Bath County, Virginia Genealogy

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Guide to Bath County, Virginia ancestry, family history and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, immigration records, and military records.

Bath County, Virginia
Map
Boundary map of Bath County, Virginia
Map of Virginia highlighting Bath County
Location in the state of Virginia, United States Genealogy
Map of the U.S. highlighting Virginia
Location of Virginia in the U.S.
Facts
Founded 1790
County Seat Warm Springs
Courthouse
VirginiaBathCourthouse.jpg


County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Bath County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. It was named for England's resort City of Bath because it, too, is the home to a number of warm mineral springs[1].

Bath County Virginia Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Bath County Courthouse
P.O. Box 180
Warm Springs, VA 24484-0180
Phone: 540-839-2361

Clerk Circuit Court has birth records 1854-1880
Death records 1854-1870 divorce records, probate, land and court records from 1791[2]

Beginning Dates for Bath County, Virginia Genealogy Government Records
Birth Marriage Death Census Land Probate
1853 1790 1853 1810 1791 1791

Bath County Virginia History[edit | edit source]

Bath County, Virginia takes its name from Bath, England. Pictured here are the Roman Baths in Bath Spa, England.

The county is named after the resort town of Bath, England.[3]

Parent County[edit | edit source]

1790--Bath County was created 14 December 1790 from Augusta, Botetourt and Greenbrier (now in West Virginia) Counties.
County seat: Warm Springs.[2]

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

For animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Virginia County Boundary Maps" (1617-1995) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

  • Lost censuses: 1800, 1890

Places/Localities[edit | edit source]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]\

Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places


Bath County Virginia Genealogy Resources[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

African Americans[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Images of the Virginia Historical Society's family Bible collection have been digitized:


Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Tombstone Transcriptions Online Tombstone Transcriptions in Print List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com Family History Library Findagrave.com
VAGenWeb WorldCat BillionGraves
VAGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Project
Virginia Gravestones
BillionGraves
See Virginia Cemeteries for more information.



Bath County, Virginia cemetery databases are online at the The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library.

Census[edit | edit source]

For tips on accessing Bath County, Virginia Genealogy census records online, see: Virginia Census.


Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1800 5,508 —
1810 4,837 −12.2%
1820 5,237 8.3%
1830 4,002 −23.6%
1840 4,300 7.4%
1850 3,486 −18.9%
1860 3,676 5.5%
1870 3,795 3.2%
1880 4,482 18.1%
1890 4,587 2.3%
1900 5,595 22.0%
1910 6,538 16.9%
1920 6,389 −2.3%
1930 8,137 27.4%
1940 7,191 −11.6%
1950 6,296 −12.4%
1960 5,335 −15.3%
1970 5,192 −2.7%
1980 5,860 12.9%
1990 4,799 −18.1%
2000 5,048 5.2%
2010 4,731 −6.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org". United States Census Bureau.

1785

  • Botetourt County, Va., 1785 Enumeration. 1972. By Charles T. Burton. Troutville, Virginia : Burton. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

1790 - Lost

1800 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation

1810

1840

  • 1840 Bath County, Virginia Census. 2004. By James L. Douthat. Signal Mountain, Tenn : Mountain Press. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press ($).

1890 Union Veterans

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Court[edit | edit source]

Library of Virginia has a Chancery Records Index in which Bath County chancery court records can be searched for the years 1793-1919. Records are maintained on microfilm and at the Clerk's Office.

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

Compiled Genealogies by Surname


Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families

  • Hardesty, H.H. and James S. Presgraves. Rockbridge County and Bath County: Families & History; Reprinted from Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, Chicago, etc., 1884. Wytheville, Va.: Bookworm & Silverfish, 2001. FHL Book 975.58 D2p.
  • Watson, H. Lee. Summary of Records of Bath County, Virginia: Approximately 1850-1900. 4 vols. Sunland, Calif.: H.L. Watson, c2002. FHL Books 975.587 D2w v. 1-4. Includes Bath County, Virginia, compilation of families: based on birth, marriage and census records.

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

Grants and Patents

  • Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. c1992. By Edgar Barr Sims. Springfield, Virginia : Genealogical Books in Print. FHL US/CAN Book 975.4 R22w 1992.

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

  • Historical Sketches of Virginia Hot Springs, Warm Sulphur Springs and Bath County, Virginia. 1908. By Joseph Thompson McAllister. Salem, Virginia : Salem Printing and Publishing Company. Online at: Google Books.

