Montgomery County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Montgomery County





History


The county was named after Brigadier-General Richard Montgomery (1738-1775). Montgomery died during the Revolutionary War in the failed 1775 invasion of Canada.

Parent County
1776--Montgomery County was created 7 October 1776 from Fincastle and Botetourt Counties. Fincastle County was formed from Botetourt County in 1772, and was abolished in 1777. County seat: Christiansburg

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

African American

 * Dickenson, Richard B. Entitled! Free Papers in Appalachia Concerning Antebellum Freeborn Negroes and Emancipated Blacks of Montgomery County, Virginia. Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society Bookstore, 1981. 975.5785 F2d
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Montgomery County Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1812," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Montgomery County Register of Free Negroes, 1823-1847," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. ; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. [Includes information from Montgomery County.]

Census
1790 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

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

1810


 * 1810 Census of Montgomery County, Virginia. Beverly, W. Va.: Crickard, 1969?, 1979. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

1840


 * Douthat, James L. 1840 Mountain Empire of Virginia Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2001. 975.5 X2d 1840. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. [Includes Montgomery County.]

1890 Union Veterans


 * Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website. [Includes residents of this county.]

Church
German Reformed


 * Braun, Johannes, Klaus Wust and Joseph H. Meyerhoeffer. Shenandoah Valley Family Data, 1799-1813: From the Memorandum Book of Pastor Johannes Braun. Edinburg, Va.: Shenandoah History Publishers, 1978. FHL US/CAN Book 975.5 K2bjo.

Genealogy
More than 15 genealogies have been published about Montgomery County families. To view a list, visit Montgomery County, Virginia Genealogy.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 1009 patents dated 1746-1891 in what is now Montgomery County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2009. [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 Montgomery County, Virginia.]

Local Histories

 * Crush, Charles W. The Montgomery County Story, 1776-1957. unknown: unknown, 1957. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Montgomery County, Virginia. Blacksburg?, Va.: unknown, 1907. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Montgomery County veterans; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. [Includes Montgomery 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: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Western District, Montgomery County on page 135.]
 * 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." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

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. 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Montgomery County, p. 91. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette(1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburgwebsite. In addition, 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 this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Periodicals
Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin

Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Montgomery County, Virginia records have been published in the Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin (39+ vols., 1972-present), the journal of the Watauga Association of Genealogists. The organization has posted tables of contents for most volumes on their website. Back issues are available for purchase.The Family History Library has a complete collection FHL US/CAN Books 976.897 B2w, including Margaret W. Hougland and Betty Jane Hylton's Bulletin Subject Index: The First Thirty Years, 1972-2001 (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Association of Genealogists, 2002) FHL US/CAN Book 976.897 B2w index 1972-2001.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Montgomery County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1974):298-301. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1770-1773] Kegley, Mary B. New River Tithables, 1770-1773. Wytheville, Virginia: M.B. Kegley, 1972. Available at FHL.
 * [1782] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Available at FHL. [1782 personal property tax list of Montgomery County.]
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Montgomery County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1787] Taxables, 1787, Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Summer 1972).
 * [1787] Delinquent Tax Lists, 1787, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Aug. 1999); Vol. 38, No. 1 (Feb. 2000). Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [1787-1788, 1797] Delinquent Tax List, 1787, 1788, 1797 Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov. 1999). Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [1787, 1798-1799] Delinquent Tax Lists, 1787 (sel.), 1798-99, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Spring 1996). Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors.
 * [1787-1812] Heinegg, Paul. "Montgomery County Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1812," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1788] Indexed images of the 1788 Personal Property Tax List of Montgomery County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1789] Tax List, 1789, Harlan Mountain Roots, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Summer 1997).
 * [1789] Possible Family Groups from 1789 Tax List, Boone Genealogical Quarterly, [Madison, West Va.] Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr. 1990).
 * [1789-1790] Tax List, 1789-90, Lincoln Lineage, [Griffithsville, West Va.], Vol. 16, No. 4 (Nov. 1995).
 * [1790] County Tax Delinquents, 1790, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Nov. 2005). Available at FHL.
 * [1790] Tax List, 1790, Harlan Mountain Roots, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Winter 1996).
 * [1799] Images of the 1799 Personal Property Tax List of Montgomery County, Virginia are indexed online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1806] Personal Property Tax List, 1806, A-C, Friends of Genealogy Journal, [Shreveport, La.], Vol. 7, No. 1 (1995).
 * [1806] Personal Property Tax List, 1806, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1985).
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Oct. 1998); Vol. 43, No. 1 (Jan. 1999); Vol. 43, No. 2 (Apr. 1999).
 * [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. Montgomery County is included in Vol. 5.]
 * [1818] Delinquent Tax Lists, 1818, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Feb. 2000). Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [1830] Delinquent Muster Tax, Capt. Osborne, 1830, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Feb. 2000). Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Societies and Libraries
There are many geneological MS holdings, including full collections located at Virginia Tech Special Collections Department on the first floor of Newman Library on campus.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog