A destroyed courthouse record is a real obstacle, but it does not tell us that every trace of an event is gone. Research begins by identifying the particular record series and years lost, then looking for surviving material that could address the same question.
What “burned records” means
Virginia record losses have several causes, including fire, wartime destruction, water damage, and theft. The Library of Virginia’s Lost Records Localities project brings together copies of material that survived elsewhere, including documents preserved in other localities’ court cases. Read the Library’s explanation.
“Not found” and “destroyed” are different findings. A failed name search establishes only that the search did not locate an entry. It does not establish that the person was absent, that the record never existed, or that it burned.
Four public county guides
- King William County — selected surviving books and sheriff’s records.
- Hanover County — local access guidance and surviving chancery material.
- New Kent County — fee books, bonds, and other surviving series.
- King and Queen County — court minutes, order books, and estate-related records.
A practical search sequence
1. Establish the jurisdiction
Write down the place and date of the event. Consult a locality-formation guide before assuming today’s county held the record. The Library of Virginia notes that records generally stayed with the parent locality when a new locality formed. Check locality formations and records availability.
2. Read the collection description
Look for the series title, date span, missing volumes, index coverage, and access format. Separate three questions in your notes: does the item survive, is it held by this repository, and is a digital image available? A microfilm listing answers a different question from an online name index.
3. Search Lost Records Localities
The Library’s 2024 update directs readers to a dedicated guide and collection search. Some entries now link to an entire digitized chancery case, with image numbers identifying the relevant document. Read the surrounding case when it helps explain why the copy was made. Open the Library’s current-search guidance.
4. Look for related proceedings
The Chancery Records Index is another starting point. Search more than the surname of the person you hope to find; relatives, business associates, and opposing parties can provide routes into a case. Treat an index as a locator and evaluate the underlying documents. Open the Chancery Records Index.
The Burned Jurisdiction Database is a separate resource for copies from higher and appeal courts. Its entries often represent only part of a larger proceeding. Explore the Burned Jurisdiction Database.
5. Choose substitutes that fit the question
- For an estate question, look for surviving administration, guardianship, bond, or litigation material.
- For land, follow the property and relevant parties across available deeds, surveys, tax material, and court proceedings.
- For a household, compare available civil, church, census, newspaper, and privately held material, checking each source’s coverage and origin.
These are search strategies, not promises that a particular substitute survives. A tax entry may establish an assessment without proving a parent-child relationship; shared residence or a shared surname also needs careful interpretation.
Keep a useful research log
- Question and date range.
- Repository, collection, and exact volume or case identifier.
- Names and spelling variants searched.
- Pages, images, or index ranges actually examined.
- Result, limitations, and the next source to check.
Keep the source wording separate from your conclusion. Use the evidence standards when a result remains uncertain. Do not reconstruct missing names or relationships merely to fill an empty space.
Sources & review date
- Library of Virginia: how lost records survive in other collections
- Library of Virginia: 2024 Lost Records search update
- Library of Virginia: Chancery Records Index
- Library of Virginia: Burned Jurisdiction Database
- Library of Virginia: locality formations
Source listings checked August 30, 2026. This is an original research guide, not a transcription of the records or a complete inventory. Confirm current access arrangements with the repository.