Records that survive
These are the record series the Library of Virginia has on microfilm for City of Winchester, with the earliest and latest years filmed. A span can include gaps; it doesn't mean every year in between survives.
Land and deeds
- Deed Book1789–1956
- General Index to Deeds1790–1910
Wills
- General Index to Wills1794–1976
- Will Book1794–1884
Estates and guardianships
- Commissioners’ Accounts Records of Fiduciaries1871–1924
Marriages, births and deaths
- Index to Marriage Register1790–1931
- Marriage Bonds Lists1790–1852
- Marriage Bonds and Licenses1790–1911
- Marriage Register1790–1940
- Marriage Record1853–1931
- Record of Deaths1853–1891
- Record of Births1865–1891
- General Index to Marriage Registers1932–1976
Tax lists
- Insolvent Capitation and Property Tax Lists1878–1879
Court orders and minutes
- Commissioners’ Book1856–1861
- Law Order Book1963–1968
Military and pensions
- Confederate Pension Board Records1900–1915
- Confederate Soldiers1902
See every volume and reel number at the Library of Virginia
Source: Library of Virginia, County and City Records on Microfilm. Reels marked for interlibrary loan can be borrowed through your local library.
Where to find the records
- City of Winchester official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the circuit court clerk's office, and any online record search the independent city offers.
- The circuit court clerk's office
Virginia's deed, will and marriage books are usually kept by the clerk of the circuit court for the county or city, though many older records have been moved to the Library of Virginia. Call before you visit; hours and access to older volumes vary.
- Library of Virginia: City of Winchester records on microfilmfree
Every filmed volume with its years and reel number. Use the reels in Richmond; many can be borrowed through interlibrary loan.
- Library of Virginia: Chancery Records Indexfree
Search equity court suits by name. They're rich in family detail: estate divisions, heirs and land disputes. Many localities' suits are scanned and free to view.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Virginia, Winchester" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Became an independent city in 1902, separating from Frederick County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Frederick County
Records stay with the county that created them. The atlas dates this city's independence to 1902, when Virginia's new constitution separated every city from its county. Many older cities already kept some of their own court records (hustings court records, for example), so search both the city's records and the county's. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Start with the deed and will books: they name relatives, neighbors and land. Then try the court order books, which mention almost everyone in the independent city sooner or later, as witnesses, jurors, road workers or parties to a suit.