Goochland County was formed in 1728 from the western portion of Henrico County. The name was given the new county in honor of the recently-arrived Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, William Gooch (1727-1749). At the time of its creation, Goochland's lands stretched to include all or part of the present counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Albemarle, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbell, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Nelson, and Powhatan.
In 1744 the western portion of Goochland was detached to form Albemarle County, and in 1749 Cumberland County was created out of Goochland's lands south of the James River. With the settling of the line between Fluvanna and Goochland in 1785, the latter's boundaries were stabilized.
As the lower James River settlements began to grow in the seventeenth century, many of the frontier farmers began to settle along the James north of the falls at Henrico. The land was fertile, although it required land transport to reach the deepwater wharves below the falls. During the last quarter of the seventeenth century population slowly began to grow in this region. then, in 1700 a massive infusion of settlers came with the migration ofa large number of French Huguenots, fleeing from persecution. they were settled as a group at "Manakintowne" on the eastern corner of what later came to be Goochland County. Population grew quickly throughout the new county during the eighteenth century, and many of its settlers went westward into Albemarle, Fluvanna, and Buckingham Counties.
The records for Goochland are mostly complete, except for a few county order books which were vandalized by Union soldiers in the Civil War.
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ST. JAMES NORTHAM PARISH VESTRY BOOK, 1744-1850
by William Lindsay Hopkins, 1987. 129 pages, index. This current volume contains all of the parish vestry
business including the important "processioning of lands" which took place every four years and many times
names the land owners and the men who were doing the processioning. A wonderful collection of data on
early Goochland County society.
[Stjm] $18.00
GOOCHLAND CO., VIRGINIA, WILLS & DEEDS, 1728-1736
by Benjamin B. Weisiger, III, 1983. 105 pages, index. Goochland County was formed in 1727 from the western
portion of Henrico County. At the time of its creation, Goochland's lands stretched to include all or part of
the present counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Albemarle, Bedford, Buckingham, Campbell, Cumberland,
Fluvanna, Nelson, and Powhatan. In 1744 the western portion of Goochland was detached to form Albemarle
County, and in 1749 Cumberland County was created out of Goochland's lands south of the James River. With
the setting of the line between Fluvanna and Goochland in 1785, the latter's boundaries were stabilized. The
current volume contains will and deed records from the time of its formation for the better part of the first
decade of its existence as a Virginia county.
GOOCHLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA, WILLS & DEEDS, 1736-1742
by Benjamin B. Weisiger, III, 1984. 76 pages, index. As above.
[Gch2] $12.95
GOOCHLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA, WILLS, 1742-1749
by Benjamin B. Weisiger, III, 1984. 88 pages, index. Wills and a list of grantors and grantees of deeds.
For more records pertaining to GOOCHLAND
COUNTY, VIRGINIA see also:
To order by phone, call 1-706-546-6740 M-F 8a-6p EST.
Copyright © 2006 New Papyrus Publishing Company
[Gch1] $15.00
[Gch3] $12.95
COHABITATION LISTS OF FORMER SLAVES IN GOOCHLAND, HANOVER, AND LOUISA COUNTIES, VIRGINIA, AS RECORDED BY THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU
Transcribed by Janice Abercrombie, 2002, 8"x11"
format, 140 pages, index.In February, 1866 the General Assembly passed an act that called for the registration of marriages of former slaves who wished to have their unions recorded
This fell under the jurisdiction of the Freedmen's Bureau. These lists provide an unparalleled window into the patterns of slave marriages. For example, in the Hanover list, in addition to the ages and full names
of husband and wife, it records the date and place of marriage, the couple's places of birth and residence, marital status (single or widowed), and husband's occupation. The Goochland and Louisa lists record similar date in most cases.
[Cghl] $24.95
Goochland Co. 1815 Directory of Landowners
by Roger G. Ward. 2005. 22 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
[Vd32] $6.00
Goochland Co. Revolutionary Public Claims
transcribed by Janice L. Abercrombie and Richard Slatten. 2005. 52 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
[Pc26] $6.75
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