Berkeley County, [West] Virginia Birth Records, 1853-1860

Berkeley County, West Virginia, one of the older of the panhandle counties, is the area of interest in this volume. In 1853, all Virginia Counties were requested to file the data on their births, deaths and marriages. Most of the counties had already been filing the information on the marriages, but the births and deaths were new. This was not a law or a mandate, but a recommendation therefore, not every birth or death is recorded. In this record, you will find the name of the child, date of birth and location along with the name of the father and mother with occupation and location of their resident. For the child the race/sex is given. In the case of slaves it is noted their sex and usually just 'slave' and not black/mullato/etc. The owner is normally given as the father and only the first name of the mother is shown. One of the interesting items given is the "Informant" who was mother/father usually, but sometimes a grandparent or relative. Rarely is the informant a neighbor. The arrangement is by year and then each birth is numbered for that year. When you find the name, be sure to check out the year for the birth. They were not given in chronological number as it may have been weeks or even months before the birth is registered. This is why the date is no consistent. The register was kept open for six months following the close of the year so that births could be registered in that year.

James L. Douthat

2011, 8.5" x 11", paper, map included, full name index, 98 pp.

ISBN: 9780788481321

101E-WV0106