Some people eat, sleep and chew gum, I do genealogy and write...

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Parade of States -- online digital genealogy resources -- West Virginia


West Virginia is in the forefront of states with online vital records it may not be almost heaven, but there are good resources. To quote from the West Virginia Archives and History:
The West Virginia Vital Research Records Project is a collaborative venture between the West Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) to place online via the West Virginia Archives and History Web site selected West Virginia county birth, death and marriage records, and statewide death records in a viewable, downloadable and searchable format accessible at http://www.wvculture.org/vrr. The project is on-going, with more records being added when possible and the system undergoing refinement as needed. In Virginia/West Virginia, births and deaths were first reported to the counties in 1853, while marriages were recorded in the counties from the inception of each county. All three types of records are still reported to county clerks today. In 1917, the West Virginia Dept. of Health Vital Registration office began collecting the county reports of births and deaths and issuing official state death certificates. The records made available online in the Vital Research Records database come from both sources: county records as recorded on microfilm by the GSU largely from 1967 to 1970, and statewide records as selected for release by the West Virginia Dept. of Health Vital Registration office.
  • The Allegheny Regional Family History Society This site contains searchable census information for some counties for 1850, cemetery readings for the Allegheny Region, obituaries of the Allegheny Region. Some of these resources require a membership.

  • Hacker's Creek Pioneer Descendants The Hackers Creek Pioneer Descendants is an organization dedicated to the history and genealogy of West Virginia, especially the central part of the state. Lewis County, Harrison County, Monongalia County, Barbour County, Upshur County, Webster County, Braxton County, Gilmer County, and Doddridge County. Some of the resources require a membership.





  • Online Exhibits (West Virginia Division of Culture and History)Photos and other objects from West Virginia history.

  • Vital Records Research Project (West Virginia Division of Culture and History)
    Images of birth, death & marriage records. Death Certificates from 1917, with some county records dating back to 1853. See explanation and link above.


1 comment:

  1. West Virginia has one of the best state archives on the East Coast. Joe Geyser and his staff are very helpful in helping people with there Genealogy Research. Plus they are working very hard to get records online for people to search etc.

    ReplyDelete