Augusta County Genealogy Records

Augusta County genealogy records date back to 1745 and are held at the Circuit Court Clerk's office in Staunton, Virginia. The county's archive covers land transactions, wills, marriage licenses, and court orders from the mid-1700s through today. Researchers tracing Shenandoah Valley families will find Augusta County a key source, with birth and death registers from 1853, marriage records from 1748, and probate documents spanning nearly three centuries of local history.

Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk

The Augusta County Circuit Court is in the county courthouse at 1 E. Johnson Street, Staunton, VA 24401. The clerk's office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All court records, land records, marriage licenses, and probate documents for Augusta County are maintained here.

Land records at Augusta County can be searched in the clerk's office. Copies cost $0.50 per page for plain copies. Marriage license applications require both parties to appear in person with valid photo ID. The fee for a marriage license is $30.00. Probate records including wills, estate inventories, and estate administration bonds are available for research. These records are some of the oldest in the Shenandoah Valley and provide deep genealogical data on families who settled this region in the early and mid-1700s.

Augusta County was created in 1738 from Orange County and named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the mother of King George III. The county originally covered a vast territory in western Virginia. Over time it was divided into many smaller counties. If your Augusta County ancestors appear in very early records, they may have been in parts of the county that are now different counties. Understanding Augusta's original boundaries helps explain why some records are found in neighboring jurisdictions.

Augusta County Genealogy Records by Type

Augusta County holds a broad range of genealogy records. Birth records are available from 1853 through 1896. Death records also begin in 1853. Marriage records go back to 1748, just a few years after the county was formally organized. Land records begin in 1745. Court records start in 1745 as well. Probate records date from 1745 and include wills, inventories, and estate accounts for early Shenandoah Valley families.

Statewide birth and death registration in Virginia started in 1912. For certificates from that year forward, the Virginia Department of Health Office of Vital Records is the right contact. For the older local registers from 1853 to 1896, start with the clerk's office and the Library of Virginia. The Library holds microfilm copies of Augusta County's vital registers and many of its deed and will books.

Census records for Augusta County begin with the 1810 federal census. Earlier Virginia tithable lists and personal property tax records serve as useful substitutes. These lists from the 1780s and 1790s are available at the Library of Virginia and on FamilySearch. They can help you place a family in a specific part of the county and track their movements between census years.

Note: Augusta County originally covered far more territory than it does today, and many smaller counties were carved out of it over the years, including Highland, Bath, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and others.

How to Search Augusta County Records

Visiting the clerk's office in Staunton is the most direct approach for Augusta County genealogy research. The office at 1 E. Johnson Street is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can search land records, will books, and marriage registers in person. Staff can point you to the right index books, but you do the actual searching yourself.

The Library of Virginia holds significant Augusta County holdings on microfilm. Their catalog is searchable online at lva.virginia.gov. Augusta County is one of the more heavily researched counties in Virginia due to its age and its role as a gateway for early settlement into western Virginia and beyond. The Library has deed books, will books, order books, and marriage registers, as well as some unique materials like early church records and family papers donated by local families.

FamilySearch has indexed portions of Augusta County's older records and has digitized images of some early deed books and probate files. Their wiki page for Augusta County summarizes the records and where to find them. Virginia Memory at virginiamemory.com has additional digitized documents. The chancery court records index on Virginia Memory is especially useful for Augusta County because the county generated a large number of chancery cases over its long history.

Local Libraries and Research Support

The Staunton Public Library and the Augusta County Library maintain local history and genealogy collections that are useful supplements to the courthouse records. These collections include local newspapers, family histories, photographs, and reference books specific to the Shenandoah Valley region. Library staff experienced with local genealogy can often point researchers toward sources that are harder to find through standard catalog searches.

The Virginia Genealogical Society has statewide resources including publications and databases that cover Augusta County. Their Richmond library holds Virginia-wide materials. The society's special interest groups sometimes focus on specific regions, and the Shenandoah Valley is well represented in their programs. Membership gives access to their quarterly journal and other publications.

For cemetery records, Find A Grave has extensive documentation of Augusta County burial sites. Many rural cemeteries in the county have been documented by volunteers, giving researchers access to death dates and family groupings that help with genealogy research. Virginia vital records statutes under Title 32.1 Chapter 7 govern certified vital record access.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Augusta. Each maintains its own genealogy records at the Circuit Court Clerk's office.