Hampton Death Index

The Hampton death index covers death records for the City of Hampton, Virginia, one of the oldest continuously occupied English settlements in the United States. Certified death certificates are available through the Virginia Department of Health Office of Vital Records, and Hampton maintained its own local death records during the 1897 to 1911 gap period.

Virginia Department of Health: Hampton Death Certificates

Certified death certificates for the City of Hampton come from the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. The office is at 8701 Park Central Drive, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23227. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mail requests go to P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, VA 23218-1000. Phone: (804) 662-6200. Online orders go through VitalChek.

Each certified copy costs $12. Under Virginia Code Title 32.1, Chapter 7, records less than 25 years old are restricted to immediate family: spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent. Photo ID is required. Records 25 years or older are public. The Peninsula Health District serves the Hampton area and provides public health services, but certified death certificate copies come from the state office in Richmond.

Hampton is a large independent city on the Virginia Peninsula between the James and York Rivers. The city merged with Elizabeth City County in 1952 and with the town of Phoebus in 1952 as well. This means the modern City of Hampton contains what was once a separate county. Deaths that occurred in the old Elizabeth City County before the 1952 merger would be found under that county's records. This is an important distinction for genealogical research in this area.

Hampton Circuit Court and Probate Records

The Hampton Circuit Court handles probate cases, wills, estate administration, land records, and marriage licenses for the City of Hampton. It does not issue death certificates. Those must come from the state Office of Vital Records. The circuit court holds a substantial collection of historical records given Hampton's long history and its merger with Elizabeth City County.

You can search probate and civil court case records for free through the Online Case Information System (OCIS). For older records not yet in the online system, contact the Hampton Circuit Court Clerk directly. The clerk's office holds wills, deed books, and fiduciary records spanning both the city's history and the records absorbed from Elizabeth City County after the 1952 merger.

Because Hampton absorbed Elizabeth City County in 1952, the Circuit Court Clerk's office holds what were formerly county-level records. This includes probate records and land records that predate the modern city. If you need records from the Elizabeth City County era, the Hampton Circuit Court Clerk is the right contact. Land records from colonial and antebellum Hampton are among the oldest English-language land records in the country.

Marriage licenses are issued by the Circuit Court Clerk. Probate cases open when an executor files the will after a death. These cases contain inventories of personal property, debt settlements, and the names of heirs. For Hampton's older records, estate inventories from the 17th and 18th centuries list household goods, slaves, livestock, and debts in considerable detail, which makes them valuable for genealogical research.

Hampton Death Index: Historical Records and Gap Period

Hampton maintained local death records during the 1897 to 1911 gap period, when Virginia had no statewide death registration system. These local Hampton death records are available at the Library of Virginia. If you're researching a death in Hampton between 1897 and June 1912, check these local records before assuming no documentation exists.

Virginia's statewide death registration ran from 1853 to 1896. Deaths from that period in Hampton are indexed in the Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by the Virginia Genealogical Society. These death registers are on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Virginia residents can access them for free through Ancestry for Virginians at lva.virginia.gov.

Hampton Public Library has local history resources that can help with death research. The library holds city directories, newspaper archives, and local history materials. For pre-1853 deaths, researchers rely on church records, cemetery records, and estate papers. Hampton's St. John's Episcopal Church, one of the oldest parishes in Virginia, has burial records going back to the colonial era. Many of those records have been published or microfilmed.

FamilySearch at familysearch.org has free Virginia death databases that include Hampton entries. The FamilySearch wiki also has a guide to Hampton genealogy that explains the jurisdictional changes and lists available record types. Elizabeth City County, which merged with Hampton in 1952, had records going back to 1634. Those older records are at the Library of Virginia and are accessible through FamilySearch and Ancestry for Virginians.

Nearby Virginia Cities

These independent cities are on the Virginia Peninsula near Hampton and each has its own vital records and circuit court.