Wise County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Wise 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
Wise County is located in the Southwest Appalachian area of the Commonwealth of Virginia was named after Henry A. Wise, Virginia Governor at the time.

Wise County, Virginia Courthouse
Wise County Courthouse 206 East Main Street P.O. Box 1248 Room 245 Wise, VA 24293 Phone: 276-328-6111 Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, and divorce, probate court and land records

Wise County, Virginia History


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.

Parent County
1856--Wise County was created 16 February 1856 from Lee, Russell, and Scott Counties. County seat: Wise

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.


 * 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:

Biographies

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

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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
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." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.

Baptist

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

Court 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, index and images, incomplete

Genealogy
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
 * See Wise County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 25+ published books and articles, or jump to the surname using the alphabet bar.

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

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. ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). Google Books page.
 * Wise County: Her Industries, Resources and Prominent Men. Norton, Va.: n.p., 1920. ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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, Wise County, p. 107. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 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).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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-?].

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization
Virginia

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)

Private Papers
Virginia,

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 ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [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 — index and images
 * 1856-1861 - Wise County, Virginia Births 1856-1861 (VAGenWeb) - free.
 * 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 — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1856-1908 - Wise County Marriage Index 1856-1908. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1856-1892 - Wise County, Virginia Deaths 1856-1892 (VAGenWeb) - free.
 * 1856-1894 - Robertson, Rhonda. The Wise County, Virginia Death Register 1856-1894. [Wise, Virginia]: Wise County Historical Society (VA), [200-?].
 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and 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?].

Family History Centers
To locate the closest family history center or affiliate library, use the link listed above.

Wise County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Wise County, Virginia Genealogy, History & Facts (Genealogy Inc)
 * Lumbee Indians and Goins Family: Wise County, VA Early Records
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
 * Wise Co., VA (RootsWeb)
 * VA Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * 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
 * Cyndi's List