Dickenson County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Dickenson County is located in the southwestern area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with Kentucky. The county was named for Delegate William J. Dickenson who sponsored the bill in the House of Delegates to establish this 100th county.

County Courthouse
Dickenson County Courthouse 119 Court House Lane Clintwood, VA 24228-0190 Phone: 276-926-1616 Dickenson County Website

County Health Department has birth, death, and burial records. Clerk Circuit court has marriage, divorce, court and land records from 1880 and military discharge 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:

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

1900
 * Dickenson County, Virginia, 1900 Federal Census. 1984. By Gregory Lynn Vanover, Joan Short Vanover, and Barbara Kendrick Vanover. Pound, Virginia : G.L. Vanover. Available at.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist
 * Sand Lick Primitive Baptist Church, the First Hundred Years, 1837-1937: A History of the Oldest Religious Organization in Dickenson County, Virginia. 1937. Reprint 1985. By Elihu Jasper Sutherland. Clintwood, Virginia : Mullins Printing. Available at.

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records Library of Virginia's Chancery Records Index includes digital images for Dickenson County chancery records for the years 1883-1915.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

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 Dickenson 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
 * Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. E. J. Sutherland Collection, Dickenson County, Virginia, 1650-1965. MSS., [Includes Dickenson Co. families, 1650-1964 and Dickenson Co. genealogy 1732-1933.]
 * Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. Some Sandy Basin Characters. Clintwood, Va.: E.J. Sutherland, 1962. 1985 reprint:

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

Local Histories

 * Coalfields Expressway Final Environmental Impact Statement - Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise Counties, Virginia. 2001. By US Department of Transportation-Federal Highway Administration and Virginia Department of Transportation. Online at: Google Books.
 * Meet Virginia's Baby: A Brief Pictorial History of Dickenson County, Virginia, from Its Formation in 1880 to 1955, with Stress on Pioneer Background. 1955. Reprint 1975. By Elihu Jasper Sutherland. Clintwood, VA : E.J. Sutherland. Available at.
 * Pioneer Recollections of Southwest Virginia. 1984. By Elihu Jasper Sutherland and Hetty Swindall Sutherland. Clintwood, VA : H.S. Sutherland, G.L. Vanover, and J.S. Vanover. Available at.
 * The Forests of Dickenson County, Virginia. 1917. By W.G. Schwab. Charlottesville, VA : n.p. Online at: Hathitrust, Google Books.
 * The Geology and Coal Resources of Dickenson County, Virginia. 1921. By Albert William Giles. University of Virginia. Online at: Google Books.
 * Virginia County Names: Two Hundred and Seventy Years of Virginia History. 1908. By Charles M. Long, MA, PhD. New York, NY : The Neale Publishing Company. Online at: Google Books.

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Military Records
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)
 * Between Brothers: Civil War Soldiers of Wise and Dickenson County [Virginia]. By Lillian Gobble and Rhonda Robertson. Big Stone Gap, Virginia : L. Gobble and R. Robertson..

Regiments. Civil War service men in Dickenson 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:
 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry) (Confederate). Company B.
 * - 5th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry) (Confederate). Companies C and D.

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

Other Records
Private Papers Dickenson County, Virginia, Family Bible Records, 1934-1935. Clintwood, Virginia: Mullins Printing, 1999. Available at.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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

Vital Records

 * E. J. Sutherland Collection, Dickenson County, Virginia, 1650-1965. By Elihu Jasper Sutherland. MSS., available at . Includes Dickenson County Vital Statistics, 1830-1938.

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

 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index $
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 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

 * Bristol Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Washington County Public Library - Main Library - an affiliate library
 * Washington County Public Library - Hayters Gap Branch - an affiliate library.

Websites

 * Dickenson 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

 * A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Dickenson County. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1964):124-126. Available at ; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).