Pittsylvania County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Pittsylvania County



Parent County
1766--Pittsylvania County was created 6 November 1766 from Halifax County. County seat: Chatham

Neighboring Counties

 * Bedford
 * Campbell
 * Caswell County, North Carolina
 * Franklin
 * Halifax
 * Henry
 * Rockingham County, North Carolina

African American

 * Griffith, Alva H. Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Register of Free Negroes and Related Documentation. Maryland: Heritage Books, 2001.
 * Randolph, John. "Letter to Walter Coles, Pittsylvania," 1821. [Incomplete citation from Google Books; discusses one of Randolph's slaves.]

Cemeteries

 * Bennett, Harold B. "Siloam Methodist Church Cemetery, Pittsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1981):83-87. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Bennett, Harold B. "Walker Cemetery, Climax, Pittsylvania Co., Va.," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1981):248. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Sutherlin, Elijah T. "Beck Family Cemetery, Pittsylvania County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1964):148. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Census
For tips on accessing census records online, see Virginia Census.

1790 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

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

1810 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

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
General


 * Clement, Mrs. N.E. "Ministers Bonds of Pittsylvania Co.," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Apr. 1912):292-294. Available at JSTOR ($). [Identifies the names and religions of Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian ministers from bonds dated 1785 to 1843.]
 * Wood, Candace Mattox. The Restoration Movement in Pittsylvania, Henry, and Franklin Counties, Virginia. Dissertation. [Incomplete citation from Google Books.]

Baptist


 * Leek, Charles F. and Pittsylvania Baptist Association. The History of Pittsylvania Baptist Association, 1788-1963. Danville, Virginia: Pittsylvania Baptist Association, 1963. Available at FHL.
 * Virginia-North Carolina Piedmont Genealogical Society. Abstracts of Mt. Ararat Primitive Baptist Church near Whitmell, Pittsylvania County, Virginia: Includes Biographies of Area Primitive Baptist Ministers. Danville, Virginia : Virginia-North Carolina Piedmont Genealogical Society, 1981. Available at FHL.

Church of England


 * Clement, Mrs. N.E. "Colonial Churches in Pittsylvania County," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr. 1914):173-176. Available at JSTOR ($).

Court 
General


 * Melton, Herman. Pittsylvania County's Historic Courthouse: The Story Behind ExParte Virginia and the Making of a National Landmark. Central Virginia Printing, Inc., 1999.

Chancery


 * Azariah Bailey (complainant.), George W. Hall (vegetarian.), William H. Shields (respondent.), Nathaniel E. Witcher (respondent.), Virginia. Circuit Court. Record of a Suit in Chancery, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Azariah Bailey vs. George W. Hall, Wm. H. Shields &amp; Nathaniel N. Witcher. 1858. [Citation from Google Books.]

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all family histories published about residents of this county. In addition to finding a direct ancestor’s surname listed, and watching to see if more recent publications make additions and corrections to earlier works, this list is also useful for determining if genealogists have published accounts, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, for any members of an ancestor’s “FAN Club” [Family, Associates, and Neighbors]. Checking publications about those individuals can lead you to new information about your own ancestry. Be mindful that compiled genealogies may contain errors.

General


 * Pittsylvania County Heritage Book Committee and County Heritage, Inc. Pittsylvania County Virginia Heritage 1767-2004. Pittsylvania County Heritage Book Committe and County Heritage, Inc., 2004.

Bibliography


 * [Aaron] Aaron, Larry. Aaron Ancestors of Pittsylvania County, Virginia: Aaron, Aron, Arnn Surnames. Danville, Virginia: L. Aaron, 1987. Available at FHL.
 * [Adams] Adams, Gordon Sackett and Lona Odell Adams Fletcher Seitz. An Adams Family of Virginia, 1800 to Present: The Descendants of Samuel Adams and Tamson Ann Dix Adams of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Charlotte Counties, Virginia. G.S. Adams, 1990.
 * [Ball] Baldwin, Evelyn Briggs. Concerning the Tomahawk Creek, Pittsylvania County, Virginia Ball Family, 1770-1925. MSS., 1925, Library of Congress. Available at FHL.
 * [Barnett] Murphy, Thelma M. James Barnett, Pittsylvania Co., Va. 1986.
 * [Bays] See also Bingham.
 * [Bays] Carter, Charles O. Branches in the Tree of Josiah Bays I and Lettice Mayes: Married 15 Feb 1808, Pittsylvania Co., Virginia; Born Virginia; Died Greene Co., IN. Chanute, Kansas: C.O. Carter, 1997. Available at FHL.
 * [Bennett] Collie, Betty Cox. The Bennett Family of Southern Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Elon, North Carolina: B. C. Collie, 2001. Available at FHL.
 * [Bingham] See also Uland.
 * [Bingham] Carter, Charles O. Branches in the Tree of Edmond Bingham I and Lucy Bays: Married 8 Jan 1795, Pittsylvania Co., Virginia: Born Virginia, Died Greene Co., IN. Chanute, Kansas: C.O. Carter, 1997. Available at FHL.
 * [Blanks] Sons of Henry Blanks - Pittsylvania Co.VA. [Incomplete citation from Google Books.]
 * [Blue] Clement, Maud Carter et al. Genealogical Miscellanea (Blue Family): Wills and Material of Genealogical Interest Taken from Foot-notes of the History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Lynchburg, Virginia: J.C. Bell, 1929. 1967 reprint available at FHL.
 * [Burnett] Corkill, Eldon. Cain-Burnett Kin: Descendants of Bailey Cain (1767/70-1807) of Virginia and Kentucky, and of James Burnett, Who Died in 1797 Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Dallas, Texas: E.&amp;L. Corkill, 1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Collie] Collie, Betty Cox and Robert E. King. The Collie Family of Pittsylvania County, Virginia: Their Scottish Origins, Relatives and Descendants, Including Connecting Families of Cornwell, Jennings, and Richardson. Elon College, North Carolina: B. C. Collie, 1998. Available at FHL.
 * [Crane] Hockett, Thomas Jack. The Crane/Crain/Crayne Family of King William, King &amp; Queen, Pittsylvania, and Washington Counties, Virginia. St. David's, Pennsylvania: J. Hockett, 1993. Available at FHL.
 * [Crider] Drake, Ruth Crider. Crider from Pennsylvania into Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1788, Kentucky and Tennessee, Early 1800s. R.C. Drake, 1980.
 * [East] East, Ernest Edward. Thomas East of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. MSS., Library of Virginia, available at FHL.
 * [Foust] Faust, Bertha P. The Genealogy of the Foust, Grubb, Yeatts, Short and Tucker Families of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Faust, 1976. Available at FHL.
 * [Garner] Whisenant, Dora Gordon. James Garner from Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Fayetteville, Tennessee: D.G. Whisenant, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * [Grugg]See Foust.
 * [Haymore] Haymore, Dorothy Hendricks. A Record of the Ancestry and Descendants of Daniel and Mary Shockley Haymore of Pittsylvania Co., Virginia. Franklin Demarcus Haymore (1849-1931): With Notes on Related Families Including Four Wifes; Taylor, Lant Brown, Cluff and Arther Samuel Haymore. n.p.: Franklin R. Haymore and F.D. Haymore descendants, [1976?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Holder] Woolen, Edward A. Holder Family Biographical and Historical Records and Genealogy of Daniel Holder, 1758-1843: Of Fauquier &amp; Pittsylvania Counties, Virginia and Union County, South Carolina. Decorah, Iowa: Anundsen, 1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Hubbard] Bowling, Noland Hubbard. Meet Your Ancestors: Some Descendants of Robert Hubbard (ca. 1600-1663) Westmoreland, New Kent, Amelia, Halifax, Lunenburg, Pittsylvania Counties, Virginia and Other States: Families Allied by Marriage: Arnn (Aron, Aaron), Adkins (Atkins), Clement (Clements) ... Utica, Kentucky: N.H. Bowling, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Hundley] Eanes, Samuel Elbert. The Family of Caleb Hundley of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. S.E. Eanes, 1991.
 * [Hundley] Chatham, Anne Bassett Stanley and Karen Kampsula Clifford. Tidewater Families of the New World &amp; Their Westward Migrations: Case Studies in Southern States Research: Ancestors of Chatham, Gwyn, Armfield, Gray, Stanley, Walker, Bassett &amp; Hundley Families. Austin, Texas: Historical, 1996. Available at FHL.
 * [Jackson] Hockett, Thomas Jack. The Jacksons of Halifax, Pittsylvania and Washington Counties Virginia. St. David's, Pennsylvania: J. Hockett, 1993. Available at FHL.
 * [Jefferson] Clement, Mrs. N.E. "The Jefferson Family of Pittsylvania County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jan. 1915):181-182. Available at FHL.
 * [Jefferson] Harris, Betty Jefferson. From Pettistree, Suffolk, England to Pittsylvania County, Virginia, USA: History of the Jefferson Family. B.J. Harris, 2001.
 * [Jennings] Sours, William B. John Jennings, d. 1651, in England: Humphrey Jennings, d. 1690, England; Capt. William Jennings, 1676-1775 Retired British Officer of Jennings-Ordinary, Virginia. Anne Jennings, 1736-1811, Pittsylvania Co. Wife of Captain Samuel Thompson, d. in Amelia County, Virginia, 1779. [Incomplete citation from Google Books.]
 * [Mayes] See Bays.
 * [Murphy] Murphy, Marion Emerson. Early Murphys-Murpheys in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Robertson and Carroll Counties, Tennessee: Their Ancestry and Progeny. San Diego, California: M.E. Murphy, 1974. Available at FHL.
 * [Mustain] Mustaine, Delores M. The Descendants of Thomas Mustain of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Phoenix Arizona: D.M. Mustaine, [1989?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Nance] Nance, Geo. W. The Nance Memorial: A History of the Nance Family in General, but More Particularly of Clement Nance of Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Descendants, Containing Historical and Biographical Records with Family Lineage. Bloomington, Illinois: J.E. Burke, 1904. Available at FHL; digital book at Google Books and at Ancestry ($).
 * [Nowlin] Nowlin, James Edmund. The Nowlin-Stone Genealogy: A Record of the Descendants of James Nowlin, Who Came to Pittsylvania County, Virginia, from Ireland about 1700: of Bryan Ward Nowlin, Grandson of James Nowlin, Who was Born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, about 1740: of Micheal Nowlin and of the Earlier Nowlins (Nowlans) of Ireland : and Also a Record of the Descendants of George Stone: and of James Hoskin Stone, Who was Born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in 1778: and Also a Record of the Descendants of Edmund Fitzgerald. Salt Lake City, Utah: n.p., 1916. Available at FHL; digital book at BYU Family History Archives, Google Books, and at Ancestry ($).
 * [Oakes] Oakes, Carl L. Survey of the Oakes Family in Virginia and Tracing of the Line of William Oakes of Pittsylvania County through North Carolina into Mississippi to Thomas Lee Oakes and Descendendants [sic]. C.L. Oakes, 1987.
 * [Pace] Rochette, Patricia Adkins. Francis Pace of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. P.A. Rochette, 1993.
 * [Shelton] Miller, April. Shelton County: A Genealogy of Pittsylvania County's Largest Family. Lynchburg, Virginia : H.E. Howard, [199-?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Shelton] Stonecypher, Thomas E. Family Information on Some Sheltons from Pittsylvania Co., Va., to Georgia. Albany, Georgia: T.E. Stonecypher, 1999. Available at FHL.
 * [Shelton] Miller, A. Shelton County: A Genealogy of Pittsylvania County's Largest Family. Higginson Book Company, 2006.
 * [Short] See Foust.
 * [Shumate] Shumate, John James and Molly Alice Zagami Shumate. From Whence We Came; A History of the Shumate's [sic] of Henry/Pittsylvania Counties, Va. [Lynchburg, Virginia]: J.J. Shumate, 1995. Available at FHL.
 * [Spencer] Spencer and Allied Families in North Carolina and Virginia (Halifax, Person, Granville, Pittsylvania, Mecklenburg and Charlotte Counties): Genealogy Family Charts for the Following Names, Spencer, Ingram, Yancey, Davis, Burch, Slaughter, Lyon, Clark, Hughes, Anderson, Jeter, Woody, Warren, Clayton and Gill. Wendell, North Carolina: W.F. Spencer, 1984. Available at FHL.
 * [Stone] See Nowlin.
 * [Tucker] See Foust.
 * [Uland] Carter, Charles O. Branches in the Tree of Jonas Uland and Elizabeth Bingham: Married 16 Aug 1813, Pittsylvania Co., Virginia; Born Virginia; Veteran, War of 1812. Chanute, Kansas: C.O. Carter, 1997. Available at FHL.
 * [Walden] Hockett, Thomas Jack and Janice M. Snead. Lewis Walden and Amelia (Mildred, Milly) Hunt of Pittsylvania County and Washington County, Virginia. MSS., microfilmed in 2001, available at FHL.
 * [Wilson] Coleman, Daniel and Lucillius Lewis Cody. John Wilson, 1740-1820, of Pittsylvania County, Va.: Data Collected, Extending Over a Period of Thirty Years. n.p.: L.L. Cody, 1929?. Available at FHL.
 * [Wilson] Wood, Jessie Wilson. Genealogy of the Wilson Family, Pittsylvania County, Virginia. J.W. Wood, 1937.
 * [Wyatt] Wyatt, Lucile Rebecca Douglass. The Wyatt Family Records: The Descendants of E. J. Wyatt of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and His Lineal Descent from John Wyatt, Early Pioneer, of Halifax County, Who is Presumably the Descendant of Adam Wyatt through the Rev. Haute (Hawte) Wyatt, Who Emigrated from England to Virginia in 1621. Dietz Press, 1957.
 * [Yates] Yates, Robert Somerville Radford and Dorothy Snyder Yates. A History of John Yeardley Yates of Pittsylvania and Patrick Counties, Virginia: From Mid 1700 to 1990, His Ancestors and Descendants. R.S.R. Yates, Sr., 1990.
 * [Yeatts] See Foust.

Historic Residences

 * Fitzgerald, Madelene Vaden. Pittsylvania: Homes and People of the Past. Danville, Virginia: Womack Press, 1974. Available at FHL.

Immigration

 * [http://immigrantservants.com/search/advancedResults.php?surname=&givenName=&varientSurnameSpellings=&gender=&dateOfBirthDay=&dateOfBirthMonth=&dateOfBirthQuantifier=&dateOfBirthYear=&placeOfBirthParish=&placeOfBirthTown=&placeOfBirthCity=&placeOfBirthCounty=&placeOfBirthColony=&placeOfBirthNation=&occupations=&religions=&orphan=&familyPosition=&immigrationYearQualifier=&immigrationYear=&portOfDepartureTown=&portOfDepartureCity=&portOfDepartureCounty=&portOfDepartureNation=&placeOfArrivalTown=&placeOfArrivalCounty=&placeOfArrivalColony=&shipName=&convict=&yearOfIndentureQualifier=&yearOfIndenture=&lengthOfIndentureYears=&lengthOfIndentureMonths=&yearOfFreedomQualifier=&yearOfFreedom=&placeOfIndentureTown=&placeOfIndentureCity=&placeOfIndentureCounty=Pittsylvania&placeOfIndentureColony=Virginia&agentSurname=&agentGivenName=&agentTitle=&masterSurname=&masterGivenName=&masterTitle=&residenceParish=&residenceTown=&residenceCity=&residenceCounty=&residenceColony=&residenceNation=&landowner=&literate=&spouseSurname=&spouseGivenName=&spouseMarriageDateDay=&spouseMarriageDateMonth=&spouseMarriageDateQualifier=&spouseMarriageDateYear=&spouseMarriageLocationParish=&spouseMarriageLocationCounty=&spouseMarriageLocationColony=&spouseMarriageLocationNation=&deathDateDay=&deathDateMonth=&deathDateQualifier=&deathDateYear=&deathLocality=&deathCounty=&deathColony=&deathState=&testate=&proofServantStatus=&proofConvictStatus=&headright=&preServitudeSources=&postServitudeSources=&comments=&family=&sourceCitations=&interestedResearchers= List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Colonial Pittsylvania County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins, 1440 patents dated 1738-1819 in what is now Pittsylvania County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2004. [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.]

Record Book


 * Stith, Drury. Entries from an Old Record Book of Drury Stith Concerning Land and Property in Pittsylvania County, 1737-1770. Microfilmed reproduction available at FHL.

Tracts


 * Tucker, George. To the Freeholders of the Counties of Campbell, Pittsylvania and Halifax. Printed at the Virginian Office, 1824.

Local Histories

 * Clement, Maud Carter. History of Pittsylvania County Virginia. Lynchburg, Virginia: J. P. Bell Co., 1929. Digital book at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul. 1930):280-281. Review available at JSTOR ($).

Migration

 * 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 Pittsylvania County to other parts of the country.]

Military
Colonial Militia


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Pittsylvania County militia officers (1767-1774); see place name index.]

French and Indian War


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

Revolutionary War


 * Daughters of the American Colonists. Texas Society. The Rose Window of San Jose Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. San Antonio De Bexar Chapter (San Antonio, Tex.), Lucy Alice Posey. Patriots Who Took the Oath of Allegiance, 1777, Pittsylvania County, Virginia: Notarized by Pittsylvania County Clerk. The Chapter, 1977.
 * Hurt, Frances Hallam. An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Danville, Virginia: Womack Press, 1976. Available at FHL.
 * "Revolutionary Pension Declarations from Pittsylvania County, Va.," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Oct. 1908):174-183; Vol. 17, No. 1 (Jan. 1909):73-80; Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul. 1912):259-266; Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr. 1917):149-160. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Watts, Dorothy Chambers. "Some Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Militia Officers," [1775] The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1979):225-226. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * White, Elizabeth Tunstall and VA-NC Piedmont Genealogical Society. Military Records of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1767-1783: Taken from Judgment Books, 1-2-and 4 and Deed, Book 4. VA-NC Piedmont Genealogical Society, 1983.

War of 1812


 * Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 2007. Available at FHL. [Includes Pittsylvania County.]

Civil War


 * Clement, Maud Carter. War Recollections of the Confederate Veterans of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1861-1865. Chatham, Virginia: The Rawley Martin Chapter, Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, 1961. Reviewed by Mildred K. Bushong in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Apr. 1962):215-217. Review available at JSTOR ($).
 * McClurken, Jeffrey W. After the Battle: Reconstructing the Confederate Veteran Family in Pittsylvania County and Danville, Virginia, 1860-1900. Johns Hopkins University, 2002.
 * Williams, Mike K. Confederate Soldiers of Pittsylvania County &amp; Danville. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988. Available at FHL.

World War I


 * Williams, Hugh T. and Samuel Gardner Walker. Why Soldiers Do Not Talk About the War: Or, Danville and Pittsylvania County's Part. A History of Company "C", 116th Infantry; Battery "E", 111th Field Artillery; Sixth Company, Coast Artillery; Together with Complete Alphabetical Rosters of Officers and Men. Rosters of Danville and Pittsylvania ... J.T. Townes Print. Co., 1919.

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.

Occupations

 * Melton, Herman. Picks, Tracks and Bateaux: Industry in Pittsylvania County 1750-1950. Chatham, Virginia: H. Melton, 1993. Available at FHL.
 * Melton, Herman. Pittsylvania's Eighteenth Century Grist Mills. [Chatham, Virginia?: H. Melton?], 1989. Available at FHL. 1991 edition is also available at FHL.
 * Pittsylvania Historical Society. Visitor's Guide to Early Industry in Pittsylvania County, 1998.

Private Papers

 * [Coles] Randolph, John. "Letter to Walter Coles, Pittsylvania," 1821. [Citation from Google Books; discusses one of Randolph's slaves.]
 * [Shelton] Shelton, William Christopher and R.D. Ricketts. A Diary Kept by William C. Shelton for the Year 1850: The Daily Journal of a School Master and Farmer of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. n.p.: n.p., 199-?. Available at FHL.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Pittsylvania County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):119-123. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * Boisseau, Mary Leigh. "Research Opportunities in Danville and Pittsylvania County," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 18, No. 5 (Sept.-Oct. 1992):1-3. Available at FHL; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.
 * 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
At first glance, researchers might conclude that Virginia tax lists contain very little family history data, though one soon learns that valuable genealogical conclusions can be drawn from these records, nicknamed "annual censuses," such as: relationships, approximate years of birth, socio-economic status, identification of neighbors, the ability to distinguish between persons of the same name, evidence of land inheritance, years of migration, and years of death.

Virginia began enumerating residents' payments of personal property and land taxes in 1782. These two types of taxation were recorded in separate registers. Personal property tax lists include more names than land tax lists, because they caught more of the population. The Family History Library has an excellent microfilm collection of personal property tax lists from 1782 (or the year the county was organized) well into the late nineteenth century for most counties, but only scattered land tax lists. Microfilm collections at The Library of Virginia include land tax lists for all counties and independent cities for the years 1782 through 1978, as well as personal property tax lists for the years 1782 through 1930 (and every fifth year thereafter). Taxes were not collected in 1808.

Some tax records are available online or in print, though published abstracts often omit useful details found only in the original sources. Statewide indexes can help genealogists identify specific counties where surnames occurred in the past, providing starting points for research.


 * [1767] "First List of Tithables of Pittsylvania County, Year 1767," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan. 1915):79-80; Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul. 1915):303-304; Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct. 1915):371-380; Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr. 1916):180-192; Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jun. 1916):271-274. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1767] Clement, Maud Carter, The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Lynchburg, Virginia: J. P. Bell Co., 1929. Digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes 1767 tithe list.]
 * [1782-1802] Austin, Gayle. The Land Tax Lists of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1782-1802. Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 2006. Available at FHL.
 * [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. Pittsylvania County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1789, 1800] Indexed images of the 1789 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Pittsylvania County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1810] Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Pittsylvania County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * [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. Pittsylvania County is included in Vol. 2.]

Vital Records
Birth


 * Fridley, Beth, comp. Danville, Pittsylvania County, Virginia Births, 1853-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Original data: Library of Virginia, Richmond VA. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage


 * Knorr, Catherine Lindsay. Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1767-1805. Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 1956. 1956 edition and 1982 reprintavailable at FHL. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1957):46. Review available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * James, Edward W. et al. "Marriage Bonds, Pittsylvania County," [1760s-1780] The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Oct. 1897):86-87; Vol. 6, No. 4 (Apr. 1898):220-221; Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jul. 1898):55-56; Vol. 20, No. 2, (Labeled issue 1) (Oct., 1911):143-144. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * Williams, Kathleen Booth. Marriages of Pittsylvania County, 1806-1830. Danville, Virginia, 1965. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1966):83. Review available at New England Ancestors ($).

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