genealogical Societies

For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both.

In addition to their own work, Virginia groups many times help coordinate the efforts of local societies throughout the Virginia.

Their unique publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those created through the area societies.

Regional and State Societies

  • Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007
  • Virginia Genealogical Society, 5001 West Broad Street, Suite 115, Richmond, Virginia 23230-3023 Telephone (804) 285-8954; The Virginia Genealogical Society was organized in 1960 to foster interest in genealogical, biographical, historical and heraldic research; to publish information pertaining to genealogy; and to share genealogical methods, techniques and knowledge among the members of the Society. Please note that because of our close proximity to the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Historical Society, the Virginia Genealogical Society does not maintain a research facility or surname material.
  • Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, 900 Barton Street (in the old Maury School building). Fredericksburg, Virginia; ph: (540) 373-3704; They cover Stafford, Caroline, Fredericksburg, King George and Spotsylvania Counties. Their hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 to 4:00. They will do research $10.00 per half hour. They have lots of collections with new ones coming in all the time and the staff is more than happy to help. They are also looking for volunteers.
  • Central Virginia Genealogical Association, P.O. Box 5583, Charlottesville, Virginia 22905-5583: covers counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Hanover and Orange; that is, the present Piedmont counties of Albemarle, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbell, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Hanover, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Orange, and the Shenandoah Valley counties of Augusta, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham, and Shenandoah.
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia, The society promotes, fosters and encourages serious and accurate genealogical and historical research through many means which include instruction, seminars, workshops and field trips. GRIVA’s diverse membership is comprised of family historians and certified genealogists from thirty-eight states. We seek to preserve the priceless heritage bequeathed to us by our ancestors.
  • South Central Virginia Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 295, Charlotte C.H., Va 23923
    The society services 13 counties: Amelia, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Pittsylvania and Prince Edward
  • Historical Society of Southwest Virginia, P.O. Box 3877 , Wise, VA 24293; Our coverage area includes the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, and Wise Counties.
  • Virginia Historical Society, 428 North Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220, Phone: (804) 358-4901
    Mail: P.O.Box 7311, 23221-0311; Tuesday-Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5 (galleries only)
  • Virginia-North Carolina Genealogical Society, PO Box 2272, Danville, Virginia 24541-0272,   [EMAIL]

County, Township and City Societies

Religious and Ethnic Societies

Virginia Newspapers & Publications

Virginia Genealogical publications (magazines, newsletters, periodicals, books, etc.) contain all types of invaluable information about specific ancestors, whole lineages and families, places in time, and about all sorts of genealogical records and repositories.

The Library of Virginia has an online manuscript catalog that includes around 20,000 entries. New items are added to that catalog on a daily basis. The catalog includes church, business, cemetery, and Bible records, as well as personal, family, military, and government information.

There are several repositories across the state that hold manuscript collections and other genealogical information. There are also repositories featuring Virginia information in other states.

One very important collection is called the Draper Manuscripts, and it is located in Wisconsin. The documents in that collection contain a lot of migration information about those traveling from Virginia to Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Midwest. Many research libraries across the United States contain copies of the Draper Manuscripts on microfilm.

Newspapers

The Virginia Historical Society and the Library of Virginia each hold large Virginia newspaper collections. Many newspaper article indexes are also available in both locations. The Library of Virginia’s website also has a Newspapers and Periodicals section. The website includes lists of newspapers and periodicals, including African American newspapers, Virginia database newspapers, and 18th century newspapers.

Periodicals

Genealogical journals provide you with plenty of sources of information and facts, they are generally overlooked by genealogy and family history researchers and genealogist in looking around for family history.

Many regional and county genealogical and/or historical societies produce periodicals which have records relating to the region or vicinity they operate.

Frequently these publications have articles involving records that are not obtainable somewhere else.

  • The William and Mary Quarterly, 1892–present in three series
  • Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, 1919–1952;
  • The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1893–present (Virginia Historical Society)
  • The Virginia Genealogist, 1957–present (independently published, John Frederick Dorman, editor, P.O. Box 5860, Falmouth, Virginia 22403-5860), a quarterly with source material, genealogies of early Virginia and West Virginia families, and a query section (a cumulative index for volumes 1–20 was produced in 1981)
  • Genealogies of Virginia Families (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980–82) – Reprints of family history articles
  • The Magazine of Virginia Genealogy (formerly: Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly Bulletin), 1963–present, the quarterly of the Virginia Genealogical Society.

Books