Index to Virginia Estates: 1800-1865. Volume 2. Counties of: Clarke, Culpeper, Frederick, Greene, Madison, Orange, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, and Warren; cities of Frederickburg and Winchester. Compiled by Wesley E. Pippenger. Published by Virginia Genealogical Society; 5001 West Broad Street, Suite 115; Richmond, VA 23230-3023; 2001. ISBN 1-888192-31-3. xxiv, 849 pp. Hardback.

Virginia researchers will welcome the second volume of Pippenger's Index to Virginia Estates. Together, volumes 1 and 2 cover eighteen counties and three independent cities in the northernmost part of the state—approximately twenty percent of present-day Virginia.

Volume two references nearly 51,00 records, including 6,028 wills, 8,860 inventories or appraisals, 11,072 accounts or settlements, and 10,821 guardianship bonds and accounts. Sources include loose papers and unmicrofilmed records as well as bound books of wills, inventories, etc., and an Internet index of court records. Of particular note are the many previously unindexed record books that are included.

The index is a single continuous listing encompassing all of the counties and cities named above. Each entry provides the name or subject of the record, county or city, type of instrument, year, and an exact page citation for the original record. Location pages at the beginning of the book provide a listing of the records examined and corresponding Library of Virginia microfilm reels, when applicable.

The extent of the records indexed belies the book's title. In addition to records that obviously pertain to decedents' estates are bonds "to sell ardent spirits," lunacy records, constable's and notary's bonds, and a few suits.

Multiple records of the same estate are indexed separately. For example, one may find references under the same name to a will, executor's bond, and several accounts in the same time period and location.

Although most of the index entries name decedents, many entries refer to children, orphans, widows, and other heirs. In some cases, an entity (such as "Overseers of the Poor") is indexed. When the residence of the indexed subject and the location of the record are different, the residence is noted. A few entries provide exact dates of death, widow's maiden names, and precise residences (e.g., town, parish, or plantation name). A brief list at the end of the volume cites sources in which five names were illegible and names ten people without surnames, including one who was enslaved, and several free persons of color.

Virginia researchers will find this work to be an extremely helpful reference that enables them to locate records quickly and efficiently. When the series of Index to Virginia Estates is complete, Pippenger and the Virginia Genealogical Society will have compiled a valuable finding aid for Virginia families in the first two-thirds of the nineteenth century. In addition, with its many references to previously unindexed records, the series will enable researchers to locate records easily that previously would have required extensive research. Serious Virginia genealogists and historians should have this work at hand and all Virginia researchers will use it frequently.

Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL
Fairfax, Virginia

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