Russell County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Russell County, Virginia Courthouse
Russell County Courthouse P O Box 435 Lebanon, Virginia 24266 Phone: 540-889-8023

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1853, divorce and court records from 1786, probate records from 1803 and land records from 1787

Parent County
1785--A petition to form Russell County was submitted by citizens of Washington County in Dec 1785. Russell County was formed on 2 Jan 1786. The county's first court met on 9 May 1786 at Castle's Woods, later known as Castlewood. County seat: Lebanon

Boundary Changes
Lee, Scott, Wise, and Buchanan Counties were formed either in whole or in part from Russell County.

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
1872 A fire in the clerk's office destroyed the county's first marriage register and many loose papers in 1872. Bound volumes of deeds, orders, and wills (except Will Book 1) still exist.


 * Censuses lost: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1890

Populated Places

 * Belfast (unincorporated)
 * Castlewood (unincorporated)
 * Cleveland
 * Dante (unincorporated)
 * Honaker
 * Lebanon
 * Rosedale (unincorporated)
 * St. Paul
 * Swords Creek (unincorporated)
 * Willis (unincorporated

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Russell County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1978):131-133. Digital version at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African American
Freedmen's Bureau

Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at ; digital version at. [Includes information from Russell County.]

Cemeteries

 * Knisely, Mary Jane. "Russell County, Virginia, Family Cemeteries," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1977):111-112. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * Russell County Cemeteries (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Census
1790 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1810 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.


 * 1810 Russell County Virginia Slave Holders List (Russell Co. GenWeb)

1820


 * Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. Russell County, Virginia, Census of 1820. Clintwood, Va.: unknown, 1940. ; 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 Russell County.]

1850

Census takers uncharacteristically recorded the birth town or county of residents this census year.


 * 1850 Annotated Census: Russell Co. Virginia (Microsoft Excel version; Russell Co. GenWeb) - download
 * 1850 Annotated Census: Russell Co. Virginia (text version; Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * 1850 Russell County, Virginia Federal Mortality Schedule (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * Ball, Bonnie S. and Ada Grace Catron. The Seventh Population Census of the United States for Russell County, Virginia, 1850. Haysi, Va.: B. Ball?, 1964. ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

1860


 * Russell County, Virginia 1860 Census (Russell Co., VA Civil War Website)
 * Russell County, Virginia 1860 Census, Slave Schedule (Russell Co., VA Civil War Website)
 * Russell County, Virginia 1860 Federal Mortality Schedule (Russell Co. GenWeb)

1870


 * Salyer, Elisabeth L.W. 1870 Census of Russell County, Virginia. West Palm Beach, Fla.: Palm Beach County Genealogical Society, 1975. ; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * 1870 Russell County, Virginia Federal Mortality Schedule (document scans; Russell Co. GenWeb)

1880


 * 1880 Russell County, Virginia Federal Mortality Schedule (document scans; Russell Co. GenWeb)

1890 Union Veterans


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

Church Records

 * Russell County Church Records (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Castlewoods (1806)
 * 2) Copper Creek (1808)
 * 3) Glade Hollows (1788)
 * 4) Russel (1805)
 * 5) Stony Creek (1802)

Russell County fell within the bounds of the Holston and Mountain Associations.

Court

 * Chancery records, 1948-present, housed in the courthouse
 * Court records, pre-1948, held at the Library of Virginia in preparation for microfilming
 * Russell County Court Records (transcriptions and document scans; Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * Russell County Declarations of Intention (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Genealogy
More than 100 genealogies have been published about Russell County families. To view a list, visit Russell County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Grants and Patents

 * Anderson. 699 patents dated 1782-1912 in what is now Russell and Tazewell Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2007. [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.]
 * Russell County Land Grants &amp; Surveys (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. Available at . [Includes Russell County, Virginia.]

Deeds

 * Deeds beginning 1787 are available at the courthouse
 * Russell County Deeds (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Local Histories
Russell County Lookups (Russell Co. GenWeb)


 * Albert, Ethel Evans. Southwest Virginia Kin, Vol. 1.
 * Chafin, Andrew. Russell County (Images of America series). Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2008. Google Books page | WorldCat page
 * The Heritage of Russell County, Virginia 1786-1986, 2 vols. Russell County Heritage Book Committee, 1989. Google Books page | WorldCat page
 * Sutherland, Elihu J. Pioneer Recollections of Southwest Virginia.

Maps


Tom Rudder produced a map of the "First Land Owners in Castles Woods (Russel County, Virginia)," which as published in The Appalachian Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Mar. 2006):59-62. . Rudder's map includes supporting documentation.


 * Libre Map Project (includes detailed topographic maps of Russell Co.)
 * MyTopo Historical Maps (includes older topographic maps of Russell Co.)

