Road to Caroline Co., VA

Caroline County, VA was formed 1727. It was formed out of land which had been part of Essex Co., King & Queen Co., and King William Co. Essex was formed 1692 out of Old Rappahannock Co., which was formed 1656, out of Lancaster Co., which was formed 1651 out of Northumberland Co., which was formed in 1648. Are you good and confused by now? What a road to Caroline County! My Jones family arrives "to stay" in Virginia 1649. For almost 100 years they lived in what was to become Caroline Co., VA, but it was known by different names along the way. The families' land did not change, but the name of the counties changed. At each point along the way, a family member may have been listed living in different counties, but in reality, they never moved. It was the county name and its boundaries that were changed. These changes would make the genealogist believe that the family sure moved around a lot. Unless care was taken to follow the history and formation of each county, one would loose their family along the way. For Virginia this is especially true. A book entitled Virginia Counties: Those Resulting from Virginia Legislation, by Morgan P. Robinson, has been the most helpful reference in this regard. It was initially published by the Bulletin of the Virginia State Library, Vol. 9, Jan., Apr., July 1916. It has been reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992. Identifying the history and chronology of the Virginia county in which your ancestors lived, will often guide you around many "brick walls".