Welcome to the Eastern Shore of Virginia Public Library's Genealogy Works
Update April 2018: The last revision to this collection was in Winter 2003/2004 before Mr. Mears passed away.
Within this effort is the MEARS COLLECTION. It consists of a large group of genealogical files derived mostly from other documents found within our Eastern Shore Room. Over the years we have had a number of professional and amateur genealogists from Virginia’s Accomack and Northampton Counties to contribute copies of their works to this library for use by the general public and for permanent archival.
The MEARS COLLECTION is based on the works of some of them including the Mark Lewis files, the Spencer Wise files, the Nora M. Turman files, the John Cropper files, "Ames, Mears and Allied Lines" and many many more. Each one of these works is a genealogical treasure chest of Eastern Shore lineage. Many of these works were combined into one larger database which then tied together many loose ends. Thus the final result is much bigger than the sum of its parts.
Since many of these files are based on incomplete works and are not thoroughly authenticated by fully documented sources, no claims as to accuracy are made or implied. But errors are minimized or eliminated when one family tree does not coincide with another and the discrepancy is investigated further.
The user of these files should treat them as clues in his own research using such official files as wills, deeds, marriage records, census data, old Bibles and others. Much of this can be found in the official records of the county courthouses which are located within easy commuting distance from this library.
The Internet portion of this collection contains the names of many of the descendants of the original settlers of the Eastern Shore. There are about 250 family names traced from their earliest known origins to relatively modern times.
These names and much more too are also in computer files and on the shelves in the Eastern Shore Room and available to the public but not via the Internet. Many of the people in the large database have not been traced all the way back to an original immigrant but are in the database and are not necessarily published in the internet version of the Mears Collection. To access the complete database, you must personally visit the Eastern Shore Room and use their computer files. You may find many names and generations of people who will fill gaps in your family tree. These names are entered into two commercially available genealogy computer programs.
Since this is a continuing project, the files will be updated periodically as new information becomes available and is integrated within the master database. The most recent revision was in the Winter 2003/2004
Robert L. Mears, the author and compiler