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Summers County History and Information |
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County History |
Court Records |
Vital Records |
CENSUS Records |
TAX Records |
Military Records |
Church & Cemetery | Maps & Atlases | Genealogy Addresses | Genealogy Related Sites | |
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Summers County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on February 27, 1871 from parts of Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer and Monroe counties. It was named in honor of George W. Summers (1804-1868). George W. Summers was born on March 4, 1804 in Fayette County, Virginia. He was moved to the Kanawha Valley, near Clarksburg, by his parents when he was an infant. He graduated from Ohio University, studied the law and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1827. In 1830, he was elected to the Virginia General Assembly and represented Kanawha County in the General Assembly from 1830 to 1840. He was elected as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives and served there from 1841 to 1844. He was a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850, ran for the Governorship of Virginia in 1850 but lost to Joseph Johnson, and was then elected Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, serving from 1852 to 1858. In 1861, he represented Kanawha County in the Virginia Convention that passed the Ordinance of Secession, which he opposed. He died in September 1868. Colonel Abraham Wood became the first Englishman to explore the Summers County area when he traveled down the New River Valley in 1654. Christopher Gist passed through the county on his way home after exploring much of the present state of West Virginia on behalf of a land investment company, the Ohio Company, in 1750-1751. Andrew Culbertson was the first English settler in present day Summers County. He moved into the present county in 1753 and his farm became known as Culbertson's Bottom. He abandoned the farm the following year after the Indians went on the warpath. His farm was then occupied and claimed by Thomas Farely. After the county's formation, the county court was first held at the Baptist Church, two miles north of New River. The court was later moved to an office above C.L. Thompson's printing shop in Avis. That building burnt down in 1875 and the court moved to John Pack's storehouse on Hilton Island. A legal dispute then ensued between Dr. John Manser and E.B. Meader, who wanted the county seat at Foss, and Evan Hinton (called "Father of the County" due to his efforts to form the county) and his friends who wanted the county seat at Avis. The impasse over the location of the county seat was finally resolved when the Chesapeake & Ohio River Railroad Company donated three acres of land for county purposes, in the present site of Hinton, if the county seat was moved there. The county court house was constructed in Hinton in 1876 and occupied by the county court in 1877. Hinton has been the county seat since. Hinton was laid out on the land of Avis Gwinn Hinton by her husband, John Hinton, in 1831. The town grew very slowly until 1871 when the Chesapeake & Ohio River Railroad company blasted a path through the New River gorge and made Hinton the division terminal. The town then started to grow and was incorporated on September 21, 1880. Some historians claim that the town was named for Evan Hinton, who was active in the movement to create Summers County. Others suggest that it was named for John (Jack) Hinton, who was a prominent lawyer in the county and laid out the town in 1831. In 1927, the towns of Avis, Bellepoint and Hinton were consolidated and incorporated as the city of Hinton by the West Virginia state legislature. See also Extended History for more historical details. Areas adjacent to Summers County are Greenbrier County (northeast), Monroe County (east), Mercer County (southwest), Raleigh County (west), Fayette County (northwest). Summers County Cities and Towns Include Ballengee, Brooks, Elton, Forest Hill, Green Sulphur Springs, Hinton, Indian Mills, Jumping Branch, Meadow Bridge, Meadow Creek, Nimitz, Pence Springs, Pipestem, Sandstone, Streeter, Talcott, True
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Summers County Clerk has Land Records from 1871,
Marriage Records from 1871, Probate Records from 1871 and Birth & Death Records from 1871 -Present and is located at the Courthouse,
120
Ballengee Street, P. O. Box
97, Hinton, WV 25951; 304-466-7104, Fax:
304-466-7146 . Summers County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1871 and is located at the County Courthouse, 120 Ballengee Street, Phone: (304) 466-7103; Fax: (304) 466-7124. Mailing Address: PO Box 1058, Hinton WV 25951 Since West Virginia was part of Virginia prior to 1863, see Virginia Databases for all records before that date.
Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Summers County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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Vital Records, 350 Capitol St, Rm 165, Charleston, WV 25301-3701, Please allow up to approximately 2-3 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Order In Person: The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office. If you want the copy the same day, our hours for same day service are Monday - Friday 8:30 - 5:00 Eastern Time except for official holidays. The West Virginia Vital Records Office is located at Room 165, 350 Capitol Street, Charleston, WV 25301-3701; Phone: 304-558-9100.
Map 1, Map 2 Since West Virginia was part of Virginia prior to 1863, see Virginia Databases for all records before that date. Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Summers County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Summers County, West Virginia are 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Summers County, West Virginia are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1880. See Also Statewide Records that exist for West Virginia Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Summers County Census Records by clicking the link below: |
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Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for West Virginia and other states. Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Maps. Email us with websites containing Summers County Maps by clicking the link below: |
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The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Summers County Military Records by clicking the link below:
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While people were taxed in Virginia prior to 1782, not many tax lists for that early period have survived, and the originals that have survived are at the Virginia State Library. Colonial period taxes were imposed on the personal property of males who were twenty-one and older, and called "tithables." While there is no comprehensive list or collection of early tax lists, many fragments are printed throughout Virginia genealogical literature West Virginia has one of the most complete sets of old tax records in existence. Land tax records dating from 1782 to 1936 for all counties, with some through 1959, are available at the Archives and History Library in Charleston. Most county clerks have duplicate copies in their offices. As noted in the section on Virginia, the Virginia State Library has the original unindexed personal property tax records from 1782 to 1863. Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Summers County Tax Records by clicking the link below: |
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The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over. Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Summers County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Summers County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Summers County Tombstone Transcription Project. Many religious groups have deposited their records at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. Church record inventories compiled as part of the Historical Records Survey are available there and at the FHL. For a complete discussion of early church records, see Virginia-Church Records. The most extensive collection of West Virginia tombstone inscriptions was compiled by the Historical Records Survey. Available at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection and on microfilm at the FHL, the collection includes inscriptions through 1939-40. The DAR and others have published volumes of cemetery records. Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Summers County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Summers County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Summers County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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