West Virginia

All native West Virginians know that 20 June 1863 was the date when West Virginia became the 35th state in the Union.  I won't go into the historic details here ... check out the West Virginia Division of Culture and History article, "West Virginia Statehood" or any of a multitude of web sites.

Genealogists often run into changing county and state lines.  There is a great set of maps on the VAGenWeb site that shows the progression of the changing county lines in Virginia and West Virginia.

Many of my ancestors lived on what is now Fork Ridge in Marshall County, West Virginia.  Consider the history of that area:

• In 1721, it was in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
• In 1734, it was in Orange County, Virginia.
• In 1745, it was in Augusta County, Virginia.  Was also called West Augusta District.
• As of October 1776, it was in Ohio County, Virginia.
• As of 12 March 1835, it was in Marshall County, Virginia.
• And finally, as of 20 June 1863, it was in Marshall County, West Virginia.

In many family histories, the transition from Virginia to West Virginia is often handled by recording the state where something happened as (West) Virginia.  Any time you see this, it indicates that the event occurred in an area that is now in West Virginia, but was in Virginia at the time it happened.  A great example:  Census records for 1870 and later often record the place of birth for persons born prior to 20 June 1863 as West Virginia when it was actually still Virginia.

The trick is to remember to always consider the date and the location together.  There are a lot of folks whose location changed from Ohio County, Virginia, to Marshall County, West Virginia ... and they never even moved!