Resources for Your Genealogy Research in
West Virginia

Where to Look? How to Find It?

West Virginia is one of two American states formed during the American Civil War (1861-1865), along with Nevada, and is the only state to form by seceding from a Confederate state. It was originally part of the British Virginia Colony (1607-1776) and the western part of the state of Virginia (1776-1863), whose population became sharply divided over the issue of secession from the Union and in the separation from Virginia, formalized by admittance to the Union as a new state in 1863. West Virginia was one of the Civil War Border states.

We have gathered together lists of those resources we are aware of for the most common resources, and also some of the less common places to look for information about your family. So, help yourself to the information below, and go hunting.

West Virginia Archives and History site's Genealogy Corner page

West Virginia University Libraries presents a guide to conducting research at the West Virginia and Regional History Center

Don't forget that West Virginia was carved out of Virginia and many records for the area while it was still part of Virginia are housed in Virginia resources.

Here is the LDS Wiki page for West Virginia genealogy information

The US GenWeb project has specific state projects as part of it. Here is the West Virginia GenWeb site

It Helps When You Know Where to Look!