Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy
Guide to Tazewell County Virginia ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, immigration records, and military records.
Tazewell County, Virginia | |
Map | |
![]() Location in the state of Virginia, United States Genealogy | |
![]() Location of Virginia in the U.S. | |
Facts | |
Founded | 1799 |
---|---|
County Seat | Tazewell |
Courthouse | |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Tazewell County, Virginia History
- 3 Tazewell County, Virginia Places/Localities
- 4 Resources
- 4.1 Research Guides
- 4.2 African American
- 4.3 Bible Records
- 4.4 Biography
- 4.5 Cemeteries
- 4.6 Census
- 4.7 Church
- 4.8 Court
- 4.9 Funeral Homes
- 4.10 Genealogy
- 4.11 Land and Property
- 4.12 Local Histories
- 4.13 Maps
- 4.14 Military
- 4.15 Miscellaneous Records
- 4.16 Newspapers
- 4.17 Occupations
- 4.18 Private Papers
- 4.19 Probate Records
- 4.20 Taxation
- 4.21 Vital Records
- 5 Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries
- 6 Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy Websites
- 7 References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Tazewell County lies in the Southwest Appalachian area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named in honor of Senator Henry Tazewell who made the motion to create the county[1].
Tazewell County, Virginia Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Tazewell County, Virginia
315 School Street
P O Box 968
Tazewell, Virginia 24651
540-988-7541
Clerk Circuit Court has birth and death records 1853-1870,
marriage probate and land records from 1800 and court
records from 1832[2]
Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
1853 | 1800 | 1853 | 1832 | 1800 | 1800 | 1810 |
General compliance year is unknown. |
Tazewell County, Virginia History[edit | edit source]
The county is named after Henry Tazewell (1753-1799), a Revolutionary War Captain and Virginia politician.[4]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
1799--Tazewell County was created 17 December 1799 from Russell and Wythe Counties.
County seat: Tazewell [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]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
- Lost censuses: 1800, 1810, 1890
Tazewell County, Virginia 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:[5]
Towns | ||
Unincorporated communities | ||
Census-designated places | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
- "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Tazewell County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1979):218-220. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).
African American[edit | edit source]
- 1865-1872 Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-1872
- 1935-2009 Virginia, African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete
- Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Tazewell County.
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
Images of the Virginia Historical Society's family Bible collection have been digitized:
Biography[edit | edit source]
- Brock, R.A. Virginia and Virginians: Tazewell County: Eminent Virginians, 1606-1888. Richmond, Va.: H.H. Hardesty, 1888. 1998 reprint: FHL. Online index is available.
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 | Billion Graves |
VAGenWeb Archives | ||
Tombstone Project | ||
Virginia Gravestones | ||
Billion Graves | ||
See Virginia Cemeteries for more information. |
- 1800-1986 - Virginia, Jewish Cemetery Records Index, ca. 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — index
Census[edit | edit source]
Historical populations | ||
---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± |
1800 | 2,127 | — |
1810 | 3,007 | 41.4% |
1820 | 3,916 | 30.2% |
1830 | 5,749 | 46.8% |
1840 | 6,290 | 9.4% |
1850 | 9,942 | 58.1% |
1860 | 9,920 | −0.2% |
1870 | 10,791 | 8.8% |
1880 | 12,861 | 19.2% |
1890 | 19,899 | 54.7% |
1900 | 23,384 | 17.5% |
1910 | 24,946 | 6.7% |
1920 | 27,840 | 11.6% |
1930 | 32,477 | 16.7% |
1940 | 41,607 | 28.1% |
1950 | 47,512 | 14.2% |
1960 | 44,791 | −5.7% |
1970 | 39,816 | −11.1% |
1980 | 50,511 | 26.9% |
1990 | 45,960 | −9.0% |
2000 | 44,598 | −3.0% |
2010 | 45,078 | 1.1% |
Source: "Wikipedia.org". |
1790 - Lost.
1800 - Lost.
1810 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.
1840
- Douthat, James L. 1840 Mountain Empire of Virginia Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2001. FHL Collection 975.5 X2d 1840. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press. Includes Tazewell County.
1890 Union Veterans
- "Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner. FHL Collection.
