Buchanan County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Buchanan County is located in the Southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is the only county to border West Virginia and Kentucky. The County was named after the 15th U.S. President, James Buchanan.

Buchanan County Virginia Courthouse
Buchanan County Courthouse P.O. Box 929 Grundy, Virginia 24614 Phone: 540-935-6575

Courthouse burned in 1885 Clerk Circuit Cout has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1885

Buchanan County Virginia History


The county was named after President James Buchanan (1791-1868), who was in office at the time of the county's formation.

Parent County
1858--Buchanan County was created 13 February 1858 from Russell and Tazewell Counties. County seat: Grundy

Boundary Changes
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
The courthouse burned in 1885 destroying many records. In 1977 a flood caused extreme damage to many later records.


 * Lost census: 1890

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Buchanan County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1962):81-82. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African Americans

 * Freedmen's Bureau

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

For a more detailed description, including addresses, phone numbers, and external links, see Buchanan County, Virginia Cemeteries.

The following is a list of cemeteries in Buchanan County:

Census
1860 Agricultural Census


 * Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1860 Agriculture Ceneus [sic] of Buchanan County, Virginia. Clintwood, Virginia: Mullins Printing, 1992. Available at.

1890 Union Veterans


 * "Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.

Genealogy
See Buchanan County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies

Local Histories

 * Schwab, W.G. The Forests of Buchanan County, Virginia. Charlottesville, Va., 1918. Digital version at Google Books (full-view).

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, Buchanan County, p. 65.]

Civil War

 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (State Line) (Confederate)
 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry) (Confederate). Company D, likely Company I.
 * - 4th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (State Line) (Confederate)
 * - 7th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 10th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 14th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Companies C, F, G, H, and I
 * - 21st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company B.
 * - 29th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F.
 * - 34th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Witcher's Battalion, Virginia Mounted Rifles) (Confederate). Company C and Company E.
 * - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 51st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 64th Regiment, Virginia Mounted Infantry (Confederate). Company F2.
 * - French's Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865
 * 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers 1861-1865
 * 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)

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

 * Virginia

Birth

 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * Stewart, Jesse. Early Deaths, Buchanan County, Virginia, 1858-1896. [Grundy, Virginia: J. Stewart, 1990]. Available at.
 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Buchanan County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Buchanan Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * Buchanan County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List