Welcome to the Berkeley County, West Virginia, site for the
WVGenWeb Project,
part of the USGenWeb Project,
a massive undertaking to provide free resources
to genealogists.
Berkeley County is the second oldest county in West Virginia and was created (while
part of the state of Virginia) in 1772 from the northern third of Frederick County,
Virginia. The county seat was established in the colonial village of Martinsburg and was incorporated in 1778.
During the Civil War, Berkeley County, still a part of Virginia, experienced conflict and much destruction, as did other areas, and families became divided. After November 1863, Berkeley County became part of the new state of West Virginia.
Many Quakers and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, along with the English and Dutch, became residents here in the early 1700s. The county has a long history and many historic and architectually important buildings.
My name is Marilyn Gouge and I am the volunteer county coordinator for this site. It is always "under construction" and if you have any suggestions for, or comments about, this site, please feel free to contact me.
I'm not an expert on Berkeley County and cannot respond personally to queries, but there are other excellent resources (scroll down the page for options), including the Berkeley County WV mailing list, message boards, and other links for research.
If you have books or other materials and would be willing to do lookups for those out of the
area, please contact me and I'll add you to the list of "Lookup Volunteers."
Check back with us often since new information and links are added to this site frequently!
ATTENTION!!!
This site is getting a facelift!
There are many outdated links and there is new information available. So please bear with us as we perform badly needed updates.
Thank you.
Berkeley County WV Mailing ListThe Berkeley County WV Mailing List, hosted by RootsWeb, is for anyone with a genealogical interest in Berkeley County.
To subscribe, send a plain-text email to: [email protected]
with only the word subscribe in the body of the email. If you would prefer the digest mode (where messages are grouped together and sent out once a day), send your email to [email protected].
To post to either list, send a query to: [email protected]. Browse or search the archives of the mailing lists.
This board will allow you to post queries and search for obituaries, bible entries, wills, and other information regarding Berkeley County folks and connect with others researching in the same area.
Messages on the current board are those posted since mid-1998 and are fully searchable.
Older queries are separate from the board and can be browsed through the following links. To respond to an individual query on the older boards, contact the poster of the message.
WVGenWeb is not responsible for e-mail addresses that have been inactivated by the owners.
 1998 queries (Jan-Apr)
1997 queries (Jan-Jun)
1997 queries (Jul-Dec)
1996 queries (Jun-Dec)
Berkeley County Information
Biographies and information about a number of Berkeley County's citizens
Cemeteries Transcripts of some cemetery headstones in Berkeley County
Census Records — Coming Soon!
Communities Past and present Berkeley County towns and cities
Documents Deeds, land grants, military pensions, wills and other files submitted by descendants of Berkeley County residents
Family pages Locate others who are researching ancestors in Berkeley County, West Virginia
Lookup Volunteers Volunteers willing to do lookups in resources they own, Berkeley County, West Virginia
Updated — 21 November!! Newspaper Extracts
— Information about early area citizens appearing in various newspapers —
A Work in Progress
Queries — Read what others have posted about their searches in Berkeley County — NEW!
Surnames Find others researching surnames in Berkeley County, West Virginia
Vital Records Information, West Virginia Counties
Birth and Death records since 1917; Marriage records since 1921; and Divorce records since 1968.
Send to individual counties for records earlier than those years maintained by the state offices.
Vital Records
Berkeley County Vital Records Office
Berkeley County Clerk
100 West King Street
Martinsburg, WV 25401-3210
(304).267.3000
Vital Research Records Search Selection — The Vital Research Records Project of the West Virginia State Archives
is placing Birth, Death, and Marriage certificates on-line. Users can search the records and view scanned images of the original records. Not all of Berkeley County records are scanned, but do check back with theis site frequently since
this is an ongoing project.
West Virginia Birth and Death Certificates — West Virginia Health Statistics Center — Additional information on who can obtain birth and death certificates
from the state.
