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| Visitations of Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Visitations of Virginia |
| Caption | Arms used at heraldic visitations of colonial administrations |
| Country | Colony of Virginia; Commonwealth of Virginia |
| Established | 17th century (colonial era) |
| Jurisdiction | Heraldic, genealogical, and probate matters within Colony of Virginia and later Commonwealth of Virginia |
| Chief1 name | Norroy and Ulster King of Arms (historical oversight), Virginia register officers |
Visitations of Virginia are a corpus of colonial and post-colonial records created through formal inspections, surveys, and inquiries into heraldry, lineage, and property claims in the Colony of Virginia and later the Commonwealth of Virginia. Originating in the early modern practice of heraldic visitations conducted by officers such as the College of Arms heralds, the Virginia visitations intersect with institutions and figures including the Virginia Company of London, House of Burgesses, Governor of Virginia (colonial)s, and later state offices responsible for probate and land records. The series documents pedigrees, coats of arms, land grants, and legal disputes involving families connected to figures like John Smith (explorer), Pocahontas, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington.
The practice grew from English heraldic procedures exemplified by the College of Arms and the office of the Norroy and Ulster King of Arms and adapted to colonial conditions under authorities such as the Virginia Company of London and Crown-appointed Royal Governor (British North America). Visitations aimed to authenticate armorial bearings, trace descent for inheritance and alliance among settlers like the Lees of Virginia and Randolph family of Virginia, resolve disputes over primogeniture among families with connections to Bacon's Rebellion, and verify claims underlying land grants issued by the Privy Council and the Board of Trade. During the Revolutionary era and the formation of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the function shifted toward probate oversight and documentation of pedigrees for legislative and judicial purposes involving institutions such as the Virginia General Assembly and the Supreme Court of Virginia.
In colonial practice, visitations were executed by officers drawn from heraldic and governmental bodies: representatives of the College of Arms, commissioners acting under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland model, royal Governor of Virginia (colonial), and locally by clerks of the General Court (Virginia colony), county clerks, and clerks of court. Post-independence responsibilities devolved to state bodies including the Clerk of the House of Delegates, county Sheriff (United States), and registers of the Virginia Land Office. Notable officers connected to visitation records include clerks who created manuscript pedigrees tied to families like the Carter family of Virginia and the Mason family (Virginia), and surveyors associated with the Dominion of New England precedent for land assessment.
The records comprise manuscript pedigrees, emblazoned armorial bearings, sworn depositions, survey plats, land patents, wills, marriage settlements, and court minutes. These materials reference individuals and houses such as William Byrd II, Charles II of England, Lord Dunmore, Patrick Henry, and military figures connected to the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. Visitations often include transcriptions of parish registers referencing Jamestown, Virginia, Yorktown, Virginia, Williamsburg, Virginia, and county seats like Charles City County, Virginia and Henrico County, Virginia. Genealogical entries link to emigration patterns involving Cavaliers and Indentured servants from ports like London and Bristol (England), and to colonial legal instruments such as patents and deeds.
Select visitations unearthed pedigrees used in high-profile inheritance disputes and political controversies involving families like the Lee family (Virginia) and the Washington family. Investigations connected to the Mann vs. Commonwealth-era property disputes, or to estates referenced by Thomas Nelson Jr. and John Marshall, have informed scholarship on colonial elite networks. Some visitations revealed forged or mistaken armorial claims traced to transatlantic correspondences with the College of Arms and prompted litigation before courts including the General Court (Virginia colony) and later the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Legal authority for visitations derived from charters and commissions issued by monarchs such as Charles I of England and instruments overseen by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom during colonial administration, and later statutes enacted by the Virginia General Assembly. Procedures combined sworn testimony, documentary proof (wills, deeds, parish registers), and physical inspection of seals, heraldic devices, and land boundaries surveyed by officers influenced by the practices of the Ordnance Survey and early colonial surveyors like George Washington in his surveying capacity. Results could be entered into court records, admitted as evidence in probate proceedings, or referred to the College of Arms for confirmation of armorial bearings.
Manuscripts now reside in repositories including the Virginia Historical Society, Library of Virginia, county courthouses, the Library of Congress, and the British Library. Important printed editions and transcriptions have appeared in periodicals of the Virginia Historical Society and writings by antiquarians linked to the Society of Antiquaries of London and genealogists publishing through university presses at institutions like the University of Virginia. Access is governed by archival policies of institutions such as the National Archives (United Kingdom) for colonial correspondence and state archives for probate and land records; digitization projects have involved partnerships with the Digital Public Library of America and academic initiatives at William & Mary.
Category:Genealogy of Virginia Category:Colonial Virginia