Greensville County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Greensville County is located in the Southeastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with North Carolina. Greensville County was probably named for Sir Richard Grenville, leader of the settlement on Roanoke Island, 1585. There is also belief that it may be named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army and second-in-command to General George Washington.

Greensville County Virginia Courthouse
Greensville County Courthouse P.O. Box 631 337 South Main Street Emporia, VA 23847-0631 Phone: 434-348-4215

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, land and probate records from 1781 divorce and court records from 1900

Greensville County Virginia History


The county is believed to have been named after English explorer Sir Richard Grenville (1542-1591).

Parent County
1780--Greensville County was created 16 October 1780 from Brunswick and Sussex Counties. County seat: Emporia

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.

Variant Spellings

 * Greenville

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


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 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:

Research Guides

 * Dorman, John Frederick. "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Greensville County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1968):107-108. ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African American

 * Virginia Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-1872


 * Heinegg, Paul. "Greensville County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1830," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Biography

 * Brown, Douglas Summers. Historical and Biographical Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, 1650-1967. Emporia, Va.: The Riparian Woman's Club, 1968..

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
1783 Enumeration


 * Greensville County Heads of Families - 1783 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 54.

1890 Union Veterans


 * "Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.    Includes residents of this county.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Fountain's Creek (1787)
 * 2) Zion (1806)

Greensville County fell within the bounds of the Meherrin Association.

Church of England
See also Meherrin Parish See also St. Andrew's Parish

Court Records
County Court


 * Goodwyn, Dora Hedges. "Notes from the Records of Greensville County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jul., 1913):31-38. ; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Partial abstracts of Greensville County Court Order Book 1.]
 * Goodwyn, W. Samuel. "Officers Recommended and Qualified for the Militia of Greensville County, Virginia, 1782-1815," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Oct., 1918):96-103; Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jan., 1919):176-184 . ; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Abstracted from Greensville County Court Order Books.]

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

Immigration

 * Ljungstedt, Milnor. "Items from Southern Records" [Showing Family and Trade Connections with Northern Colonies and the Home Countries], The American Genealogist, Vol. 15 (1938):95-104. Digital version at American Ancestors. [Greensville Co., VA surname: Harris.]

Land and Property
Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 694 patents dated 1715-1800 in what is now Greensville County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2000. [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.]

Local Histories

 * Brown, Douglas Summers, Virginia Lee Baker, Eleanor Little Eanes, and L. Ralph Slagle eds. Historical and Biographical Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, 1650-1967. Emporia, Va.: The Riparian Woman's Club, 1968. Reviewed by Herbert C. Bradsham in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 77, No. 4 (Oct., 1969):506-507. Review available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, Second Edition, 1968-2000.

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Greensville County's 1788 Delinquent List appears on pp. 127-128.]
 * Elliott, Katherine B. Emigration to Other States from Southside Virginia. 2 vols. South Hill, Virginia: K.B. Elliott, 1966. Vol. 1 of original edition at ; 1983 reprints (both volumes) at ; 1990-1992 reprints (both volumes) also at . [Includes individuals who migrated out of Greensville County to other parts of the country.]

Revolutionary War

 * Douthat, James L. 1782 Greensville County, Virginia Property Valuation Impressed During Revolutionary War. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2010. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website.
 * 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 version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: . [See Virginia, Eastern District, Greensville County on page 130.]
 * 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 from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

Militia

 * Goodwyn, W. Samuel. "Officers Recommended and Qualified for the Militia of Greensville County, Virginia, 1782-1815," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Oct., 1918):96-103; Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jan., 1919):176-184 . ; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Abstracted from Greensville County Court Order Books.]

War of 1812
Greensville County men served in the 50th Regiment.


 * Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2007. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. . [Includes Greensville County.]
 * 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. ; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Greenville County [sic], p. 82. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 5th Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Wilson's)(Archer's)(Confederate).
 * - 12th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Huger Grays) and Company I (Meherrin Grays).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 -
 * 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)

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization
Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

Newspapers
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 the Virginia Gazette and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia.

Private Papers
Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007

Probate Records
Digital Images of Greensville County Wills 1781 to 1816. See names of Testators. Virginia Pioneers

Online Probate Records
 * Images of Wills 1781 - 1806; 1806 - 1816. Virginia Pioneers ($)

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1782-1830] Heinegg, Paul. "Greensville County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1830," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1783] - Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783; index online at Revolutionary War Service website - free.
 * [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. . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Greensville County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1788] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Greensville County's 1788 Delinquent List appears on pp. 127-128.]
 * [1789, 1798] Indexed images of the 1789 and 1798 Personal Property Tax Lists of Greensville County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Apr. 1982); Vol. 26, No. 3 (Jul. 1982)..
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. . [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Greensville County is included in Vol. 2.]

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1781-1853 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1781-1853. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1861-1876 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1861-1876. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1888 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1876-1888. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1888-1897 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1888-1897. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1897-1901 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1897-1901. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Greensville County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Greensville Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * Greensville County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List


 * Virginia Pioneers ($). This is a pay website, however, you can see names of testators (wills) for free.