Rappahannock Co: There have been two Virginia counties named Rappahannock. The first was created from Lancaster in 1656 and became exinct in 1692 when it was divided into Essex and Richmond Counties [not Richmond City]. The present county was formed from Culeper County in 1833. It's county seat is Washington. Stafford Co was formed from Westmoreland Co in 1664. Spotsylvania Co was formed from Essex, King William, and King& Queen Counties in 1720. Fauquier Co was formed in May 1, 1759 from Princew William County Culpeper County was formed Orange Co in 1749. Madison Co was formed from Culpeper Co in 1792 Loudoun Co was formed from Fairfax Co in 1757 It is important to remember that it was said that all records were suppose to follow when the counties were redivided, BUT that was not the case. I suggest you check both counties for records. ====================================================================== Fauquier County was established from Prince William County by Act of the General Assembly of Virginia on 1 May 1759. The Act had been passed 22 February of that year. When Fauquier County was formed in 1759, the greater part of it was made up of Hamilton Parish with a very small part of it remaining in Dettingen Parish lying between the eastern boundary of the new county and Dar-rel’s Run. On 1 May 1769, Hamilton Parish was divided and Leeds Parish created; the latter was to include that portion of Hamilton lying above “a straight line, to begin at the north fork of Broad Run at an angle made by the line that divides the said Parish of Hamilton from the Parish of Dettingen and to end at two red oaks on the bank of the north fork of Rappahannock river in the plantation of Jesse Williams.” This line ran just above the present site of Warrenton, the county seat. Fauquier County was thus, ten years after the date of its formation, definitely divided into two parishes, the northern division forming the Parish of Leeds, while the southern part was Hamilton. All of the original marriage bonds issued by the Clerk of the Court seem to be extant. However, there seem to be gaps, especially for the early years, for which no bonds exist. Of the 1,794 licenses issued during the first forty years, 1759 through 1799, there were none recorded in 1784 and only one in 1776. The greatest number (131) was issued in 1796. These gaps might have been occasioned by the parties having “posted banns” in the parish church declaring their intention to be married. This being done, the marriages would have been recorded in the parish register. Unfortunately, the records of both Hamilton and Leeds parishes have disappeared. One source tells of the parish records being stored in the Clerk’s Office where the pages were systematically torn out, rolled up and used for pipe lighters! The care given every scrap of paper entrusted to the Clerk of the Court, from Humphrey Brooke to the present, makes this tale highly implausible. The original bonds have been copied into several large volumes in the Clerk’s office and from these typed copies these abstracts have been made, along with the ministers’ returns. The originals, though beautifully preserved, are very fragile and have been used only when there seemed to be an omission or mistake in the typed copy, i.e. Levi Davis to Samuel Cox, 10 August 1800 and Bladen Dulaney to Henry W. Carter, 7 June 1823 (which should be Mary W. Carter). The Davis-Cox bond is correctly recorded from the original--the Clerk or his assistant failed to record the bride’s name! Another common over- sight is the failure to record the date the bond was issued. In some cases a minister’s return will indicate the date the couple were married, but where there is no return (and some ministers were very lax about making these reports) we have no definite date. The typist who transcribed the original bonds into the Marriage Books apparently worked with the bonds as they were originally tied together in bundles, because a penciled date is supplied on bonds where the original date is missing. About 1847 the marriage license, which was legally a contract entered into by the groom and a surety (bondsman), ceased to demand a bondsman and by 1854 an entirely different form was instituted. The form after this date was less formal but gave more vital information: parents, ages, occupation of the groom, etc. Photocopies of the original bonds are available from the Clerk of the Court, Warrenton, Virginia 22186. Much time has been spent rechecking each bond and minister’s return with the original compilation, and the staff of the Clerk’s Office, as always, have been most supportive and helpful, especially Christal Barron who cheerfully spent much time bringing out the original bonds for examination. Source:  John K. Gott                 “Glencairn”                 Marshall, Virginia ========================================================= Guardian bonds of Fauquier County, Virginia (formed from Prince William County in 1759) were compiled from the County records from 1759 to 1871. The bonds for the years 1759 [1760] to 1818  are loose bonds and Minute Book entries in the Clerk's Office of the County. The bonds from 1818 to 1871, except for the years 1834 to 1850, are contained in bound volumes now in the Archives Division, Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia. These books were printed blank forms which were filled in, then bound together in heavy blue wrappers. The first volume, refered to as Book One in this compilation is marked "1818 to 1822"; however it contains two hand-written bonds, dated 27 and 28 January 1823. The other three volumes, represented in these abstracts as Book Two, Book Three, and Book Four are marked: January 1823 to September 1827; November 1827 to December 1833; and 1850 to 1871. The volume, if one existed, for the years 1834 to 1850 is missing--the abstracts in this compilation for these years were made from the Court Minute Books. The Minute Book entries give less information than the original bonds: there are no securities or witnesses listed and no value of the estate of the ward or wards. The user will note that the guardian was either chosen by the ward or appointed by the Court. This is important to the genealogist because any orphan over the age of 14 years could chose his or her guardian. The Court appointed the guardian for any "infant" under the age of 14 years. The entry in the original bond always read an "infant(s) over 14 years of age" or an "infant(s) under 14 years of age." Occasionally, a parent was appointed guardian of his/her children, probably indicating that they had inherited property or were entitled in some way to property, real or personal. The guardian was required by law to give an account of his ward's estate and the Court audited and recorded such accounts. Frequently, guardianships were revoked by the Court for failing to appropriately administer a ward's estate. The Minute Books abound with guardian's accounts received, etc ======================================================== Guardian bonds of Fauquier County, Virginia (formed from Prince William County in 1759) were compiled from the County records from 1759 to 1871. The bonds for the years 1759 [1760] to 1818  are loose bonds and Minute Book entries in the Clerk's Office of the County. The bonds from 1818 to 1871, except for the years 1834 to 1850, are contained in bound volumes now in the Archives Division, Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia. These books were printed blank forms which were filled in, then bound together in heavy blue wrappers. The first volume, refered to as Book One in this compilation is marked "1818 to 1822"; however it contains two hand-written bonds, dated 27 and 28 January 1823. The other three volumes, represented in these abstracts as Book Two, Book Three, and Book Four are marked: January 1823 to September 1827; November 1827 to December 1833; and 1850 to 1871. The volume, if one existed, for the years 1834 to 1850 is missing--the abstracts in this compilation for these years were made from the Court Minute Books. The Minute Book entries give less information than the original bonds: there are no securities or witnesses listed and no value of the estate of the ward or wards. The user will note that the guardian was either chosen by the ward or appointed by the Court. This is important to the genealogist because any orphan over the age of 14 years could chose his or her guardian. The Court appointed the guardian for any "infant" under the age of 14 years. The entry in the original bond always read an "infant(s) over 14 years of age" or an "infant(s) under 14 years of age." Occasionally, a parent was appointed guardian of his/her children, probably indicating that they had inherited property or were entitled in some way to property, real or personal. The guardian was required by law to give an account of his ward's estate and the Court audited and recorded such accounts. Frequently, guardianships were revoked by the Court for failing to appropriately administer a ward's estate. The Minute Books abound with guardian's accounts received, etc ======================================================== ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/mailtour/aol/en-us/text.htm?ncid=aolcmp00050000000003