Monongalia County (W. Va.) Court Records and Miscellaneous Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

Certificates of Naturalization, Personal Property Books, and items 271, 194, 207, 208, 246, and 343 are not microfilmed, originals are open for research. For materials in boxes 1-240 and all other record books, researchers should use microfilm.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Monongalia County (W. Va.) Court Records and Miscellaneous Papers, A&M 0026, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
273.54 Linear Feet (343 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 records carton, 15 in.); (1 flat storage box, 3 in.); (83 record books, 17 ft. 7 in.); (175 flat boxes (nonstandard), 4 in. each); (340 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each); (58 reels of microfilm, 0.75 in. each)
Creator:
Monongalia County Court
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Monongalia County (W. Va.) Court Records and Miscellaneous Papers, A&M 0026, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

County court records consisting primarily of records of court proceedings including dockets, executions, orders, and fees as well as case papers and public records consisting primarily of land and property records including deeds, land, and personal property books. There are also some records of private businesses, private organizations, Sheriff's records, and voting records. This collection consists of three series and an addendum.

The first series, Microfilm, consists of 398 reels of microfilm. The first 238 reels are microfilm copies of the court papers in boxes 1-239, and part of box 240. Reels MON 293-MON 350 are copies of the alphabetical name and subject sections of the card index for the collection. The remainder of the reels are film of the record books of this collection. These record books are records of the County, Circuit, and Circuit Superior Courts for Monongalia, and give information on the types of cases, court administration, and financing. There are a significant number of indexes for deeds and marriages, as well as some deed, land, and survey books, records of the Sheriff, and some records of private businesses and organizations.

Series 2 contains 341 boxes of court record papers from 1774-1934. These papers consist primarily of case related papers, and include various types of records such as orders, commitments, bills, warrants, and transcripts. There are many records relating to early families in Monongalia County. The material in this series is completely indexed, and the card index can be used to locate records for a specific person/family, in a specific year or court (County, Circuit, Circuit Superior), or by subject. Please note that a copy of the Alphabetical and Subject indexes, including a list of the subjects on each reel drawer, can be found on MON 293-MON 350, in Series 2. No copy of the chronological index exists, ask for assistance using this section. Boxes 324-341 at the end of this series contain envelopes T1-T148, which hold similar records to the rest of the paper materials. There is a separate drawer of the card index for the "T" envelopes, but it has not been microfilmed.

Series 3 consists of 107 record books spanning 1781 to 1936. The bulk of these records (70 books) are indexes to deeds and marriages. There are also 13 volumes of Naturalization records, as well as survey, land, deed, and estate books. There are two minute books of private organizations, the Humane Society (item 254, 1900-1902) and the Order of the Sons of Temperance (262, 1851-1857). Except for the Naturalization records and items 271, 194, 207, 208, 246, and 343, the remainder of the books have been filmed.

An addendum was added to this collection in March of 2026. This addendum consists of 175 personal property tax ledgers from 1851-1954. These ledgers contain information on citizens of Monongalia County by district, and volumes prior to 1863 contain information on enslavement and freedpeople.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Monongalia County Courthouse, 1938 February 24.

Addendum: gift of Rodney Pyles, assessor of the Monongalia County Courthouse, 2012 December.

Processing information:

This collection was indexed in the 1940s(?) and the card index contains outdated terminology to refer to African Americans. In order to make sure the card index is still useful in locating Black historical materials, this terminology has been retained where it was originally used.

Arrangement:

Microfilm error: Some of the title cards on reels MON 1-MON 238 incorrectly identify the box number. To ensure accuracy, refer to the envelope numbers on the reel, rather than the box number, when finding corresponding original materials.

Paper materials are in envelopes, arranged chronologically by year and court.

The T-envelopes in boxes 324-341 appear to have originally been intended to be temporary locations for these materials, possibly preceding a project to sort them into boxes 1-323. The items in these boxes do not appear to have been arranged in any particular order.

Physical / technical requirements:

Personal property books, the addendum of 2026 March (boxes 348-520), are located offsite, please make an appointment before visiting.

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard