Franklin County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Franklin County

Southwest Virginia county.





County Courthouse
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness courthouse lookup volunteer is listed under Bedford County, Virginia.

History


The county was named for Benjamin Franklin.

Parent County
1785--Franklin County was created 17 October 1785 from Bedford and Henry Counties. County seat: Rocky Mount

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Franklin County Personal Property Tax List 1804-1821," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Census
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 Franklin 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.]

Court
Chancery Court


 * Reddy, Anne Waller. Suit -- Brown vs. Brown: Chancery Court Records in Caroline County, Virginia. 1950?. MSS., available at FHL. [Rene (René, Rainey, or Renney) Parsons Brown of Caroline County was sued by John Brown of Franklin County.]

County Court


 * Wingfield, Marshall. An Old Virginia Court: Being a Transcript of the Records of the First Court of Franklin County, Virginia, 1786-1789, with Biographies of the Justices and Stories of Famous Cases. Memphis: West Tennesee Historical Society, 1948. Available at FHL; digital version at World Vital Records ($) additional index at FHL; digital version of original edition at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Genealogy
More than 30 genealogies have been published about Franklin County families. To view a list, visit Franklin County, Virginia Genealogy.

Local Histories

 * Claiborne, John G. Franklin County, Virginia: Historical and Industrial -- Past, Present and Future. Rocky Mount, Va.: The County News Print. Co., 1926. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Wingfield, Marshall. Franklin County, Virginia: A History. Berryville, VA: Chesapeake Book Co., 1964. Available at FHL; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Franklin County's 1786 Delinquent List appears on p. 171.]
 * Elliott, Katherine B. Emigration to Other States from Southside Virginia. 2 vols. South Hill, Virginia: K.B. Elliott, 1966. Vol. 1 of original edition available at FHL; 1983 reprints (both volumes) available at FHL; 1990-1992 reprints (both volumes) also available at FHL. [Includes individuals who migrated out of Franklin County to other parts of the country.]

Revolutionary War

 * 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, Eastern District, Franklin County on page 130.]
 * 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, Franklin County, p. 80. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

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.

Petitions

 * Watts, Dorothy C. "Petitions of Residents of Bedford and Henry Counties, Virginia, in Favor of and Opposed to a New County (Franklin)," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1980):83-89; Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1980):192-199. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Research Guides

 * Sweeney, Alice J. "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3. Available at FHL; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1786] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Franklin County's 1786 Delinquent List appears on p. 171.]
 * [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. Franklin County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1788, 1799] Indexed images of the 1788 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Franklin County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Bedford Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov. 1997); Vol. 9, No. 1 (Feb. 1998).
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr. 1978); Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul. 1978); Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct. 1978).
 * [1804-1821] Heinegg, Paul. "Franklin County Personal Property Tax List 1804-1821," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1812] Tax Relief in 1812, Times of Franklin Before &amp; After 1786. Rocky Mount VA: Jun 2007.
 * [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. Franklin County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1830] Persons with Taxable Property in Robert Hairston's District, 1830, Times of Franklin Before &amp; After 1786. Rocky Mount VA: Aug 2004.
 * [1830] Personal Property Tax List, 1830, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Feb. 1984).
 * [1840] Personal Property Tax List, 1840, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1985).

Vital Records
Marriage


 * Wingfield, Marshall. Marriage Bonds of Franklin County, Virginia. Memphis, TN, USA: West Tennessee Historical Societ, 1939. 1967 index available at FHL; 1973 reprint available at FHL; digital version of original edition at Ancestry ($).

Societies and Libraries

 * Bassett Historical Center, Bassett, Virginia. Website includes descriptions of collections. Excellent resource for family history research in Henry, Patrick, Floyd, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties in Virginia, the city of Martinsville, Virginia, and Rockingham, Stokes and Surry counties in North Carolina.

Websites

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