Montgomery County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Montgomery County is located in the southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general.

County Courthouse
Montgomery County Courthouse 55 East Main Street Christiansburg, VA 24073 Phone: 540-394-2086 Montgomery County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has birth, and death records 1853-1871, marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1773

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:

History Timeline


The county was named after Brigadier-General Richard Montgomery (1738-1775). Montgomery died during the Revolutionary War in the failed 1775 invasion of Canada.

Bible Records

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records
1790 Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1810
 * 1810 Census of Montgomery County, Virginia. Beverly, W. Va.: Crickard, 1969?, 1979. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

1840
 * Douthat, James L. 1840 Mountain Empire of Virginia Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2001. 975.5 X2d 1840.  Surname list. Includes Montgomery County.

1890 Union Veterans
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. By Ronald Ray Turner. .  Includes residents of this county.
 * 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census. Online at: Ancestry ($). Includes this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
 * 1) Greasy Creek (1789)
 * 2) Meadow Creek (1785)
 * 3) N.F. Roanoke (1801)
 * 4) Pine Creek (1803)
 * 5) West Fork (1803)

Montgomery County fell within the bounds of the New River Association.

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

German Reformed
 * 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..

Quaker Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):
 * Burk's Fork Monthly Meeting (1800-1812)

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index can be used to search Montgomery County chancery records for the years 1773-1938. Digital images are available for 1773-1913. Post-1913 records available at the Montgomery County Office of the Circuit Court Clerk's Office.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * See Virginia_Cohabitation_Records for links to online records.
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Montgomery County.
 * Dickenson, Richard B. Entitled! Free Papers in Appalachia Concerning Antebellum Freeborn Negroes and Emancipated Blacks of Montgomery County, Virginia. Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society, 1981. 975.5785 F2d
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Montgomery County Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1812," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Montgomery County Register of Free Negroes, 1823-1847," 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. [Includes information from Montgomery County.]

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

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

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * Allison, Elizabeth Kelly. Early Southwest Virginia Families: Families of Kelly, Smyth, Buchanan, Clark and Related Families of Edmonson, Keys, Beattie, Ryburn, McDonald. Auburn, Ala., 1960.
 * Heavener, Ulysses S.A. German New River Settlement: Virginia. 1929; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976..
 * Kegley, Mary B. Early Adventurers on the Western Waters. 5 vols. 1990-1998..

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

An early settlers map is available for Montgomery County. Hildebrand plots the locations of pioneers from 1750-1865. The FamilySearch Library has a copy:.

Grants and Patents
 * Hudgins. 1009 patents dated 1746-1891 in what is now Montgomery County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2009. [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.]
 * Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. Available at . [Includes Montgomery County, Virginia.]


 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * Crush, Charles W. The Montgomery County Story, 1776-1957. unknown: unknown, 1957. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Montgomery County, Virginia. Blacksburg?, Va.: unknown, 1907. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historical Map of Montgomery County Virginia. Identifies early settlers. Available online.
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
French and Indian War Revolutionary War War of 1812
 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . Online at: Ancestry ($). Identifies some Montgomery County veterans; see place name index.
 * Montgomery County residents' participation in the Revolutionary War.
 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. . Includes Montgomery County pensioners.
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: . See Virginia, Western District, Montgomery County on page 135.
 * 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." ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans. Virginia section begins on page 238.
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. 973 M2Lp v. 5. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Montgomery County, p. 91. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Regiments. Montgomery County men served in the 75th Regiment. Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 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)

Regiments. Civil War service men in Montgomery County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed here:
 * - 4th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Fort Lewis Volunteers), Company E (Montgomery Highlanders), Company G (Montgomery Fencibles).
 * - 11th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate).
 * - 14th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company F (2nd) and Company G (Border Rangers).
 * - 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company K.
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (New River Grays).
 * - 25th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company E and Company F.
 * - 54th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies C and E (Montgomery Grays).
 * - 63rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (McMahon's) (Confederate). Company D.

