Prince William County Probate Records

When Captain John Smith and other English explorers came to the upper Potomac River beginning in 1608, they reported that the Doeg tribe occupied the area within present Prince William County. The Doeg Indians maintained several villages in this area into the 1650s, when colonists began to patent the land. The County was named for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, the third son of King George II. Prince William County was created on 1 February 1727 from King George and Stafford Counties. The Act of 1731 of the General Assembly included parts of Stafford County and King George County, and part of Prince William County originally included all of what later became Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, the City of Falls Church, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, the City of Manassas, and the City of Manassas Park. The county seat is Manassas.