Church[edit | edit source]
Quaker[edit | edit source]
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):
- Bluestone Monthly Meeting (1781-1783)[6]
Court[edit | edit source]
Chancery Court
- Indexed images to Tazewell County, Virginia Chancery Records 1800-1920 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, which were often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.
County Court
- "Tazewell County, Virginia, Order Book 1800-1810, Selected Entries," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1971):61-70; Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1971):121. Available at American Ancestors ($). [Project cancelled once it was learned that Netti Schreiner-Yantis was preparing to publish a complete transcript of this order book.]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
- 1935-2009 Virginia, African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete
Genealogy[edit | edit source]
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
- See Tazewell County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 125+ published books and articles, or jump to the surname using the alphabet bar.
Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
- Gose, George B. Pioneers of the Virginia Bluegrass (and Their Descendants). Radford, Va.: Commonwealth Press, n.d. Available At various libraries (WorldCat).
- Harman, John Newton. Annals of Tazewell County, Virginia, From 1800 to 1922. 2 vols. 1922-1925. Digital version at Ancestry ($); FHL Book 975.5763 H2h 1975. Includes genealogies of many early Tazewell County families: Baldwin, Bandy, Barns, Bowen, Chapman, Copenhaver, Coulling, Crockett, Gillespie, Gose, Graham, Graybeal, Greever, Hankins, Harman, Higginbotham, Holmes, Hopkins, Linkous, Litz, Lockhart, Moss, Maxwell, Martin, May, Mays, Moore, McGuire, Peery, Sparks, Stras, Thompson, Ward, Whitley, Williams, Witten, Wohlford-Mustard, Yost, Young, and others.
- Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. Archives of the Pioneers of Tazewell County, Virginia. Springfield, Va.: N. Schreiner-Yantis, 1973. FHL Book 975.576 N2s; Free Lookups Available!
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
Grants and Patents
Land patents (pre-1779), land grants (after 1779) and surveys are available online at the Library of Virginia website. For step-by-step instructions on retrieving these records, read the Virginia Land and Property article.
- Anderson. 699 patents dated 1782-1912 in what is now Russell and Tazewell Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2007. Names of those who received land patents, dates, land descriptions, and references may be viewed free of charge (click "Index" next to the county listing); however, in order to view the maps, it is necessary to purchase Direct Line Software's DeedMapper product.
- Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. Available at FHL. Includes Tazewell County, Virginia.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
- Bickley, George W.L. and J. Allen Neal. History of the Settlement and Indian Wars of Tazewell County, Virginia. Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Print. Co., 1974. Available at FHL.
- Bundy, Nellie White. Sketches of Tazewell County, Virginia's Early History. Virginia?: Historic Crab Orchard Museum, 1976. Available at FHL.
- Harman, John Newton. Annals of Tazewell County, Virginia from 1800 to 1922 in Two Volumes. Richmond: W.C. Hill Print. Co., 1922-1925. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
- Pendleton, William C. History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia, 1748-1920. 4 parts. Richmond, Va.: W.C. Hill Printing Co., 1920. FHL; digital versions at Ancestry ($), Google Books, FamilySearch Digital Library.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
- Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. FHL Collection Includes Tazewell County pensioners.
- A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Digital versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Tazewell County on page 136.
- Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." FHL Book 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.
War of 1812[edit | edit source]
Tazewell County men served in the 112th Regiment.[7]
- Tazewell County, Virginia Soldiers who served in the War of 1812
- 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... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. See Vol. 5, Virginia, Tazewell County, p. 106. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Regiments. Service men in Tazewell 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 Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy:
- - 5th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry) (Confederate). Company G probably recruited in Tazewell County.[8]
- - 8th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company H (Tazewell Troop)[9]
- - 13th Battalion, Virginia Reserves (Confederate). Company B.[10]
- - 14th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Company K
- - 16th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Companies C, F, and I.[11]
- - 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company F, Company H, and Company I.
- - 23rd Battalion, Virginia Infantry Reserves (Confederate). Company C and Company D.[12]
- - 34th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Witcher's Battalion, Virginia Mounted Rifles) (Confederate). Company C (McDowell Partisan Rangers) and Company E.[13]
- - 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company K.[14]
- - 45th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Floyd Guard), Company G (West Augusta Rifles), Company H (Tazewell Rangers), and Company K (Tazewell Boys).[15]
- - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C.[16]
- - 51st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company L.[17]
Records and histories are available, including:
- 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
- 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
- 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 1940-1945 - Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images
Miscellaneous Records[edit | edit source]
- 1607-2007 - Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
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.
- 1887-1922 - Clinch Valley News at Chronicling America - free.
- 2010-present - Richlands News-Press at Genealogy Bank ($).
Occupations[edit | edit source]
- Stevenson, John J. "Notes on the Quinnimont Coal Group in Mercer Co. of West Virginia and Tazewell Co. of Virginia Notes on the Quinnimont Coal Group in Mercer Co. of West Virginia and Tazewell Co. of Virginia," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 19, No. 109 (Jun.-Dec. 1881):498-505. Available at JSTOR ($).
Private Papers[edit | edit source]
- Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
'Online Probate Indexes and Records'
- 1800 - 1832 - Images of Wills and Estates. Virginia Pioneers ($)
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Online Tazewell County, Virginia Tax Lists | |||||||||||
Type | Index | Images | |||||||||
Free | FHC | Fee | Free | FHC | Fee | ||||||
Personal Property | - | - | - | - | 1801 | - | |||||
Personal Property | 1802 | - | - | - | 1802 | - | |||||
Personal Property | - | - | - | - | 1803-1850 | - |
How can Virginia tax lists help me?
Bibliography
- 1801-1820 Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. Archives of the Pioneers of Tazewell County, Virginia. Springfield, Va.: N. Schreiner-Yantis, c1973. FHL Book 975.576 N2s.
- 1802 Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1802 Tazewell County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List, available online, courtesy: New River Notes.
- 1810Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. Available at FHL. The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax lists. Tazewell County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.
- 1810 Tazewell County, Virginia, 1810 [Personal Property] Tax List. [Signal Mountain, Tennessee?: Mountain Press?, n.d.] Available at FHL.
- 1810 Tax list, 1810, Southwest Virginian. Norton VA: Feb 1981. Vol. 4 Iss. 19.
- 1815 Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Tazewell County is included in Vol. 5.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Indexes to Tazewell 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]
- 1853-1866 - Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1912-1913 - Virginia, Birth Certificates, 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — index and images
- Compiled Tazewell Co. Birth Index (VAGenWeb) - free.
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
- 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
- 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
- 1800-1949 - Compiled Tazewell County Marriage Index (VAGenWeb) - free.
- Marriages - Bonds 1801-1845;1845-1853. Virginia Pioneers ($)
- 1853-1935 - Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1936-1988 - Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images
Divorce[edit | edit source]
- 1918-1988 - Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1912-1987 - Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — index and images
Vital Record Substitutes[edit | edit source]
For birth, marriage, and death record substitutes, see Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records. |
Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Tazewell County Public Library
310 East Main Street
PO Box 929
Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: (276) 988-2541
Fax: (276) 988-5980
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
Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy Websites[edit | edit source]
- VAGenWeb
- USGenWeb
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Tazewell County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
- RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
- Cyndi's List
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ http://visittazewellcounty.org/history/l
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Tazewell County, Virginia. Page 721 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Tazewell County, Virginia . Page 710-723 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 715-720.
- ↑ Wikipedia Contributors, "Henry Tazewell," in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Tazewell, accessed 13 January 2012.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Tazewell County,_Virginia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tazewell_County,_Virginia#Communities accessed 4 March 2020.
- ↑ Jay Worrall, The Friendly Virginians: America's First Quakers (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Publishing Company, 1994), 537-539. FHL Book 975.5 K2wj.
- ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 206. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.
- ↑ The Virginia State Line: Organizational Structure of the Virginia State Line, Ranger95.com, accessed 11 June 2012.
- ↑ Jack L. Dickinson, 8th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1986). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 25.
- ↑ William C. Pendleton, History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia, 1748-1920 (Richmond, Va.: W.C. Hill Printing Company, 1920), 629-630. Digital version at Google Books.
- ↑ Jack L. Dickinson, 16th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 60.
- ↑ J.L. Scott, 23rd Battalion Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1991). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 79.
- ↑ Scott C. Cole, 34th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1993). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 94.
- ↑ J.L. Scott, 36th and 37th Battalions Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1986). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 24.
- ↑ J.L. Scott, 45th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 58.
- ↑ John C. Chapla, 50th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1997). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 129.
- ↑ James A. Davis, 51st Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1984). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 9.