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1906-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. 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.

Periodicals
Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin Several genealogical articles with abstracts of Montgomery County, Virginia records have been published in the Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin (39+ vols., 1972-present), the journal of the Watauga Association of Genealogists. The organization has posted tables of contents for most volumes on their website. Back issues are available for purchase.The FamilySearch Library has a complete collection, including Margaret W. Hougland and Betty Jane Hylton's Bulletin Subject Index: The First Thirty Years, 1972-2001 (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Association of Genealogists, 2002).

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1796-1809 Images of Wills Book 1 at Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1809-1817 Images of Wills Book 2 at Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1818-1823 Images of Wills, Deeds, Estates No. 3 Virginia Pioneers ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1770-1773 Kegley, Mary B. New River Tithables, 1770-1773. Wytheville, Virginia: M.B. Kegley, 1972. Available at.
 * 1782 1782 Montgomery County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List; index online at New River Notes.
 * 1782 The 1782 Montgomery County, Virginia Land Tax List (New River Notes).
 * 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. . Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, - images. 1782 personal property tax list of Montgomery County.
 * 1782; 1787-89 Tax Digests at Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1782-1857 Personal property tax lists, 1782-1857. ; images.
 * 1787 Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. . The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Montgomery County is included in Vol. 1.
 * 1787 Taxables, 1787, Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Summer 1972).
 * 1787 Delinquent Tax Lists, 1787, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Aug. 1999); Vol. 38, No. 1 (Feb. 2000). Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1787-1788, 1797 Delinquent Tax List, 1787, 1788, 1797 Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov. 1999). Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1787, 1798-1799 Delinquent Tax Lists, 1787 (sel.), 1798-99, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Spring 1996). Available at ; digital version at Ancestry.
 * 1787-1812 Heinegg, Paul. "Montgomery County Personal Property Tax List, 1787-1812," Free African Americans.com.  Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
 * 1789 Tax List, 1789, Harlan Mountain Roots, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Summer 1997).
 * 1789 Possible Family Groups from 1789 Tax List, Boone Genealogical Quarterly, [Madison, West Va.] Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr. 1990).
 * 1789-1790 Tax List, 1789-90, Lincoln Lineage, [Griffithsville, West Va.], Vol. 16, No. 4 (Nov. 1995).
 * 1790 County Tax Delinquents, 1790, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Nov. 2005). Available at.
 * 1790 Tax List, 1790, Harlan Mountain Roots, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Winter 1996).
 * 1806 Personal Property Tax List, 1806, A-C, Friends of Genealogy Journal, [Shreveport, La.], Vol. 7, No. 1 (1995).
 * 1806 Personal Property Tax List, 1806, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1985); online at Roanoke Public Library.
 * 1800 Tax List, 1800, The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Oct. 1998); Vol. 43, No. 1 (Jan. 1999); Vol. 43, No. 2 (Apr. 1999). Searchable database at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
 * 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 the 1815 land tax. Montgomery County is included in Vol. 5.
 * 1818 Delinquent Tax Lists, 1818, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Feb. 2000). Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1830 Delinquent Muster Tax, Capt. Osborne, 1830, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Feb. 2000). Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Birth

 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index($) — index $
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1777-1788; 1804-1811; 18112-1818; 1819-1825; 1831-1854 Virginiapioneers Marriage Bonds ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1850-1860 Montgomery County Marriages 1850-1860 at VAGenWeb Sorted by groom; sorted by bride.
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1854-1902 Montgomery County Marriage Index 1854-1902- images only
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1853-1911 Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images
 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Pembroke Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Roanoke Virginia FamilySearch Center


 * Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library - Blacksburg - an affiliate library
 * Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library - Christiansburg - an affiliate library
 * Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library - Meadowbrook - an affiliate library

Libraries
There are many genealogical MS holdings, including full collections located at Virginia Tech Special Collections Department on the first floor of Newman Library on campus.

Websites

 * Montgomery County, Virginia USGENWEB.
 * Cyndi's List


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Montgomery County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1974):298-301. ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).