Facts

When were birth and death registers implemented? April 11, 1853. Sort of. There were laws regarding the recording of such events as early as the 1600s. Practice unfortunately did not always follow suit. Use the Resource Links tab to access a site that goes into greater detail about Virginia’s death index. Most states have similar information pages. By knowing these dates you may realize you are searching fo something that was never recorded to state with, thus saving a lot of unnecessary research time. 

When reading or transcribing old court documents, Clerks of Court names can be difficult because of the signature style and the sometimes very oddly spelled names. Most localities have their clerks listed that served since the formation of the county, city or town. The clerks for Augusta County Circuit Court of Virginia since 1745 can be found by clicking on the Augusta County Circuit Court button on the Resource Links page. 

When was the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia first viewed by someone other than Native Americans?  Arguably, it was in August 1670, by a German named John Lederer, a full 46 years before Governor Spotswood and the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe crossed through Swift Run Gap into what is now Rockingham County, Virginia. There are a number of websites with further information about Lederer. The Virginia Germans by Klaus Wust (University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1984) is an excellent book on the early German Presence in Virginia and includes research on John Lederer.

We see it all the time in obituaries and death notices from historical newspapers. John Doe died the 12th inst. or John Doe died the 12th ult. Do they mean ultimately and instantly when referring to the person's death. No, well not exactly. If the newspaper is dated, lets say the 14th of July, and it says John Doe died inst., then he died the 12th of July. But if it says in that same paper that John Doe died the 12th ult., then he died the month before, being June. Short version of the explanation: Inst. = Current Month & Ult. = Previous Month. All you need is the date of the newspaper that posted the obituary to be correct. 

In 1752 in North America, the month of September only had 19 days. A very important bit of information for researchers of eighteenth century dated documents. Something to remember when calculating those birth and death dates too! Go to the Resource Links tab and click on “History of the Julian/Gregorian Calendar Change” for access to more information about just why this happened. A fascinating but little-known fact!

Cemetery and graveyard share the same meaning of “burial ground,” referring to a place where dead bodies are buried. However, graveyard usually suggests a small cemetery, such as one situated next to a church. Cemetery is the older of the two words in English, first used in the 1400s and descended ultimately from the Greek word koimētērion, meaning “sleeping chamber” or “burial place.” The first-known use of graveyard in print occurred a few centuries later, in the mid-1700s.