Wise County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Wise County is located in the southwest Appalachian area of the Commonwealth of Virginia was named after Henry A. Wise, who was Governor of Virginia at the time.

County Courthouse
Wise County Courthouse 206 East Main Street PO Box 829 Wise, VA 24293-0829 Phone: 276-328-3426 Wise County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, and divorce, probate court and land records

Populated Places
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:

History Timeline


The county is named after Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise (1806-1876), who was in office at the time of Wise County's organization. He later served as a Confederate States Army General during the Civil War.

Bible Records

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Biographies

 * Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. Some Sandy Basin Characters. Clintwood, Va.: Hettie Sutherland, 1962. 1985 reprint available at.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Adams, James Taylor (1892-1954). Wise County Historical Inventory: Family Burying Grounds. St. Louis, Mo.: R.R. Seibel and D.A. Griffith, 1971. Available at.
 * Ben Bolling Cemetery, Flat Gap, Wise Co., VA
 * Kilgore, Paul. Butcher's Fork, American Legion, Skeen's Ridge and Back Valley Cemeteries of Wise County, Virginia. [West Virginia]: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [1997?]. Available at.
 * Kilgore, Paul. Powell Valley Memorial Gardens: Located in Beautiful Powell Valley, Wise County, VA. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), 2003. Available at.

Census Records
1860 Agriculture Census
 * Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1860 Agriculture Census of Wise County, Virginia. Clintwood, Va.: Mullins Printing, 1992. Available at.

1890 Union Veterans
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. By Ronald Ray Turner..
 * 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census. Online at: Ancestry ($). Includes this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist
 * Little Primitive Baptist Church, Wise, Va. (by 1856).

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records

Chancery Court
 * Indexes (1855-1925) and images (1855-1912) to Wise County, Virginia Chancery Records are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Genealogies
Compiled Genealogies by Surname A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 * See Wise County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of published books and articles, or jump to the surname using the alphabet bar.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * Adams, James Taylor (1892-1954). James Taylor Adams Collection. MSS., Cooke-Wyllie Library, Clinch Valley College, Wise, Va.; microfilmed reproduction available: . Adams collected material for a history of the first settlers of Wise County, Virginia.
 * Heritage Book Committee and Wise County Historical Society. The Heritage of Wise County and the City of Norton. 2 vols. [Wise, Virginia?]: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), c1993, 2001.
 * Laningham, Anne Wynn and Hattie Byrd Muncy Bales. Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and Adjacent Counties. 2 vols. Greensboro, North Carolina: Media, Inc., 1977.
 * Lockwood, Frances B. and Hattie Byrd Muncy Bales. Annotations, Corrections and Additions to Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and Adjacent Counties. 1978. . Includes Wise County families.

Local Histories

 * Johnson, Charles A. A Narrative History of Wise County, Virginia. Norton, Va.: Norton Press, 1938. Reprint edition, The Overmountain Press, 1988. ; online at Ancestry ($).
 * Wise County: Her Industries, Resources and Prominent Men. Norton, Va.: n.p., 1920. ; online at Ancestry ($).

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
War of 1812 Civil War
 * 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; online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Wise County, p. 107. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 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)
 * 1861-1865 The Civil War in Wise County, Virginia: 1861-1865. Wise, VA: Wise County Historical Society, 2004. WorldCat page.
 * Gobble, Lillian and Rhonda Robertson. Between Brothers: Civil War Soldiers of Wise &amp; Dickenson County [Virginia]. [Big Stone Gap, Va.: L. Gobble &amp; R. Robertson, 200-?].

Regiments. Civil War service men in Wise County 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 here:
 * - 4th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry and Infantry) (Confederate). Company C.
 * - 29th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F.
 * - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (Wise Yankee Catchers).

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1906-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

 * The Big Stone Gap Post, Big Stone Gap, VA, 1892-1928. (Chronicling America at the Library of Congress)
 * The Big Stone Post, Big Stone Gap., VA, 1890-1892. (Chronicling America at the Library of Congress)
 * Clinch Valley Times
 * The Coalfield Progress, The Dickenson Star, and The Post
 * Meade, Angie Bell. A Collection of Obituaries and Other Published Death Notices: Mostly of Russell, Scott and Wise Counties of Virginia, a Few Other Counties, Some Out-of-state: Most Collections Before 1940. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [2000?].
 * Wise County, Virginia Obituaries (NewspaperObituaries.net)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1857 Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1857 Wise County, Virginia Land Tax List (Surnames A through M only), available online, courtesy: New River Notes.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1856-1861 Wise County, Virginia Births 1856-1861 at VAGenWeb
 * 1867-1871 Wise Co., Va., Births, 1867-1871, MSS., James Taylor Adams Collection, Box 68. St. Louis, Mo.: R.R. Seibel and D.A. Griffith, 1971. Microfilmed reproduction:
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index, ($) — index $
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * Deaths are online in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society.
 * 1856-1892 Wise County, Virginia Deaths 1856-1892 at VAGenWeb
 * 1856-1894 Robertson, Rhonda. The Wise County, Virginia Death Register 1856-1894. [Wise, Virginia]: Wise County Historical Society (VA), [200-?].
 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images
 * 1927-1935 Kilgore, Paul and Fred Harry King Funeral Home. Death Records, Fred H. King Funeral Home, 1927-1935. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [1999?].

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index & images

Family History Centers

 * Bristol Virginia Family History Center
 * Johnson City/Watauga/Gray Tennessee Family History Center
 * Kingsport Tennessee Family History Center


 * Washington County Public Library - Main Library - an affiliate library
 * Washington County Public Library - Hayters Gap Branch - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Lumbee Indians and Goins Family: Wise County, VA Early Records
 * Wise Co., VA (RootsWeb)
 * Wise County Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Wise County, Virginia (government, tourism, etc.)
 * Wise County, Virginia (Wikipedia)
 * Wise County, Virginia History, Genealogy (New River Notes)
 * Wise County, Virginia Genealogical Research Site (VA GenWeb)
 * Wise County, Virginia Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
 * Wise County, Virginia Genealogy Trails
 * Cyndi's List


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Wise County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1980):204-206. Available at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).