Caroline County was established in 1728 from the upper portions of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties. Its name honored Caroline of Anspach, consort of King George II. Some further territory from King and Queen County was added in 1742 and 1762. There have been no further boundary changes since then. Adjoining Caroline is Spotsylvania to the northwest, King George on the northeast, Hanover to the southwest, and King William, King and Queen, and Essex to the southeast.
The earliest settlers to the region came in the 1650s, attracted by the cheap land and access to the deepwater wharves of the Rappahannock River. Its population increased rapidly, and throughout the eighteenth century, Caroline county was one of the most populated counties in all of Virginia.
Like many counties in Virginia during the Civil War, a number of court and official records were burned or lost during the conflict. The irony is that only a complete set of Court Order books have survived. these were not sent to Richmond for "safe-keeping" by Confederate authorities, and they were not among the great mass of Virginia county archives which went up in flames during the retreat from Richmond in April, 1865.
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Caroline County, Virginia Court Records: Will Book 1793-1897, Will & Plat Book 1742-1840 & Will Book 19 1814-1818
8 1/2" x 11" format 71 pages. Abstracted by Kimberly Curtis Campbell 1998. This volume contains the earliest extant wills for
Caroline County bound in book form and located in
the courthouse. T. E. Campbellþs Colonial Caroline, A
History of Caroline County, Virginia, abstracted the will
information from year 1732 through October 1781. The
forthcoming second volume of this series will try to fill in the
þrecords gapþ that exists by using the Court Order Books from 1781 to 1854.
During this time only Will Book 19 is extant, and it is included in this first volume.
The original Will Books start again with number 29, beginning with
the year 1853. It is the author's intent to eventually
have all of the Will Books abstracted through the year 1925.
Look for your ancestor in the Probate Chapter, then follow the records from the Will or Administration Bond through the final Order to settle the Estate. You may also find several Chancery Suits which may be of help.
Did your ancestor serve in the Militia? Check out the County Militia section. There are also Chapters on Civil matters, Guardian Bonds, Manumissions, the Tobacco Warehouses, the Courthouse and Prison upkeep, Processioning, Overseers of the Poor, Overseers of the Road, Sheriffs and other Officers, the Justices and more.
CAROLINE COUNTY COURT RECORDS, 1742-1833 AND MARRIAGES, 1782-1810
by William Lindsay Hopkins. 197 pages, index. A valuable collection considering the great loss of
documentation suffered by this county. Caroline County was established in 1728 from the upper
portions of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties. Some further territory from King
and Queen County was added in 1742 and 1762. There have been no further boundary changes
since then.
For more records pertaining to
CAROLINE COUNTY, VIRGINIA see also:
To order by phone, call 1-706-546-6740 M-F 8a-6p EST.
Copyright © 2006 New Papyrus Publishing Company
CAROLINE COUNTY, VIRGINIA COURT RECORDS PROBATE AND OTHER RECORDS FROM THE COURT ORDER AND MINUTE BOOKS 1781 - 1799
transcribed by Kimberly Curtis Campbell, 8 1/2" x 11" format, index, 285 pages, 1999.
This second volume will try to fill in the "records gap" by using the Court Order and Minute Books from 1781 through 1799.
Did your ancestor serve in the Militia? Check out the County Militia section.
There are also Chapters on Civil matters, Guardian Bonds, Manumissions, the Tobacco Warehouses, the Courthouse and Prison upkeep, Processioning, Overseers of the Poor, Overseers of the Road, Sheriffs and other Officers, the Justices and more.
Includes Transcriptions of the following:
[Crw2] $32.00
Caroline County, Virginia Court Records Probate and other Records from the Court Order and Minute Books 1800 - 1804 Volume III by Kimberly Curtis Campbell, Copyright 2003, vi, 146, complete every-name index.
This third volume will try to fill in the þrecords gapþ by using the Court Order and Minute Books from 1800 through 1804. Names of people and places are transcribed exactly as they appear in the record. No attempt has been made to correct any spelling or grammatical errors, so try variant spellings as you search the every-name index.
[Crw3] $28.00
CAROLINE COUNTY, VIRGINIA 1850 CENSUS,
transcribed by Mark Anderson Sprouse. 1997, iv, 182
pages, index.
Caroline County Virginia was formed in 1727 from parts of Essex, King and
Queen and King William Counties. It is a strategic county for geneologists because of its
location. Many colonial Virginia ancestors settled or "passed through" Caroline. The
1850 Caroline County Census was enumerated by Thomas T. Chandler. Mr. Chandler's
work has numerous legibility and spelling "problems," as well as what appears to be a few
bonifide errors. Mr. Chandler must be forgiven. How was he to know that as he traveled
the roads of 1850 Caroline, that every letter he put down would be under extreme
scrutiny by future researchers. Chandler's writing is often difficult to discern as t's are
uncrossed confusing them with unlooped l's, a's are not closed and might be u's, i's are
often not dotted and can't be distinguished from unlooped e's and similar problems. Even
more frustrating for me were the names that were clear but didn't really make sense; as
letters seem to be excluded or extra ones added. An example of this would be the
several families that have different spelling within the household such as # 897 with
"Bird" and "Byrd" or # 1014 with "Garnet" and "Garnett". In the case of the few names
that really didn't fit, the transcriber entered it as it appears in the census unless he could
find the spelling for that specific name in at least two other sources. Readers are
reminded that the burden of proof remains on the researcher and therefore consult the
original record when in doubt.
CENSUS COLUMN LEGEND
(Left to Right)
[Cr50] $22.95
[Carr] $30.00
Caroline Co. 1815 Directory of Landowners
by Roger G. Ward. 2005. 26 pages, map, 5 1/2X8 1/2.
For a full description of the 1815 LAND DIRECTORY Records and a listing of available counties, see:
Individual County Booklets, 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners
[Vd16] $7.00
Caroline Co. Revolutionary Public Claims
transcribed by Janice L. Abercrombie and Richard Slatten.. 2005. 100 pages, 5 1/2X8 1/2.
For a full description of the Virginia Revolutionary Public Claims and a listing of available counties, see:
Revolutionary "Publick" Claims series
[Pc12] $13.00
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