Testing Phase
Thank you for testing our new website! Many areas are still under construction.
Use the arrow button in the lower left corner to return to the current LVA website.
Provide your feedback on the new website.
Ancestry for Virginians
About
The Library of Virginia is pleased to provide Virginians free public access to select content from Ancestry.com. Through an agreement with Ancestry.com, the commonwealth's citizens can access digitized and indexed records and materials that would otherwise require a paid Ancestry.com subscription. These specific collections represent a small part of the Library's vast holdings, some of which would not be available without Ancestry's assistance.
These records do not include the entirety of Ancestry.com's Virginia-related content. As such, search results may include materials not part of the Library of Virginia's collections. Users will be offered the opportunity to access these additional records through a paid subscription to Ancestry.com. Full access to Ancestry.com is also available for use in the second floor reading rooms at the Library of Virginia.
Get Started
Your location in Virginia will be validated via GeoIP. You can search across all of LVA's collections or select the record group you would like to search. Create or sign in to your Free Ancestry.com account. You do not need a paid subscription, but you do need an account. Users may opt out of receiving further email communications from Ancestry.com.
Image
Ancestry for Virginians Collections
Researchers are able to search across the collections or select specific record groups to focus on. Once on Ancestry's site, collections are listed at the bottom of the page. Searches can be very specific or very broad and are easily editable as you go. Most collections include digital images, while others may direct the user back to the Library of Virginia's web site for access.
Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce
Also known as "vital statistics," the database includes records dated roughly from 1853 to the present. Note that birth records are public only after 100 years, and marriages and deaths after 25 years. There is a general gap in births and deaths between 1896-1912, though there are some records for the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond.
Personal Property Taxes
This collection contains images of personal property tax records from Virginia dating between the years of 1782 and 1900. The records are not yet fully indexed, but users may browse the images by locality and year of tax collection.
Military Records
There are two collections of military records available via Ancestry: Confederate Pension Applications, 1884-1958, and the Organization cards of the Virginia Department of Military Affairs, 1876-1947.
Wills & Probate Records, 1652-1900
Probate records are among the most valuable records available for American genealogy but can be challenging to access because originals are kept in courthouses across the country. This collection includes images of probate records for approximately 95 percent of Virginia counties.
Virginia Untold
Virginia Untold: the African American Narrative provides digital access to records that document some of the lived experiences of enslaved and free Black and multiracial people in the Library of Virginia’s collections.
Virginia City Directories
A selection of directories for Virginia cities and counties, 1873-1960. For coverage, explore the "Browse the Collection" button in the top right of the page.