Genealogical Research

New in November 2020!  A searchable list of marriage licenses issued between 1863 and 1939 has been added to this webpage. See Marriage Records below.

The clerk’s office has paper deed, plat, will and court records dating to 1865, that are of interest to researchers of all kinds.   Digital copies of many of these records are loaded in the office’s electronic records management system that is accessible on site or remotely by paid subscription.  

Many clerk’s office records, particularly deed and will books and marriage licenses, were destroyed by fire in Richmond on April 3, 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. Other records were lost to vandalism at the courthouse during the Civil War. View the Lost Records Localities: Counties and Cities with Missing Records page. 

Despite the losses, the clerk’s office has records that pre-date 1865.

Court Records Books

The clerk’s office records management system contains digital images of the following books:  

  • 1809-1827 SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW ORDER BOOK
  • 1815-1827 SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW ORDER BOOK
  • 1827-1831 SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW ORDER BOOK
  • 1831-1840 CIRCUIT SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW & CHANCERY EXECUTION BOOK
  • 1831-1852 CIRCUIT SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW & CHANCERY WILL BOOK
  • 1831-1837 CIRCUIT SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW & CHANCERY ORDER BOOK
  • 1843-1849 CIRCUIT SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW & CHANCERY EXECUTION BOOK
  • 1845-1868 CIRCUIT SUPERIOR CT & CIRCUIT COURT MINUTE BOOK
  • 1847-1848 CIRCUIT SUPERIOR COURT OF LAW & CHANCERY APPEAL RECORDS
  • 1865-1867 COUNTY COURT ORDER BOOK
  • 1870-73 BOARD OF SUPERVISOR MINUTES

Chancery Suit Papers

  • Digital copies of Hanover's chancery suit papers for the period 1831-1913 are accessible through the Library of Virginia's Chancery Records Index, The original documents generally are not open for public inspection
  • Dating from 1831, chancery suit papers may include information concerning genealogy, land or estate divisions and may contain correspondence, lists of heirs, or vital statistics. Chancery suits often involve land, estate and business disputes, debt, and divorce and other matters where the court remedy is not monetary
  • View the Chancery records index FAQ page

Pre-1865 land records (deed) books

  • 3 volumes covering 1733-1735 and 1783-1792
  • Precessioners Book 1867-1868. Report establishing property boundary lines after loss of records during the Civil War

Land Tax Records Books showing ownership and value of land and improvements

  • Microfilm of Land Tax Books for the period 1782 through 1927 
  • Physical books for most years starting in the 1850s, including the following recently conserved books:
    • 1853 LAND BOOK – THOMAS W TALLEY’S DISTRICT
    • 1854 LAND BOOK – THOMAS W TALLEY’S DISTRICT
    • 1858 LAND BOOK – JOSEPH T PRIDDY’S DISTRICT
    • 1858-62 LAND BOOK – UPPER DISTRICT
    • 1859 LAND BOOK – JOSEPH T PRIDDY’S DISTRICT
    • 1860 LAND BOOK – JOSEPH T PRIDDY’S DISTRICT
    • 1861 LAND BOOK – JOSEPH T PRIDDY’S DISTRICT
    • 1862 LAND BOOK – JOSEPH T PRIDDY’S DISTRICT
    • 1865-70 LAND BOOK – LOWER DISTRICT
    • 1865-70 LAND BOOK – UPPER DISTRICT 
  • View The Library of Virginia’s - Using Land Tax Records in the Archives at the Library of Virginia

Marriage Records

  • Digital images of Hanover County’s marriage licenses, starting with the oldest issued in 1863, are indexed in the clerk’s office records management system that can be accessed Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the clerk’s office
  • View or download a searchable list of Hanover Marriage Licenses issued between 1863 and 1939.

Freedmen's Marriage Register

  • The Marriage Register of Freedman living in Hanover Co Va, Who were Married by the Act passed by the Legislature of Virginia, February 27 1866 lists 550 African American couples whose pre-1865 marriages were validated by action of the Virginia legislature
  • View the Freedmen's Register (PDF)

Miscellaneous records

  • General Voter’s Registration 1902-1903 (Microfilm)
  • Hanover County Negro Reformatory 1905-1909 (Microfilm)
  • Orphan’s Book 1861-1885 (Microfilm)
  • Town of Ashland Minute Book 1872-1875 (Microfilm)

Miscellaneous wills

The clerk’s office has wills probated after 1865. Some wills probated prior to 1865 are recorded in Miscellaneous Will Book 1785-1904 (Physical book and microfilm).

Additional Resources