Social Security Death Index at Ancestry.com (free database)
Repositories, Libraries, and Societies
Berkely County Historical Society
P.O. Box 1624
Martinsburg, WV 25402
West Virginia State Archives —
This site lists a number of repositories in Berkeley County, including itemized listings of some.
It is recommended that you contact the individual repository for up-to-date information on their holdings. Links to individual repositories are provided if available. Otherwise, addresses and telephone numbers are listed on the West Virginia Archives and History pages.
Berkeley County court records, Martinsburg. Itemized listing of birth, death, marriage, will, land and miscellaneous records, according to the West Virginia Archives. Please check with the
county for complete information.
Berkeley County Historical Society, Martinsburg. Itemized listing of some records available.
Martinsburg — Berkeley County Public Library Itemized listing of some records available.
Naylor Memorial Library, Hedgesville.
Musselman-South Berkeley Branch Library, Inwood
North Berkeley Public Library, Falling Waters.
Eastern Panhandle (West Virginia) Libraries — Guide to location of libraries in Berkeley, Morgan, Jefferson, Hampshire, Mineral, Hardy,
Grant and Pendleton counties of West Virginia
Belle Boyd House and Museum, Martinsburg, West Virginia — the headquarters for the Berkeley County Historical Society and Berkeley County Landmarks Commission,
and the Ben Boyd Book Store. The Belle Boyd house is owned and operated by Berkeley County Historical Society. Built in 1853 by Ben Boyd, father of the famous Confederate spy and the only house standing in Martinsburg known to have been lived in
by Belle Boyd. The museum, archives, and book shop are open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Archives open each Wednesday evening 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. No admission fee. Open year round except Christmas holidays. Located on 126 E. Race Street
in Martinsburg. (See link above for the Berkeley County Historical Society and please call for hours of operation as they could change.)
Morgan Cabin, Bunker Hill — Colonel Morgan Morgan, the first white settler in West Virginia, built this cabin between 1731-34. The cabin was restored as a Bicentennial project in 1976, using many of its original logs. It is a historically
furnished museum and is the home of the Morgan Cabin Committee. On Rt. 26, 3.5 miles West of Rt. 11. For times of operation or more information, call (304) 267-4713.
Washington Heritage Trail, Martinsburg, West Virginia — Map and information about Martinsburg's nine historic districts:
Baltimore & Ohio Roundhouse Complex; Belle Boyd House; Berkeley County Archives and Research Center; Berkeley County Courthouse; General Adam Stephen (founder of Martinsburg) House; Green Hill Cemetery Historic District; Summer-Ramer School; and The Triple Brick Museum.
Martinsburg Newspaper, The Journal
Handley Regional Library, Winchester, Virginia — has a collection of books pertaining to West Virginia and Berkeley County, WV.
Frederick County, Virginia, GenWeb
page. Since Berkeley County was formed from part of Frederick County, Virginia, in 1772, browse through this
site to possibly locate information about your ancestors.
1895 Historical West Virginia Map — includes Berkeley County
Martinsburg map
Hedgesville map
Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce, Martinsburg.
Schools
Berkeley's Neighboring Counties
Jefferson County, West Virginia (east)
Morgan County, West Virginia (west)
Frederick County, Virginia (south)
Washington County, Maryland (north)
West Virginia Links
State of West Virginia The official state page.
West Virginia Chronology - Visit a page maintained by Jeff Miller and browse around his other interesting pages, including
"Some Interesting" Facts about West Virginia, including historical events.
West Virginia Facts More facts and links about West Virginia.
West Virginia Scenic Trails Get outside and enjoy the beauty.
West Virginia Tourism Places and things to see and do throughout the state.
West Virginia Travel Gateway to the Eastern Panhandle.
If your ancestors traveled to West Virginia and settled in Berkeley Co., or were just passing through, you can honor them by placing their names in the Migrations database.
All information that is submitted can be searched for by name or location so anyone will be able to find their ancestors and make a connection with you!
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