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From:
Subject: Re: [LDR] Migration Questions -- 1600s, early 1700s
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 19:12:21 EDT

In a message dated 7/23/2003 2:43:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
writes:


> You know this, but it might be of some help to people newer to research in
> Virginia. Virginia is unique in that its larger cities (now known as
> "independent cities") historically have not been a part of any county ...
> jurisdictionally speaking. Thus, the City of Richmond is totally independent from the
> two counties that border the city, Henrico and Chesterfield. The City of
> Richmond has its own separate courthouse, legal records, etc.
>
> This jurisdictional approach poses problems for forms that require that
> a party's "county of residence" be listed. In Virginia, someone who lives in
> an independent city does not live in any county. Nevertheless, postal
> addresses might ignore the state-mandated jurisdictional boundaries

Hello Dave and all,

Actually Richmond County illustrates a DOUBLE problem in records and Virginia
research. First, and I sent this tidbit to the Davenport list, but not you
all -- When ancestry.com put the 1930/20 census online (not sure which as I
don't subscribe), the initially COMBINED Richmond City and Richmond County (which
I found incredible).

Second..before the Brits were given the heave-ho, every location was in
Virginia both a parish (Church of England) and a county. Generally speaking the
parish lines tried to mirror or not overlap county boundaries, and if they
didn't for any length of time citizens usually presented petitions to correct this
-- Because the parish responsibilities included some, such as land
processioning, that would seem to be in the county's bailiwick (see examples at end).

Richmond is a double problem because its citizens could belong to two main
parishes. North Farhnam (south being on the other side of a river) and
Lunenburg Parish...

Well, there is also a Lunenburg County over south of Richmond City, and the
same city/county...parish/county research problems arise for the same county
(Richmond) and have probably set countless researchers off on fruitless missions
and the conclusion they have impenetrable brickwalls.

On a personal note, for two years in the 1970s I lived actually in Fairfax
County, just the other side of the beltway from Alexandria. The post office
address was Alexandria. My father wouldn't write Alexandria on letters he
sent..many of which back then ended up taking longer to arrive as a result. This
is ironic because the same practice was rife ca 1900 in the Ozarks where he
grew up, and equally important to genealogy because most folks don't really hand
down genealogy info with counties as there focus.

An example (and again I don't have any of my notes or anything), a marriage
certificate in Dade Co. Missouri ca 1894 says both residents were of "Olinger".
Olinger was a post office at an individual's house, which is located in
Lawrence Co. MO about two miles south of the countyline. (My mom owns a house
that was such a place for about twenty-five years ca 1905-1925) The above
couple moved to Colorado in the early 1900s, and their descendants searched high
and low in Lawrence Co. (where Olinger is), with no luck, spending considerable
resources, until finally they made the Dade County connection. The couple DID
live across the line in Dade.

Which of course brings us back to the importance of knowing where on a map
your folks are before you expend alot of effort....AND...

How's that deed mapping project coming Jim and all.

My best,
Janet

This thread:

• [LDR] Migration Questions -- 1600s, early 1700s by
  • Re: [LDR] Migration Questions -- 1600s, early 1700s by "David Kearney" <>

  • Re: [LDR] Migration Questions -- 1600s, early 1700s by