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Welcome

to the Morgan County, West Virginia


   


    site for the WVGenWeb Project, part of the USGenWeb Project, a massive undertaking to provide free resources for genealogists. Morgan County was formed in 1820 from parts of Hampshire and Berkeley Counties and named in honor of General Daniel Morgan, prominent soldier of the American Revolutionary War.

         FIRE IN COURTHOUSE — Early morning on August 8, 2006, a fire raced through the second story of the Morgan County Courthouse. I would suggest you call the courthouse at 304-258-8547 if you plan on visiting there to see what records are now available. It was reported that some records suffered water damage and went sent out of state for preservation, but most escaped the fire.

         Please browse through the updated pages here, including the Miscellaneous Research Links page, to find additional options to locating records.

         The Morgan County Historical and Genealogical Society (MCH&GS) — records include many family histories, deeds, wills, census records, obituaries, marriage records, cemetery records, death records, graveyard history, etc. These records (and the Society) are in the Morgan County Public Library, 105 Congress Street, Berkeley Springs. Please scroll down the page for mailing information on the society. At this time, the webpage originally listed here does not bring up the MCH&GS.

         For official copies of birth and death records, contact the West Virginia State Vital Records Office, Vital Registration, Division of Health office in Charleston, West Virginia. A note on their webpage indicates the cost of these has gone up to $10 each and will be given only to immediate family members.

    Page UPDATED 3 February 2009

    Please pardon our dust!
    This site is always in the process of being updated with new links and information.


    Hello Morgan County researchers. My name is Marilyn Gouge and I am the new volunteer coordinator of this site. All of the USGenWeb pages are maintained by volunteers who know how important it is to find information when you are not close to the areas of your ancestors. If you have a family history website you previously and that site is not listed or if you have changed servers, or if you have listed your family surnames and have changed email addresses, please notify me.

    Please do not email me to do research for you. I don't live in Morgan County or even close to it (though my paternal ancestors are from Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia (Morgan, Jefferson and Berkeley counties), so I am not able to go to the courthouse or visit the library there or even recommend places to stay. Resources within your own area could include the Family History Centers; most public records are on microfilm from the Family History Center Salt Lake City Library and can be "borrowed" for a small fee. Look through the pages here. There are already a number of links listed that will take you to the courthouse, libraries, etc. and I will be including additional sites for gathering information, either through the internet or by writing to agencies. Please check back with us; changes will be taking place.

    Thanks for your patience.


    NOTE: It has been brought to our attention that archive information previously available here has been moved to another server, which has created a number of invalid links on these pages.

    Please bear with us as changes are being made to those links as well as to surnames and family pages. Thank you — Coordinator/Webmaster

    Menu

    Connect with Folks Researching YOUR Morgan County Surname
    Rootsweb Mailing Lists and Message Boards
    Join a mailing list or browse and post messages on the boards 
    The Morgan WVGenWeb County Archives
    On Line Copies of Public Records
    The Family Album
    Pictures of Morgan County People and Places
    berkley-springs1
    Morgan County Courthouse
    Researchers'  Web Sites
    Queries from 1996
    Queries from 1997
    Queries Jan-April & Sept 18-20, 1998
    Miscellaneous Research Links
    Morgan County Historical & Geneological Society
    County Courthouse Address
    Resources Available for Lookups
    Folks willing to do look ups for you

    Cacapon River
    County History
    Rootsweb Guide, Index by Subject
    Helpful information and links
    Index of Historical Records
    of Old Frederick & Hampshire Counties, Virginia
    by Wilmer L. Kerns
    Sims Index  to Land Grants
    in West Virginia, 1762-1870
    Berkeley & Morgan Counties
    Search The Morgan Messenger
    Obits from 1997-present
    County Neighbors
    1850 Morgan County Census
    Transcribed from copy of actual records
    NOTE  not yet proofread. 
    Map Information —
    this page being updated
    Excerpts from the book
    A Ridenour Family History
    by Thomas Ridenour
    Morgan County Churches, Historical and Modern
    Will be updated soon
    Morgan County Cemeteries—
    this page being updated
    Morgan County Post Offices, Historical
    See Morgan County Communities
    Shaking YourFamily Tree
    How To articles by a certified genealogist —
    Myra Vanderpool Gormley
    How to Cite Your Sources
    by John Wyle
    Family Relationship Chart
    Deciphering Old Handwriting
    East Speak
    Occupations of Yesteryear




    Morgan County Historical and Genealogical Society (MCH&GS)
    Email
    Mr. Fred Widmyer, President
    Box 52
    Berkeley Springs, West Virginia 25411

    The MCH&GS is open for anyone who has a desire to help preserve the history of Morgan County and the surrounding areas and is willing to help with the research done for its members and others who request help. Annual dues are $5.00 per person or $7.50 per couple. Meetings are held during the summer months, usually May to October, at the Morgan County Library.
    There is no charge for people to go to the library to do their own research. The society will do research for those unable to go in person for $15.00 per hour with a minimum charge of $15.00. The charge for paper copies is $.25 per page of copied material plus shipping and handling charges based on current postal rates.
    Hours of operation:
    Monday and Wednesday — 9 a.m. to noon
    Tuesday and Thursday — 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
    1st Saturday of the month — 9 a.m. to noon
    2nd Tuesday of the month — 5-8 p.m.
    Friday — Call for an appointment:
    Mr & Mrs Clyde Edwards, 304-258-2259 or Betty Ditto, 304-258-1251, or E-mail the society.
    Thanks, Joy, for the information on the MCH&GS.