Maps[edit | edit source]

Clifton Forge (Independent City)Covington (Independent City)Lexington (Independent City)Buena Vista (Independent City)Rockbridge CountyAlleghany CountyAugusta CountyHighland CountyPocahontas CountyGreenbrier CountyVA BATH.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Military[edit | edit source]

Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
  • A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Washington : Blair and Rives. Online at: Internet Archive, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat).
  • Index to Revolutionary Pension and Bounty-Land Documents at the Library of Virginia. 2012. Compiled by C. Leon Harris. Online at: Library of Virginia.
War of 1812[edit | edit source]

Bath County men served in the 81st Regiment.[5]

  • List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... 1883. Washington, D.C : Government Printing Office. Online at: Internet Archive, Google Books.
Civil War[edit | edit source]

Regiments. Service men in Bath County, Virginia Genealogy served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Bath County, Virginia Genealogy:


- 11th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry. Company F (The Bath Grays) and Company G (The Bath Guards).[6]
- 18th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company G.[7]
- 25th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Heck's) (Confederate). Company B (Bath Grays).[8]
- 26th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company E.[9]
- 47th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Companies A and B.[10]
- 52nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (Bath Rifles).[11]

Records and histories are available, including:

World War II[edit | edit source]

Miscellaneous Records[edit | edit source]

Naturalization[edit | edit source]

Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

The Virginia Newspapers Project identifies local Bath County, Virginia Genealogy newspapers.


  • Professor Tom Costa and The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia have created a database of all runaway advertisements for slaves, indentured servants, transported convicts, and ship deserters listed in the Virginia Gazette and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia.
  • Bath County News-Outlook - full text of more than 100 issues freely available via Google Newspaper Archive

Petitions[edit | edit source]

  • Virginia State Library: A Calendar of Legislative Petitions Arranged by Counties Accomac - Bedford. 1908. By H.J. Eckenrode. Richmond, Virginia: Davis Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. Online at: Google Books. Bath County petitions (1777-1863) are described on pp. 194-210.

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

A free index to Bath County, Virginia Genealogy wills and administrations (1791-1800) is available at the Library of Virginia.

Online Probate Records

Taxation[edit | edit source]

Online Bath County, Virginia Tax Lists
Type Index Images
Free FHC Fee Free FHC Fee
Tithes 1782 - - - - -
Tithes 1783 - - - - -
Personal Property 1791, 1791 - - - 1791 -
Personal Property - - - - 1792-1799 -
Personal Property - - 1800 - 1800 -
Personal Property - - - - 1801-1852 -

How can Virginia tax lists help me?

Bibliography

  • 1782 - 1782 Tithables online at Genealogy Trails.
  • 1783 - 1783 Tithables online at Genealogy Trails.
  • 1791 - 1791 Heads of Families online at Genealogy Trails.
  • 1791 - 1791 Bath County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List. Online at: New River Notes.
  • 1793 - Tax List, Delinquent, 1793, Bath County Heritage Newsletter, Issue 15 (Fall 1987).
  • 1800 - Bath County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1963):21-28. Online at: American Ancestors ($). FHL 975.5 B2vg
  • 1815 - 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 1997-2000. By Roger D. Ward. Athens, Georgia : Iberian Pub. Co. 6 vols. FHL 975 E4w v. 5 The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Bath County is included in Vol. 5.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Indexes to Bath County, Virginia Genealogy births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Most records can also be ordered electronically online as well. Courtesy: FamilySearch. See also How to order Virginia Vital Records

Birth[edit | edit source]
Marriage[edit | edit source]
Divorce[edit | edit source]
Death[edit | edit source]

Bath County, Virginia Genealogy deaths are online in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by Virginia Genealogical Society.


Vital Record Substitutes[edit | edit source]
Tip
 For birth, marriage, and death record substitutes, see Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records.

Bath County Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]

Bath County Historical Society

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Bath County Virginia Genealogy Websites[edit | edit source]

Bath County Virginia Genealogy References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ https://discoverbath.com/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bath County, Virginia. Page 710 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  3. ↑ Wikipedia Contributors, "Bath County, Virginia," in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_County,_Virginia, accessed 13 January 2012.
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bath_ County,_Virginia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_County,_Virginia#Communities accessed 12 November 2019.
  5. ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 50. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.
  6. ↑ Richard L. Armstrong, 11th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 52.
  7. ↑ Roger U. Delauter, 18th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1985). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 18.
  8. ↑ Richard L. Armstrong, 25th Virginia Infantry and 9th Battalion Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1990). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 71.
  9. ↑ Richard L. Armstrong, 26th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1994). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 110.
  10. ↑ Richard L. Armstrong, 26th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1994). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 110.
  11. ↑ Robert J. Driver, 52nd Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1986). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 23 and supp.
  12. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/3/37/Igivirginia.pdf.
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