This collection contains over 700 citations to documents involving early FINLEY families in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Texas and California along with a number of collateral lines. Researchers interested in Caldwell, Doak, Downing, Gillespie and Mounts may also find references of interest. There are also citations to many McFarling documents in Virginia, Ohio, and California. Collateral lines related to McFARLING include Bancroft, McKnight, Fullerton, Hackney, Heald, Moore, Osten, and Senteney. German surnames related to both paternal and maternal lines include Loesch/Lesh/Lash, Stemple, Minnir/Minear, Pabst/Bobst, Bischoff/Bishoff, Wüll/Will, and Drach.
These documents, all in transcribed form and many with copies of the original documents, include deeds, court records, tax and census records, marriage and other vital records, as well as some extensive probate records, and abstracts taken from standard sources, both primary and secondary. It also includes correspondence, some GEDCOMs, photographic family albums, and other documents used in the analysis of problems found in tracing family members. In addition there are reprints of published research by Carmen J. Finley found in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, The Virginia Genealogist, the American Genealogist, Tennessee Ancestors, National Genealogical Society Computer Interest Group Digest, and Finley Findings, International. About 80% of this material is available online and all are available in hard copy form.
Researchers interested in early Finley records (1740-1800) in Virginia, will find an abundance of material in Augusta County, but there are also other Virginia documents from Albemarle, Amhurst, Bedford, Botetourt, Fincastle, Montgomery, Prince Edward, Rockbridge, Washington, and Wythe Counties. Kentucky documents (1780-1815) include mainly Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, and Garrard Counties: Tennessee documents (1790-1830) include mainly Knox, Blount, and Jefferson Counties. An added feature is the ability to search on the subject "Slaves" to locate documents prior to the Civil War which include the names of slaves found in court and land records.
If you wish to obtain a copies of citations or documents that are not available online, they can be requested through the University Library. Please call 707-664-4152 or email specialcollections@sonoma.edu.
Search the Finley Genealogy Collection
Carmen Finley's personal Web page
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet