Rockingham County, Virginia Genealogy

United States Virginia  Rockingham County

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

Rockingham County, Virginia Courthouse


Rockingham County Courthouse Circuit Court Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801 Phone: 540-564-3111

Clerk Circuit Court has birth records 1862-1894, death records 1890-1894, marriage, probate, court and land records from 1778 and divorce records from 1833. Some records burned in 1864

Rockingham County, Virginia History


The county is named after Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730-1782), who served two terms as Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Parent County
1777--Rockingham County was created 20 October 1777 from Augusta County. County seat: Harrisonburg

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
1787 and 1864. Wills and estate records were destroyed in a courthouse fire in 1787. In June 1864 during the American Civil War, bound volumes from Rockingham County Courthouse were loaded on a wagon to be taken to safety beyond the Blue Ridge. When the wagon was overtaken and set afire by Union troops, locals doused the fire. Many deeds, orders, wills and fiduciary books were lost or severely damaged.

Loose records back at the courthouse were unscathed. Pre-1865 deeds and wills were re-recorded particularly after November 1884.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890
 * Some wills and other records burned in 1864

For a list of record loss in Virginia counties see: Virginia Counties with Burned Courthouses.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Rockingham County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1981):54-57. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * Good, Rebecca H. and Rebecca A. Ebert. Finding Your People in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia: A Genealogical Guide. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1998. 4th ed.

African American

 * Freedmen's Bureau
 * Free negroes list, 1815, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 2007. Vol. 45 Iss. 1.
 * Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. 2005-present. - free online book. Adams, Ailstock, Barrell, Clark, Connally, Colley, Fortune, Hughes, Hurley, Jackson, McCoy, Mayo, Nickens, Payne, Peters, Redman, Spelman, Tyre, Vena, Venie families of pre-1820 Rockingham County, Virginia.
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Rockingham County Personal Property Tax, 1795-1813," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Rockingham County Register of Free Negroes 1807-1859 (Partial)," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Biography

 * Wayland, John W. Men of Mark and Representative Citizens of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Virginia. Staunton, Va.: McClure Co., 1943. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Cemeteries

 * Rockingham County Tombstones by Cemetery by Harrisonburg Rockingham Historical Society - free.
 * Rudolph, Frances Lee Wilson, compiled. District of Columbia Francis Scott Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.Inscriptions of tombstones in cemeteries of Augusta and Rockingham counties, Virginia, copied April 1946 : with a brief sketch of the history of churches connected with the cemeteries, including pictures of Augusta Stone Church, Cross Keys, and Mount Tabor. FHL Microfilm 849494. (https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/329937?availability=Family%20History%20Library)



Census
1784 Enumeration


 * Rockingham County Heads of Families - 1784 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 76.

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.]

1900


 * United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Rockingham County, Virginia, Census, 1900. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1900. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Church Records
A map identifying the locations of early churches is available for Rockingham County: Where the River Flows: Finding Faith in Rockingham County, Virginia, 1726-1876. The Family History Library has a copy:.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Lost River (1784).
 * 2) Lynville's Creek aka Linville Creek (1756) . Minute books begin in 1756: . Another copy: . Some records have been published: . Cemetery records are online. Church records are online in Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 at Historical Society of Pennsylvania – $, free to members of the society; Also available at Ancestry.com.
 * 3) Pleasant Run (by 1806). Membership rolls (1806-1809) were published in the Seattle Genealogical Society Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Mar. 1967)..
 * 4) Smith's Creek (1756), New Market, Va. A history has been published: . Some records have been published:.

Rockingham County fell within the bounds of the Culpeper Association.

Church of England
Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Rockingham County is available online.

German Reformed

 * 1745-1880 - Peaked Mountain Church, McGaheysville Christening Index 1745-1880. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1752-1796 - Peaked Mountain Church, McGaheysville Marriage Index 1752-1796. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * Braun, Johannes, Klaus Wust and Joseph H. Meyerhoeffer. Shenandoah Valley Family Data, 1799-1813: From the Memorandum Book of Pastor Johannes Braun. Edinburg, Va.: Shenandoah History Publishers, 1978..
 * Burkett, Brigitte. Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 2003. German Church Records of Rockingham County, Virginia. v. 1. Friedens Lutheran and Reformed Church, 1786-1897; St. Michael's Lutheran and Reformed Church, 1789-1889; Ermentraut's Lutheran and Reformed Church, 1798-1863. FHL 975.5922 K2b v. 1. 

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):


 * Smith's Creek Monthly Meeting (1736-1810) aka Broadway

Genealogy
More than 325 genealogies have been published about Rockingham County families. To view a list, visit Rockingham County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Land and Property

 * Kaylor, Peter Cline. Abstract of Land Grant Surveys of Augusta and Rockingham Counties, Virginia, 1761-1791. Dayton, VA: Shenandoah Press, 1938. Available at ; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Local Histories

 * Wayland, John Walter. A History of Rockingham County, Virginia. Dayton, Va.: Ruebush-Elkins Co., 1912. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); - free.
 * Wayland, John Walter. Men of Mark and Representative Citizens of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Virginia: Portraits and Biographies of Men and Women. Staunton, Va.: McClure Co., 1943. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Wayland, John Walter. Virginia Valley Records: Genealogical and Historical Materials of Rockingham County, Virginia, and Related Regions (with Map). Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1930. Available at FHL ( and ); digital versions at - free; Ancestry ($); World Vital Records ($).
 * Arrington, Mary M. Mountain Valley People: A Historical Sketch of a Section of Rockingham County, Viginia, and it's People. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1982. FHL Book 975.5922 H2. Also available on microfiche FHL 6049051.

Maps

 * Map of Rockingham County, Virginia - 1866 by U.S. Army at Library of Congress www.loc.gov/resource/g3883r.la001344/ - free.
 * Map showing the location of the Mount Vernon iron, manganese &amp; timber lands, Rockingham County, Va. - 1888 by Hotchkiss, Jedediah at Library of Congress Catalog Number 2012589707. Includes names of some residents.

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Rockingham County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on pp. 273-274.]

French and Indian War

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

Revolutionary War
residents' participation in the Revolutionary War.


 * "A Page from Court Orders of Rockingham County, VA" [Showing Public Claims Enabling Descendants to Join Revolutionary Societies], The American Genealogist, Vol. 11 (1934):4. Available at American Ancestors ($).
 * Revolutionary Soldiers, Rockingham County, Virginia. Harrisonburg, Va.: The Historical Society?, 1976. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 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, Western District, Rockingham County on page 136.]
 * 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
Rockingham County men served in the 58th and 116th Regiments.


 * Switzer, Frank C. and Dorothy A. Boyd-Rush Rosters, Rockingham Units, War of 1812. Rockingham Historical Society, 1987. Leaves 12.
 * Yankey, Lewis H. and Patricia T Ritchie. Brocks Gap Miscellaneous Research.
 * 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, Rockingham County, p. 101-102. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * Information about the following regiments can be found:

(1) Rockingham County Men in Gray. (2) A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861-1865


 * - 1st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate).
 * - 6th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company C (Rockingham Cavalry, River Rangers).
 * - 7th Battalion, Virginia Reserves (Confederate). Companies A, B, and C.
 * - 7th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Ashby's) (Confederate). Company B (2nd) (Letcher Brock's Gap Rifles), Company H (1st) (Brock's Gap Sharpshooters), Company H (2nd) (Captain John C. Shoup), and Company I (Captain E.A. Shands).
 * - 9th Battalion, Virginia Reserves (Confederate). Companies A, B, C, and D.
 * - 10th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Rockingham Rifles), Company C (2nd) (Mauck's Company), Company D (Bridgewater Greys), Company E (Peaked Mt. Grays), Company G (Valley Guards), Company H (Chrisman's Infantry), and Company I (Riverton Invincibles).
 * - 10th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (1st Cavalry Regiment, Wise Legion (Confederate). Company H (Valley Rangers).
 * - 11th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry. Company C (The Brock's Gap Sharpshooters or The Brock's Gap Rifles).
 * - 12th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company H.
 * - 23rd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company B.
 * - 25th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Heck's) (Confederate). Company I (Mount Crawford Cavalry aka Valley Rifles).
 * - 31st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). 1st Company B (Pendleton County Minutemen).
 * - 33rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company I (Rockingham Confederates).


 * Men from Rockingham County were also members of the following regiments: 35th Battlion Virginia Cavalry, 58th Virginia Militia, 3rd Battalion Virginia Reserves, 97th Virginia Militia, 136th Virginia Militia, 146th Virginia Militia

Records and histories are available, including:


 * Virginia, Civil War Service
 * Virginia, Civil War Service

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battles were fought in Rockingham County.


