The will of William Stith (1755) is not listed in _Virginia Wills and
Administrations 1632-1800: an Index_, by Clayton Torrence (Richmond:
Colonial Dames of America, 1930; repr. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co.,
1985).

Neither is his will listed in _Some Wills from the Burned Counties of
Virginia, and other wills not listed in Virginia Wills and
Administrations 1632-1800_, by William Lindsay Hopkins (Athens, Ga.:
Iberian Publishing Co., 1995).

His lineages posted on Rootsweb.com (WorldConnect) and Ancestry.com
(Ancestry World Tree) indicate that William Stith (1707-1755) died in
Williamsburg or Charles City County.

Williamsburg was not a separate jurisdiction in 1755.  It was divided
between James City and York counties at that time.  The Library of
Virginia's online listing of surviving county records at
http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/local/local_rec/index.htm shows that
York County wills survive.  They are indexed in Torrence (above).  James
City County court records were totally destroyed in 1865.  Charles City
County wills are lost between 1731 and 1763.

It looks like the only way a copy of the will would exist (if there was
a will) is if it were copied before 1865 for another court, or if it
were in private hands.  It is not listed in the online catalogs of the
Virginia Historical Society and the Williamsburg Research Libraries.
You might try to obtain the following book on interlibrary loan to see
what documents exist for his life:

_William Stith, Historian of Colonial Virginia_, by Toshiko Tsuruta
(thesis, University of Washington, 1957), 220 leaves.

Donald L. Wilson, Virginiana Librarian
Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC)
  For Genealogy and Local History
Prince William Public Library System
Bull Run Regional Library
8051 Ashton Avenue
Manassas, VA 20109
703-792-4540
www.pwcgov.org/library/relic


-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of W. Scott Smith
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 12:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Will of William Stith (d. 1755)

Does anyone know if the will of William Stith (d. 1755) has been
transcribed and is available online anywhere? A moderate search engine
excercise produced no results for me.

Scott