Henry County, Virginia Genealogy

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History


The county was named after Virginia Governor Patrick Henry (1736-1799).

Parent County
1776--Henry County was created 7 October 1776 from Pittsylvania County. County seat: Martinsville

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

African American
The John B. Harris Collection (African American) at Bassett Historical Center (see Societies and Libraries) includes the following resources:


 * "African-American Census Records, 1870-1910, Henry County, Virginia"
 * "Afro-American Marriages of Henry County, Virginia"
 * "Henry County Cohabitation List"
 * Extensive list of obituaries 1950s-1995

Other Henry County African American resources include:


 * Heinegg, Paul. "Henry County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. [Includes information from Henry County.]

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.

1830


 * Simmons, Don. Henry County, Virginia Census of 1830. 1976. Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

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 Henry 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.]

Church
Baptist


 * Thompson, Stella Pocahontas Anthony and Bever Creek Church. Copy of the History of Bever Creek Church, 1786, Henry County, Virginia. Columbia, Mo.: Thompson, 1933. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexes (1783-1946) and images (1783-1931) to Henry County, Virginia Chancery Records 1755-1912 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Genealogy
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General
As of November 2010, a query for individuals born in Henry, Virginia at World Connect, results in more than 70,000 entries.

Local Histories

 * Hill, Judith Parks America. A History of Henry County, Virginia: With Biographical Sketches of Its Most Prominent Citizens and Genealogical Histories of Half a Hundred of Its Oldest Families. unknown: unknown, 1925. Available at FHL [2 copies]; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * Pedigo, Virginia G. History of Patrick and Henry Counties, Virginia. Roanoke, Va.: Stone Printing and Manufacturing Co., 1933. Original edition and 1977 reprint available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Henry County's 1786 and 1790 Delinquent Lists appear on pp. 128-129.]
 * 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 Henry County to other parts of the country.]

French and Indian War

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

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, Henry County on page 131.]
 * 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, Henry County, pp. 85-86. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

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.

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 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?


 * [1780] Specific Taxes, 1780, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jan. 1894). Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [1782] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Available at FHL. [1782 personal property tax list of Henry County.]
 * [1782-1814] Heinegg, Paul. "Henry County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Henry County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1786, 1790] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Henry County's 1786 and 1790 Delinquent List appear on pp. 128-129.]
 * [1790, 1800] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Henry County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan. 1988); Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr. 1988). Available at FHL.
 * [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. Henry County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * [1810] Tax List, 1810, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 6, No. 28 (Mar. 1983).
 * [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. Henry County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1820] Lands Returned Delinquent, List, 1820, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Feb. 2006). Available at FHL.

Vital Records
Marriage


 * Dodd, Virginia Anderton. Henry County, Virginia, Marriage Bonds, 1778-1849. Richmond, VA, USA: Clearfield Co., 1953. 1976 reprint available at FHL; digital versions at Ancestry ($) and World Vital Records ($).

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