 * June 8, 1862 = Cross Keys
 * June 9, 1862 = Port Republic


 * Maps of Civil War battles in Virginia: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865

Naturalization
Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

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

 * Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. Available at . [Includes a section on Harrisonburg silversmiths.]

Private Papers

 * Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007
 * [Hite] Major, Nettie Leitch. "Hite Family Bible, Rockingham County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1977):119-121. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1777] "Augusta County Tithables, 1777," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 42 Iss. 4 (Nov. 2004):307-310. Available at . [Covers area of present-day eastern Rockingham and Page counties.]
 * [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 . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Rockingham County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1787] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Rockingham County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on pp. 273-274.]
 * [1788] Boyd-Rush, Dorothy. "Three Tax-Militia Lists: Heads of Families and Male Members Thereof Over Sixteen Years of Age of Rockingham County, Virginia, 1788," The Rockingham Recorder, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Apr. 1982):66-68. Available at.
 * [1789, 1801] Images of the 1789 and 1801 Personal Property Tax Lists of Rockingham County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1790] Boyd-Rush, Dorothy. "1790 Poling List, Rockingham County, Virginia," The Rockingham Recorder, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Apr. 1982):69. Available at.
 * [1792] Strickler, Harry M. Tenth Legion Tithables (Rockingham Division) Rockingham County, Virginia Tithables for 1792: A List of All the White Males Above 16 Years of Age in the County and All the Slaves Above 12 in the County in 1792. Luray, Virginia: H.M. Strickler, 1930. Available at and ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * [1795-1813]Heinegg, Paul. "Rockingham County Personal Property Tax, 1795-1813," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1798] Tax list of house owners, 1798, Rockingham Recorder. Dayton VA: Apr 1945. Vol. 1 Iss. 1.
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at . [The source for this publication is 1815 land tax. Rockingham County is included in Vol. 4.]
 * [1815] Boyd-Rush, Dorothy A. "1815 Rockingham County Tax List," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 40, No. 2 (May 2002):89-102; Vol. 40, No. 3 (Aug. 2002):200-206; Vol. 40, No. 4 (Nov. 2002):317-326; Vol. 41, No. 1 (Feb. 2003):55-68; Vol. 41, No. 2 (May 2003):149-166; Vol. 42, No. 2 (Feb. 2005):97-104; Vol. 43, No. 1 (Feb. 2005):70-74. Available at ; digital version of Volume 40 at Ancestry ($).
 * [1815] Boyd-Bragg, Dorothy A. "A List of the Free Negroes, Rockingham County [1815]," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Feb. 2007):63-64. Available at.
 * [1816] Boyd-Bragg, Dorothy A. "Rockingham County Tax Book for the Year 1816," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Aug. 2004):189-202; Vol. 42, No. 4 (Nov. 2004):265-284; Vol. 43, No. 2 (May 2005):153-168. Available at.

Birth
Beth Fridley has published the following abstracts of Rockingham County, Virginia birth records online at Ancestry:


 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1853-56 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1857-59 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1860-65 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1866-84 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1885-87 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1888-90 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1891-93 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Births, 1894-96 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).


 * 1862-1867 - Rockingham County Birth Index 1862-1867. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).


 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).


 * 1791-1902 - Rockingham County Marriage Index 1791-1902. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1795-1825 - Wayland, John Walter. Virginia Valley Records: Genealogical and Historical Materials of Rockingham County, Virginia, and Related Regions (with Map). Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1930. Available at FHL ( and ); digital versions at Ancestry ($); - free; and World Vital Records ($) Original, and Reprint. Includes Rockingham Marriages 1795-1825.

Death

 * 1853-1893 - Rockingham County, Virginia Deaths 1853-1893 (VAGenWeb) - free.


 * 1862-1866 - Rockingham County Death Index 1862-1866. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1912-1939 - Selected Certificates of Death from Rockingham County, Virginia 1912 thru 1939 (VAGenWeb) - free.

Beth Fridley has published the following abstracts of Rockingham County, Virginia death records online at Ancestry:


 * Rockingham County, Virginia Deaths, 1853-61 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Deaths, 1862-77 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Deaths, 1878-85 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * Rockingham County, Virginia Deaths, 1886-95 [database on-line]. Available at Ancestry ($).

Rockingham County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Rockingham County Historical Society

310 S Main Street

Dayton, Virginia 22812


 * Central Virginia Genealogical Association

Rockingham County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Rockingham County, Virginia USGENWEB.
 * Rockingham County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)