    Please remember these folks are mostly volunteers and their time is precious. — Don't ask for vague information such as, 'please look up everything you have on Smith.' Try to be specific about the information you need (full names and probable dates).


    You might also find the folks at the Berkeley County Library helpful in finding information that predates the formation of Morgan County in 1820. The Berkeley County Library's Genealogy Section


    Morgan County Courthouse
    County Clerk
    Morgan County Commission
    202 Fairfax St. Suite 100
    Berkeley Springs, WV  25411
    304-258-8547



     

    Sources Available for Lookup

    The people listed below have graciously volunteered to look up information pertaining to Morgan County. By doing this, they are doing the genealogy community a tremendous favor. Many/most of these people have full-time jobs (besides genealogy) and they may live anywhere in the world. They simply own or somehow have access to sources for Morgan County...please do NOT expect them to go to Morgan County for you. Also BE SPECIFIC about the person you are asking about, as well as the resource you would like them to review. Do not say "hey...ya got any SMITHs in any of your books?"

    As law-abiding citizens, we ask that no one violate copyright laws. Some publishers may have stated limits on what/how much can be in a look-up...our volunteers will let you know what limits there are, if any. Finally, be sure to thank our volunteers; without them our work and yours would be much more tedious and time consuming!

    NOTE: Please put MORGAN COUNTY LOOK-UP in your subject...some of these people are on many mailing lists and volunteer to do look-ups for other areas — your request could get deleted if you do not put a meaningful message in the subject area.

    References for Berkeley County are included here because Morgan was formed from Berkeley County. Information within parentheses generally reference the author or publisher of the book.

    If YOU own any resource material and can return the favor by doing lookups for others, give me a holler.

    Thanks to all our volunteers!

     
    Source Name Person to contact
    BIRTHS
    Morgan County, West Virginia Birth Records 1865-1904 (Turner) Staci Porter
    Angel Rogers
    Harry Grossman
    DEATHS/OBITUARIES
    Morgan County Death Records 1865-1903 (Davis) Nettie Grace
    Harry Grossman
    Sherry Neff
    Staci Porter
    Morgan County West Virginia Obituaries, Volume IV (Davis, Allemong, Mellott) Harry Grossman
    Morgan County West Virginia Obituaries (Allemong and Davis); red book Harry Grossman
    Morgan County West Virginia Obituaries 1936-1953; also 1907-1909 (Genealogical Society) Staci Porter
    Harry Grossman
    Obituaries Berkeley County Virginia (West Virginia) 1791-1855 (Historical Society) — because it includes the area of Morgan county for years 1791-1820 Harry Grossman
    CEMETERIES/GRAVEYARDS
    Graveyard History of Morgan County (Virginia )West Virginia (Genealogical Society) Harry Grossman
    Sherry Neff
    Nettie Grace
    Morgan County West Virginia Graveyard Book Staci Porter
    MARRIAGE RECORDS
    Morgan County West Virginia Marriage Records 1820-1865 (Genealogical Society) Harry Grossman
    Sherry Neff
    Staci Porter
    Morgan County West Virginia Marriage Records 1865-1903 (Turner) Sherry Neff
    Harry Grossman
    Staci Porter
    Marriage Records of Berkeley County 1781-1854 (Keesecker); because these include the area of Morgan County for years 1781-1820 Harry Grossman
    DEEDS/WILLS/ESTATE SETTLEMENTS
    Berkeley County (West) Virginia Deeds and Wills Abstracts, Deed Books 1-5 and Will Books 1-3 (Shuck); because it includes the area of Morgan County for the years 1772-1820 Harry Grossman
    West Virginia Estate Settlements to 1850 (Johnston) for Berkeley County; because these include the area of Morgan County for the years 1772-1820 Harry Grossman
    FAMILY HISTORIES
    A Ridenour Family History by Thomas Ridenour Thomas Ridenour
    CENSUS
    1820, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 (Marsh), 1900 (Davis) Morgan County Census Harry Grossman
    Index to the 1810 Census of Virginia (Bentley); because it includes surnames for the area of Berkeley and Hampshire counties that became Morgan County in 1820. Harry Grossman
    Index to the 1820 Census of Virginia (Feldin); because it includes surnames for the first Morgan County Census Harry Grossman
    1850 census Staci Porter
    Sherry Neff
    1860 census Staci Porter
    Sherry Neff
    1870 census Staci Porter
    Sherry Neff
    1880 Census of West Virginia vol 13 — Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties ONLY Staci Porter
    OTHER DATA
    Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Infobase (free database) Ancestry Site



    Morgan County Researchers' Web Sites


    Meet the Family! Here are some folks' web sites who are doing research in Morgan County:

    Pat Asher — Ambrose Genealogy

    Wanda Davis — Michael Family

    George Pauly's Pauly, Rockwell, Cleveland, Boncquet family page

    Charlene Smith — Ancestors of Richard F. Smith and Mary C. Wilkins Smith

    Billy Yoho — Billy Lee Yoho's Home Page

    If you have a web-site with Genealogy Information from Morgan County please notify me so I can add your link to the list.


     Didn't find what you were looking for? Try taking a look at these
    Morgan County Neighbors

    Berkeley County, West Virginia (east)
    Hampshire County, West Virginia (southwest)
    Frederick County, Virginia (southeast)
    Allegany County, Maryland (northwest)
    Washington County, Maryland (north)


    contact site manager

    Copyright: © 2006-2009 Marilyn Gouge
    Copyright: © 1998-2003 Charlene T. Smith
    All Rights Reserved.

    last update: 29 January 2009


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