Henry County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Henry County is located in the southern area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with North Carolina. The county was named in honor of Patrick Henry, who was then serving as the first governor of Virginia.

County Courthouse
Henry County Courthouse 3160 Kings Mountain Road, Suite B Martinsville, VA 24112-3966 Phone: 276-634-4880 Henry County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage and land records from 1777, divorce records from 1909, and probate records

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 Virginia Governor Patrick Henry (1736-1799).

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

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

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

1810 Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1830
 * Simmons, Don. Henry County, Virginia Census of 1830. 1976.

1840
 * Douthat, James L. 1840 Mountain Empire of Virginia Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2001. 975.5 X2d 1840. Surname list. Includes Henry 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 residents of this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
 * 1) Beaver Creek aka Bever Creek (1786). A history was published in 1933: ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Contains church minutes 1786-1800, family records 1771-1858 (births, marriages and deaths for the Anthony, Brittin and Strother families and their slaves), and accounts 1810-1815.
 * 2) Leatherwood (1772)

Henry County fell within the bounds of the Strawberry Association.

Some residents attended Matrimony Creek Baptist Church in neighboring Guilford (later Rockingham) County, North Carolina in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Church membership lists and minutes (1776-1814) are available online, with an index at the end: online.

Church of England See also Camden Parish See also Patrick Parish Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Henry County is available online.

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records

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.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American The John B. Harris Collection (African American) at Bassett Historical Center (see Societies and Libraries) includes the following resources: Other Henry County African American resources include:
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * "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
 * 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 . [Includes information from Henry County.]
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized images related to African Americans of Henry 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 Henry 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
 * 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. Martinsville, Va.: J.P.A. Hill, 1925. Book 975.5692 H2h. Includes 200 pages of family sketches.

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. 1925. [2 copies]; digital version at Ancestry ($). Index at EveryNameIndex.com - free.
 * Pedigo, Virginia G. History of Patrick and Henry Counties, Virginia. Roanoke, Va.: Stone Printing and Manufacturing Co., 1933. and  available at FS Library; digital version at Ancestry ($); and MyHeritage ($).
 * Virginia Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. Available at ; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). 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 ; 1983 reprints (both volumes) available at ; 1990-1992 reprints (both volumes) also available at . Includes individuals who migrated out of Henry County to other parts of the country.

Military Records
French and Indian War Revolutionary War
 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . Online at: Ancestry ($). Identifies some Henry County veterans; see place name index.
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint: 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." ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans. Virginia section begins on page 238.
 * Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War. By J.T. McAllister. 1913. Hot Springs, Va.: McAllister Pub. Co. Online at: Internet Archive

Regiments. The following unit rosters of Henry County residents in the Revolutionary War are available for free online, courtesy: Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution: War of 1812
 * 1) "Payrolls of the Militia Company of Capt. Daniel Carlin, Henry County, Virginia, in 1779 and 1781," transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris.
 * 2) "Henry County, Virginia, Continental Soldiers Recruited by Act of October 1780," transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris.
 * 3) "Militia List - Capt. Jonathan Hanby" (1781), transcribed and annotated by James L. Lynch III.
 * 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, Henry County, pp. 85-86. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Regiments. Henry County men served in the 64th 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 Henry 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:
 * - 21st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company G 2nd.
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company H.
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (Henry Guards).
 * - 42nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Henry Volunteers), Company F (Leatherwood Fencibles), and Company G (Second Company of Volunteers).
 * - 57th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Henry and Pittsylvania Rifles).

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.

Other Records
 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. Online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1633-1800 Wills and Estate Records Index at Library of Virginia.
 * 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)
 * 1778-1794 Marriage Licenses Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Tax Digest-1782 Virginia Pioneers ($)

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

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records


 * 1778-1780 Adams, Lela C. Henry County, Virginia Tax Lists 1778-1780.
 * 1780 Specific Taxes, 1780, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jan. 1894). Available at JSTOR ($).
 * 1782 1782 Henry County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List; index online at New River Notes.
 * 1782 Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. . Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, - images. 1782 personal property tax list of Henry County.
 * 1782-1814 Heinegg, Paul. "Henry County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com.  Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
 * 1782-1851 Henry County, Virginia Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.; microfilmed reproduction available at  - images.
 * 1783  Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783; index online at Revolutionary War Service website - free.
 * 1786, 1790 Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. Available at ; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). 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.
 * 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. Henry County is included in Vol. 1.
 * 1800 Tax List, 1800, The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan. 1988); Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr. 1988). Available at . Online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
 * 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 . 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 . 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.

Birth

 * 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
 * 1584-1917 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 $
 * 1700-1799 Henry County, Virginia Marriages 1700-1799 - free.
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1778-1849 Dodd, Virginia Anderton. Henry County, Virginia, Marriage Bonds, 1778-1849. Richmond, Va.: Clearfield Co., 1953. 1976 reprint available at ; 1953 digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1788-1794 Henry County Marriage Licenses Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * Deaths are online in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society.
 * 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 — index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Danville Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Eden North Carolina FamilySearch Center
 * Martinsville Virginia FamilySearch Center


 * Blue Ridge Regional Library - Bassett Branch - an affiliate library
 * Blue Ridge Regional Library - Collinsville Branch - an affiliate library
 * Blue Ridge Regional Library - Martinsville Branch - an affiliate library

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. .
 * VA-NC Piedmont Genealogical Society

Websites

 * Henry Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * 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

 * Sweeney, Alice J. "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3. Available at ; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.