Albemarle Parish, Surry County, VA

Notes:
History

Albemarle Parish has served Surry and Sussex counties.

Albemarle Parish was a pre-Revolutionary War Episcopal parish that reflected the political and civil dominance of the Church of England in the affairs of Virginia at the time. Albemarle Parish should not be confused with Albemarle County.

James City County, Virginia was created in 1634 as one of Virginia's eight original shires, and was located on both sides (north and south) of the James River. Then Surry County was created in 1652 from the part of James City County that was south (southwest) of the river.

When Surry County was created, it contained two parishes which formerly had been part of James City County. These were Lawne's Creek Parish, formed in 1640, and Southwark Parish, formed in 1647.

In 1732, part of Surry County was added to Brunswick County. Then, in 1738, Lawne's Creek and Southwark Parishes were restructured. This resulted in the area north of the Blackwater River being called Southwark Parish, and the area south of the Blackwater River being given the new name of Albemarle Parish.

Sussex County was formed in 1754 (some sources say 1753) from the part of Surry County that was south of the Blackwater River. This left Surry County as being located north of the Blackwater and as a part of Southwark Parish. The new county of Sussex was in Albemarle Parish. In fact, all of Albemarle Parish was then located in Sussex County.

This, then, means that between 1738 and 1754, Albemarle Parish was in Surry County. Then, from 1754 until the parishes were abolished around the time of the Revolutionary War, Albemarle Parish was in Sussex County.

Founded

1738[1] "from those parts of Lawne's Creek and Southwark parishes that lay southwest of Blackwater River"[2]

Resources

Parish History

Bell, Landon Covington Bell. Albemarle Parish. Richmond, VA: 1950. Google Books <http://books.google.com/books?id=4gAAtwAACAAJ&dq=%22Albemarle+Parish%22&hl=en&ei=aov_TeaKOabr0gHm6cHqCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg> page | WorldCat <http://www.worldcat.org/title/albemarle-parish/oclc/5843230&referer=brief_results> page

Ingersoll, Louise Van H. Southside Masons of Virginia: Descendants of Captain John Mason, the Elder of Albemarle Parish. Washington, DC: 1948. WorldCat <http://www.worldcat.org/title/southside-masons-of-virginia-descendants-of-captain-john-mason-the-elder-of-albemarle-parish/oclc/74150519&referer=brief_results> page

Nelson, John K. A Blessed Company: Parishes, Parsons, and Parishioners in Anglican Virginia, 1690-1776. University of North Carolina, 2001. Google Books <http://books.google.com/books?id=I2o5W3whNacC&pg=PA347&dq=%22Albemarle+Parish%22&hl=en&ei=FI3_TYqQAqG10AHcw9SxBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAjgK> page

Townes, Amanda Jane. The Care of the Poor in Albemarle Parish, Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia, 1742-1787. M.A. thesis, College of William and Mary, 1976. WorldCat <http://www.worldcat.org/title/care-of-the-poor-in-albemarle-parish-surry-and-sussex-counties-virginia-1742-1787/oclc/2499718&referer=brief_results> page

Upton, Dell. Holy Things and Profane: Anglican Parish Churches in Colonial Virginia. Yale University, 1997. Google Books <http://books.google.com/books?id=gsaWZLST0x8C&pg=PA233&dq=%22Albemarle+Parish%22&hl=en&ei=aov_TeaKOabr0gHm6cHqCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBA> page (with limited preview)

Parish Records

The original Vestry Book for Albemarle Parish is extant, although it does not begin until 16 Nov 1742. Some earlier pages are missing. Parish register records including births and deaths, as well as christenings and their sponsors, are readily available in published form.

Parish Registers

Boddie, John Bennett. Births, Deaths and Sponsors, 1717 - 1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. 1958; Reprint, Baltimore: Clearfield, 1998. FHL Book 975.556 K2b 1998 <https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1019510> | digital version at World Vital Records <http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=gpc0806300248_johnbennettboddie1958> ($) | Google Books <http://books.google.com/books?id=lnD8tlRsj-UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Albemarle+Parish%22&hl=en&ei=aov_TeaKOabr0gHm6cHqCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ> page (with limited preview) | WorldCat <http://www.worldcat.org/title/births-deaths-and-sponsors-1717-1778-from-the-albemarle-parish-register-of-surry-and-sussex-counties-virginia/oclc/20521207&referer=brief_results> page

Horne, Elizabeth, and Virginia Horne. Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia, 1717-1779. Wadesboro, NC: Daughters of the American Revolution, Craighead-Dunlap Chapter, 19--. WorldCat <http://www.worldcat.org/title/albemarle-parish-register-of-surry-and-sussex-counties-virginia-1717-1779/oclc/11696628&referer=brief_results> page

"Notes from Albemarle Parish Register, Sussex County, Va.," William and Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. 14, No. 1, Jul 1905, pp. 1-6. FHL Book 973 H25w <https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/248629> | digital copy in Google Books <http://books.google.com/books?id=xjASAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22Albemarle+Parish%22&hl=en&ei=FI3_TYqQAqG10AHcw9SxBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwADgK> | digital version at JSTOR <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1916033> ($)

Richards, Gertrude R.B. Register of Albemarle Parish, Surry and Sussex Counties, 1739-1778. Richmond, VA: The National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1958; Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1984; Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, 2010. FHL Book 975.556 K2rg <https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/114416> | Google Books <http://books.google.com/books?id=ZId-DwEACAAJ&dq=%22Albemarle+Parish%22&hl=en&ei=FI3_TYqQAqG10AHcw9SxBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBjgK> page | WorldCat <http://www.worldcat.org/title/register-of-albemarle-parish-surry-and-sussex-counties-1739-1778/oclc/11779826&referer=brief_results> page

1739-1778 - Albemarle Parish Christening Index 1739-1778. Batch C504641 <https://www.familysearch.org/search/records/index> at FamilySearch - free.[3]

Parish Vestry Book

Davis, Virginia Lee Hutcheson, and Andrew Wilburn Hogwood. Albemarle Parish Vestry Book, 1742-1786: Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. for Clearfield Co., 2005. Google Books <http://books.google.com/books?id=TCO3iDzfmRwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Albemarle+Parish%22&hl=en&ei=aov_TeaKOabr0gHm6cHqCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA> page (with limited preview) | WorldCat <http://www.worldcat.org/title/albemarle-parish-vestry-book-1742-1786-surry-and-sussex-counties-virginia/oclc/61150867&referer=brief_results> page

References

? Freddie Spradlin, "Parishes of Virginia," <http://vagenweb.org/parishes.htm> VAGenWeb, accessed 29 January 2011; Hening's Statutes at Large; <http://vagenweb.org/hening/> Emily J. Salmon and Edward D.C. Campbell Jr., The Hornbook of Virginia History (Richmond: Library of Virginia, 1994).

? Eve S. Gregory, "Notes on Surry County, Virginia, History," <http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vasurry/surhist.html> VAGenWeb.

? Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at <https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/3/37/Igivirginia.pdf>.

Latitude: 37.1377803055556, Longitude: -76.8350844444444