Virginia Genealogy is being developed as a genealogical and historical resource for your personal use. It contains information and records for Virginia ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Specifically, it provides sources for birth records, death records, marriage records, census records, tax records, court records, and military records. It also provides some historical details about different times and people in Virginia history.
Virginia County Names
Virginia County Names: Two hundred and seventy years of Virginia History
This book tells the story of how Virginia’s counties received their names and, through those names, explores the history, thoughts, and sentiments of the people who named them. The county names themselves suggest a remarkable breadth of history and provide material for understanding Virginia’s colonial past from a perspective unlike that offered by the county names of any other state. While this is not intended as a history of Virginia, the names serve as a means of illuminating important portions of the Old Dominion’s history—the names being the magnet and the facts of Virginia history the iron filings drawn to them.
Every effort has been made to verify the facts presented and, where certainty was not possible, to indicate the degree of doubt involved. Because the origins and associations of Virginia’s county names extend far beyond the boundaries of the Commonwealth, the account reaches back as far as 1370 in Scottish history and forward to the Jamestown Exposition of 1907, where many men for whom Virginia counties were named were commemorated.
The subtitle, Two Hundred and Seventy Years of Virginia History, reflects the principal span of the narrative. It begins with the founding of Jamestown in 1607 and follows the naming of Virginia’s counties through 1880, when the state’s youngest county was organized.
Recent Virginia Genealogy
Virginia County Names: Two hundred and seventy years of Virginia History
Virginia County Names: Two hundred and seventy years of Virginia History aims to tell how the Virginia counties got their names, and in telling the story it endeavors to show that the thoughts and feelings of the Virginians are reflected in the names the counties bear.
James B. Pettis, M.D.
James B. Pettis, M.D., superintendent of Western State Hospital in Staunton, served in the U.S. Navy during both World Wars and became a prominent Virginia psychiatrist. This biographical account traces his family roots, education, medical career, military service, professional affiliations, church involvement, and family life with his wife, Winifred W. Tinsley, and their two daughters.
Wayt B. Timberlake, Jr.
Wayt B. Timberlake, Jr. (1908–?) was a Staunton attorney, WWII U.S. Naval Reserve lieutenant, and partner in the firm of Timberlake and Smith. A Virginia Military Institute and University of Virginia graduate, he served his community through legal, civic, church, and charitable organizations. He married Susan L. Marshall in 1934 and had three children.
General Alexander McCarrell Patch
General Alexander McCarrell Patch (1889–1945) was a West Point graduate and U.S. Army general whose career spanned the Mexican Border, World War I, and World War II. He commanded forces in Guadalcanal and southern France, later helping reorganize the Army. The account also records his marriage, children, military family, Episcopal faith, and burial at West Point.
William Burton Adams
William Burton Adams, born in 1903 in Campton, Georgia, built a career in asphalt construction, eventually leading Adams and Tate and serving as president of Roanoke’s Fuel Oil and Equipment Company. His work included major World War II defense projects across the South. This biography also records his marriage to Martha Duckworth and their daughter, Betty Virginia Adams.
George Francis Clement, C.L.U.
George Francis Clement, C.L.U. (1907–?) was a Roanoke insurance executive who managed the Shenandoah Life Insurance Company’s home office agency. A former railroad accountant, he earned his Chartered Life Underwriter designation in 1946 and served Virginia communities, veterans, and civic organizations. He and Geraldine Beazley married in 1934 and had two children, Donald and Sarah.
William Wayt Gibbs, III
William Wayt Gibbs, III, a Staunton native and Virginia Military Institute alumnus, led the Clifton Forge-Waynesboro Telephone Company and expanded its services across the Shenandoah Valley. A dedicated civic leader, music advocate, and chess enthusiast, he supported youth programs and wartime organizations while preserving his family’s longstanding contributions to Virginia’s development.
Julius L. Witz
Julius L. Witz (1878–1936) was a Staunton banker, manufacturer, civic leader, and two-term mayor. He guided the growth of major furniture and textile businesses, supported education and community causes, and held prominent roles in banking and industry. This genealogical account traces his family, marriage to Irene Adams, three daughters, and lasting influence on the Shenandoah Valley.
Samuel Beery Hoover
Samuel Beery Hoover was a Harrisonburg certified public accountant, businessman, and farmer profiled in History of the Shenandoah Valley (1952). He led S. B. Hoover and Company, served the Wetsel Seed Company, managed farms including historic Fort Egypt Farm, and held civic, library, Rotary, professional, and Presbyterian affiliations. He and Mary Lucy Strickler had two children.
Sydney French Small
Sydney French Small (born October 31, 1893, in Norfolk) advanced through the Norfolk and Western Railway to become vice-president in 1935. He served as Roanoke’s mayor from 1934 to 1938, held leadership roles in regional businesses, served as a World War I Army Air Service lieutenant, and coordinated civilian defense during World War II. Married Nathalie Pace in 1922.
Benjamin Lee Kagey
Benjamin Lee Kagey of Lexington rose from banking positions in New Hope and Staunton to become president of Peoples National Bank of Lexington in 1949 and executive vice-president of the Bank of Glasgow. A Roanoke College graduate and former Air Service cadet, he led wartime, Red Cross, hospital, church, and fraternal activities. He married Bernice Eans and had one daughter.
