Donald Mosher Memorial Award for Colonial Virginia Research
This competitive $500 grant established in 2001 by Merrill Hill Mosher, CG, of Oregon, honors her late husband, Donald Mosher.
The Donald Mosher Award recognizes current colonial Virginia research published within the past twelve months or intended for future publication. The Award funds scholarly research on colonial Virginia topics in the following categories:
- family genealogy
- immigrant place or family origin
- publication of obscure or difficult Virginia resources
The annual deadline is 31 December. There are no word or page limitations but the submission must meet the criteria of the chosen category:
Family genealogy
• The genealogy includes a couple and their children residing in Virginia prior to 4 July 1776.
• All male and female descendants are traced for at least three generations.
• Families are placed within the historical context in which they lived.
• The work is fully documented using original sources, with an emphasis on Colonial Virginia research.
Immigrant place or family of origin in Colonial Virginia
A study of immigrant origins which
• Focuses on an immigrant settling in Virginia before 4 July 1776 whose origins have not been documented.
• Connects the immigrant to his family of origin.
• Documents and explains all steps in the research that proves the connection.
Publication of Colonial Virginia Records
A project that
• Makes available obscure or difficult, previously unpublished Virginia resources with an emphasis on records that pre-date 4 July 1776.
• Includes an outline and plan for the project.
• Presents a sample of the projected format.
To Apply
Send your project as a PDF attachment to
- the category under which you are applying
- how your project meets the award criteria
- publication status: where the article or project has or will be published and, if known, when
Receipt of your submission will be acknowledged. Questions may also be sent to
Roster of Mosher Award Recipients
Selena Mayes DuLac, Henrico County, Virginia, Land Patent Abstracts with Some Plat Maps, vol. I, 2002; and vol. III, 2009.
Victor S. Dunn, CG, “Virginia Business Records and Manuscript Index” hosted by the Virginia Genealogical Society.
Eric Hedrick, Historical Documents from Augusta County, Virginia: Volume 6—Judgments,
(http://www.erichedrick.com/augusta/, 2013); and Victims of the Massacre at Seybert's Fort, Augusta County, Virginia, 1758 (http://www.erichedrick.com/fortseybert/, 2019).
James Lively of England for his study identifying the 16th and 17th century English origins of the Underwood family of Virginia, 2006.
Nathan W. Murphy, MA, AG, “The Devon Seafaring Origins of William Byrd’s Mother’s Family: Grace (Stegge) Byrd of London, England, Thomas Stegge of Westover Parish, Charles City County, Virginia, and Captain Abraham Reed of Charles City County, Virginia; Including Additional Details about His Father John Byrd’s Career as a London Goldsmith,” The American Genealogist, Vol. 84, No. 4 (October 2010): 241-256; 2010; "The English Origin of Rev. Daniel Sturges, of Virginia and Georgia: His Relationship to Lady Hesilrige, and Further Clues to the Identity of Samuel Richardson's Pamela," to be published in an upcoming edition of The Genealogist, 2020; and "The English Origin of Lieutenant Colonel Daniel1 Clark of Charles City County, Virginia," The American Genealogist Vol. 91, No. 4 (dated July/October 2020, published December 2021):241–9; 2019.
James Winter Petty, CGRS, AG, for his work extracting headrights from Virginia county records, 2005.