Craig County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

Description
Craig County is located in the Western portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. Craig County was named for Robert Craig, a 19th-century Virginia congressman.

Craig County Virginia Courthouse
Craig County Courthouse P.O. Box 185 303 Main Street New Castle, VA 24127-0185 Phone: 540-864-6141

Clerk Circuit Court has birth records 1864-1896, marriage, divorce, probate and court and land records from 1851

Parent County
1851 Craig County was created 21 March 1851 from Botetourt, Giles, Roanoke and Monroe (West Virginia) Counties. County seat: New Castle.

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
1863 and 1864 Deed Book A and most loose papers were destroyed in December 1863 and June 1864.

After the record loss, deeds were re-recorded in Deed Books B and C. Bound volumes of court orders and wills still exist.


 * Lost census: 1890

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:

Research Guides

 * A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Craig County. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1964):26-27. ; online at American Ancestors ($).

African Americans

 * Freedmen's
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized images of African Americans of Craig County.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
1785


 * Botetourt County, Va., 1785 Enumeration. 1972. By Charles T. Burton. Troutville, Virginia : C.T. Burton. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($). All or part of present-day county of Craig is included.

1890 Union Veterans


 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. c1994. By Ronald Ray Turner. Online at: Prince William County Virginia, ;.

Court

 * Acts and Joint Resolutions Passed by the General Assembly of the State of Virginia during the Session 1895-96. 1895. Richmond, VA : J.H. O'Bannon Superintendent of Public Printing. Online at: Google Books.
 * Library of Virginia's Chancery Record Index includes digital images of Craig County chancery records for the years 1853-1912. Index can be used to search for records up until 1942 - see online catalog or Archives Research Services for availability.

Genealogy
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
 * See Craig County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a few +Published books and articles.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * Groseclose, Wanda W. In the Shadows of Our Ancestors, Descendants of Thomas Abbott and Twenty-six Connected Pioneer Families of Craig County, Virginia: including Brickey, Britts, Brizendine, Caldwell, Carper, Craft, Crawford, Crowder, Damewood, Duncan, Elmore, Fisher, Francisco, Greenway, Huffman, Hutchison, Jones, Lafon, Lee, Leffel, Looney, Lucas, Lugar, Paitsel, Reynolds and Sarver. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2004. 929.273 Ab29g v. 1
 * Keeney, Roscoe C. Census, Craig Co., Virginia, 1860 Annotated. Charleston, W. Va.: R.C. Keeney, 199-?. 975.5795 X2k 1860

Local Histories

 * Craig County Virginia. 1907. By New Castle, Virginia. Roanoke, VA : Stone. Online at: Hathitrust.
 * Folk-Songs of Virginia. 1949. By Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr. Durham, NC : Duke University Press. Online at: Hathitrust.
 * Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. 2007. By William F. Boogher. Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co. Online at: Google Books;.
 * History of Virginia - Vol VI Virginia Biography. 1924. By The American Historical Society. Online at: Google Books

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... 1883. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Online at: Google Books,Internet Archive, also at 973 M2Lp v. 5. See Vol. 5, Virginia, Craig County, p. 68.61

Civil War

 * - 28th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Craig Rifles) and Company D (Craig Mountain Boys).


 * - 54th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (The Roanoke Guards).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865
 * 1861-1865
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

 * Virginia.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1864-1896 Craig County Birth Index 1864-1896. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Craig County, Virginia Births, 1853-96. 1999. By Beth Fridley. Provo, UT, USA : The Generations Network, Inc. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($).
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 Ancestry ($).
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1865-1937 Craig County Marriage Index 1865-1937. Batch at FamilySearch.
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Craig County, Virginia Deaths, 1853-96. 2001. By Beth Fridley. Provo, UT, USA : The Generations Network, Inc. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Craig County Virginia Genealogy Websites

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