Brooke County, West Virginia Genealogy

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Guide to Brooke County, West Virginia ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Facts
County seat: Wellsburg
Organized: November 30, 1796
Parent County(s): Ohio[1]
Neighboring Counties
Hancock  • Jefferson  • Ohio  • Washington (PA)
See County Maps
Courthouse
Old Main at Bethany College.jpg
Location Map
Wv-brooke.png
Adoption

County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

The County was named for Robert Brooke. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Brooke County Courthouse
632 Main Street
Wellsburg, WV 26070
Phone: 304-737-3661
Brooke County Website

County Clerk has birth and death records from 1853; marriage, probate and land records from 1797; military records from 1797.
Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records.[3]

Brooke County, West Virginia Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1853 1797 1853 1797 1797 1797 1870
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1917. General compliance by 1925.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

  • 1796--Brooke County was created 30 November 1796 from Ohio County.
  • County seat: Wellsburg[5]

For animated maps illustrating West Virginia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation West Virginia County Boundary Maps" (1617-1995) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[6]

Cities
Towns
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places


History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Occupations

  • Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. Available at FHL. Includes a section on Wellsburg silversmiths.

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Brooke County, West Virginia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See West Virginia Cemeteries for more information

Census Records[edit | edit source]

For tips on accessing Brooke census records online, see: West Virginia Census.

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1800 4,706 —
1810 5,843 24.2%
1820 6,631 13.5%
1830 7,041 6.2%
1840 7,948 12.9%
1850 5,054 −36.4%
1860 5,494 8.7%
1870 5,464 −0.5%
1880 6,013 10.0%
1890 6,660 10.8%
1900 7,219 8.4%
1910 11,098 53.7%
1920 16,527 48.9%
1930 24,663 49.2%
1940 25,513 3.4%
1950 26,904 5.5%
1960 28,940 7.6%
1970 29,685 2.6%
1980 31,117 4.8%
1990 26,992 −13.3%
2000 25,447 −5.7%
2010 24,069 −5.4%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

  • Cross Creek (1802)[7]

Brooke County fell within the bounds of the Red Stone Association.

Church of England

  • St. John's Parish
  • St. Paul's Parish

Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Brooke County is available online.[8]

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

  • Cheeks - Cheeks, Donald W. A Cheeks Family of the Upper Ohio Valley. 1994. FHL Book 929.273 C414c
  • Craft - Craft, Kenneth Fischer. "The Craft Family in America," The Southwest Virginian, Vol. 4, No. 20 (Apr. 1981):43-45; Vol. 4, No. 21 (June 1981):36-39. FHL Book 975.57 D25s v. 4 (1981).
  • Dornbläser - Greene, David L. "John Dornbläser of Brooke County, (West) Virginia: Recovering an Identity and Uncovering a Scandal," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 1 (Jan. 1990):5-14. Digital version at National Genealogical Society website ($); FHL Book 973 B2ng v. 78 (1990).
  • Mendel - Barclay, Rachel E. "Valentine Mendel of Pennsylvania and West Virginia," The American Genealogist, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Jul. 1969):158-161. FHL 973 D25aga v. 45

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See West Virginia Land and Property for additional information about early West Virginia land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Brooke County, West Virginia Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section West Virginia Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Hancock CountyWashington CountyOhio CountyJefferson County250pm
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]

  • A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Brooke County on page 133.

War of 1812[edit | edit source]

Brooke County men served in the 103rd Regiment.[9]

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Regiments. Service men in Brooke served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Brooke County: Union

- 1st Regiment, West Virginia Infantry. Companies D, F, and G.

World War II[edit | edit source]

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Online Probate Records

School Records[edit | edit source]

  • Bethany College yearbooks, 1907-2007 - available online at the Internet Archive; not entirely all inclusive, but many volumes available.

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

How can Virginia tax lists help me?

  • Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Brooke County is included in Vol. 6.

West Virginia real and personal property tax records are managed by the County Assessor in each county. Land and land improvements are considered real property while mobile property is classified as personal property.

Many County Assessors offer an online searchable database, where assessment record searches can be performed by name, account number, year, or mp/parcel number. Where online records are not available, requests for records can be made to the Assessment Office in person, by phone, or in writing.

The search for tax information can start here

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

Local Centers and Libraries

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), West Virginia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Brooke County, West Virginia" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boone_County,_West_Virginia."
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), West Virginia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Brooke County, West Virginia. Page 743-746 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 742-743.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), West Virginia.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Brooke County, West Virginia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_County,_West_Virginia, accessed 29 June 2018.
  7. ↑ Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (1810; reprint, Richmond, Va.: Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 438. Digital version at Google Books.
  8. ↑ William Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia, 2 vols. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1861). Digital versions at Internet Archive: Vol. I and Vol. II.
  9. ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 56. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.



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