Giles County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

Description
Giles County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. The county was named for William Branch Giles, United States Senator from Virginia at that time.

Giles County Virginia Courthouse
Giles County Courthouse 501 Wenonah Ave P O Box 502 Pearisburg, Va 24134 Phone: 540-626-7075

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1806, birth and death records 185801896 divorce, probate court and land records.

Giles County Virginia History


The county was named after Virginia Senator William B. Giles (1762-1830), who later served as the Virginia's Governor.

Parent County
1806--Giles County was created 16 January 1806 from Montgomery, Monroe County (West Virginia), Tazewell and  Wythe Counties. County seat: Pearisburg

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.

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


 * Lost census: 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:

African American

 * 1865-1872
 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Giles County Register of Free Negroes, 1816-1864," Free African Americans.com, available online.
 * Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003..
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized images of African Americans of Giles County.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
1810


 * Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. 1810 Census of Giles County, Virginia. Springfield, Va.: N. Schreiner-Yantis, 1970. Available at.
 * 1810 Census of Giles County, Virginia. Beverly, W. Va.: Crickard, 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. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. [Includes Giles County.]

1860


 * Davis, Charley L. Giles County, Virginia 1860 Census Annotated: Family Histories - Births - Marriages - Deaths. Virginia?: C.L. Davis, 1991. Available at.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Blue Stone (1804)
 * 2) Sinking Creek (1796)

Giles County fell within the bounds of the New River Association and the Greenbrier Association.

Court Records
Chancery Court

Indexes (1807-1936) and images (1807-1929) to Giles County, Virginia Chancery Records are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete

Genealogy
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
 * See Giles County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 25+ published books and articles, or jump to the surname using the alphabet bar.

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

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * Burton, Charles T. Botetourt County, Virginia, Early Settlers from the Earliest Times through 1795, in the Area that was Botetourt County in 1782. Ft. Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library, 1990. Available at . [Includes area that later became Giles County.]
 * Heavener, Ulysses S.A. German New River Settlement: Virginia. 1929; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976..
 * Research Committee, Giles County Historical Society. Giles County, Virginia, History - Families. n.p.: Giles County Historical Society, 1982. Available at Virginia Historical Society;.

Local Histories

 * Friend, Robert C. Giles County, 1806-1956: A History. Pearisburg, Va.: Giles County Chamber of Commerce, 1956?. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Johnston, David E. A History of Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1988. Available at.

Revolutionary War

 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at . [Includes Giles County pensioners.]
 * 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, Western District, Giles County on page 134.]
 * 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.]

War of 1812
Giles County men served in the 86th Regiment.


 * 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, Giles County, p. 81. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 7th Battalion, Virginia Infantry, Local Defense (1st Nitre Battalion) (Confederate). Company D (The Mountain Boomers).


 * - 23rd Battalion, Virginia Infantry Reserves (Confederate). Company G.
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (New River Rifles).
 * - 32nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies A, B, G, and K.
 * - 34th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Witcher's Battalion, Virginia Mounted Rifles) (Confederate). Company K.

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

Private Papers



 * French, David. Day Book, v. 2, 1835-1837. Original records, Giles County Courthouse, Pearisburg, Va.; also available on microfilm at . [Book seems to be an account or ledger book for a private business or store. David French may have been the secretary or owner. Name and location of store or business was not given.]

Probate Records

 * 1805 to 1829 - Indexes to Wills, Estates, Deeds, Bonds, Guardianships Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1806 to 1829 - Images of Wills, Estates, Inventories, Bonds, Deeds Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1829 to 1847 - Wills, Estates, Deeds, Bonds, Guardianships Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1829 to 1847 - Images of Wills, Estates, Inventories, Bonds, Deeds Virginia Pioneers ($)

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * 1806 - The 1806 Giles County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List; index online at New River Notes - free.
 * 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. Giles County is included in Vol. 5.]
 * 1815 - Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. 1815 Tax List of Giles County, Virginia: Abstracts of 300 Deeds and Surveys, 1806-1830; Detailed Map of Area Covered by Tax Collector. Springfield, Va.: N. Schreiner-Yantis, 1971. Available at.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1855-1896 - Giles County Birth Index 1855-1896. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1855-1896 - Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1771-1943 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1806-1913 - Giles County Marriage Index 1806-1913. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1813-1859 - Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1871-1913 - Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1855-1896 Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Family History Centers

 * Pembroke Virginia Family History Center

Giles County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Giles County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List