Pre-Revolutionary War

 * The First Militia Roster of the Clinch River Area of Russell County (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Revolutionary War

 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at . [Includes Russell 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 version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Western District, Russell County on page 136.]
 * 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 ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]
 * Crouse, Randy F. McNew, "Michael Sword Ancestry and Historical Narrative, A Revolutionary War Veteran and Resident of Russell County, Virginia."($), 2012. 87 pages. ISBN: 9781105710063. Avaialable at FHL and Lulu($). The purpose of this book is to prove the ancestry of Michael Sword and to document his Revolutionary War record. Michael Sword is the descendant of German immigrants who first arrived in Philadelphia in 1737. He served in the Revolution in the Army and was in battles at Brandywine, Germantown, and Charleston,SC. Includes a tabulated summary of all the muster and pay roll records found for him at NARA, data is extracted and listed in chronological order to reconstruct his military experience. This includes several battles and two periods when he was held prisoner.This book will be of interest to genealogists interested in the Sword family of Russell County, Virginia and especially of interest to those researching military history. Indexed. IMPORTANT, be sure to check the companion book, The Revolutionary War Diary of Major William Croghan($) FHL. Michael Sword was under his command and was with him on the march to Charleston and Maj. Croghan records the minute details of their daily activities during the march and the battle for Charleston. This Revolutionary War itinerant diary is a must have, first-person, contemporaneous account that provides amazing insights into the military service of the Virginia Continental soldiery.

War of 1812
Russell County men served in the 72nd 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, Russell County, p. 102. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry) (Confederate). Companies A, E, and H.
 * - 13th Battalion, Virginia Reserves (Confederate). Company G.
 * - 16th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company A and Company B.
 * - 21st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company E 1st.
 * - 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company A, Company D, Company E, Company I, and Company K.
 * - 29th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A.
 * - 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company K.
 * - 37th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C, Company G, and Company I (New Garden Fearnots).
 * - 48th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Russell Guards).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1860-1865 - Russell County, Virginia 1860-1865
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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)
 * 1888 - Russell County Pension Applications, 1888
 * 1900 - Russell County Civil War Pension Applications 1900
 * Russell County, Virginia Civil War Website

World War I and Later

 * Military discharge records from World War I and later are housed in the courthouse

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization
Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

Newspapers

 * The Geography of Slavery in Virginia: 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.
 * Obituaries and Death Notices of Russell County (Russell Co., VA Civil War Website)
 * Lebanon News mentions of Civil War veterans, 1900-1933 (Russell Co., VA Civil War Website)

Periodicals
Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Russell 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 Family History 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).

Private Papers

 * Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007


 * Knisely, Mary Jane. "An Old Account Book of Russell County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1977):310. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Probate Records

 * Russell County Probate Records (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?

Russell County's original personal property tax books are held at the Library of Virginia. The years 1787 through 1850 were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1993:.

Digitized images for select years are available online and abstracts of many of these records have appeared in print:


 * Personal property &amp; land tax list (no date), Southwest Virginian, Vol. 7 (Mar. 1984)..
 * Tax list [date?], Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 9 (Jun. 1979)..
 * [1786-1818] Land Tax Books, 1786-1818, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Winter 2001).
 * [1787] 1787 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List, Samuel Ritchies List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [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. Online at FamilySearch - free; . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Russell County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1787] Tax list, 1787, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 7 (1979)..
 * [1787-1800] Tax list, 1787 through 1800, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 9 (Apr. 1979)..
 * [1788] 1788 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1788] Tax list, 1788, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 10 (Aug. 1979)..
 * [1788] 1788 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1789] 1789 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1790] 1790 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1790] 1790 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1789] Tax list, 1789, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 11 (Oct. 1979)..
 * [1790] Tax list, 1790, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 12 (1979)..
 * [1790] Personal property and land tax, 1790, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 3, No. 14 (Apr. 1980); Vol. 3, No. 15 (Jun. 1980)..
 * [1791] 1791 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1791] 1791 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1791] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1791, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 3, No. 16 (Aug. 1980); Vol. 3, No. 17 (Oct. 1980)..
 * [1792, 1801] Images of the 1792 and 1801 Personal Property Tax Lists of Russell County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1792] 1792 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1792] 1792 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1792] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1792, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 3, No. 18 (Dec. 1980); Vol. 4, No. 19 (Feb. 1981); Vol. 4, No. 20 (Apr. 1981); Vol. 4, No. 21 (Jun. 1981). ff.
 * [1793] 1793 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1793] 1793 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1793] Personal property &amp; land tax list, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 4, No. 22 (Sep. 1981); Vol. 4, No. 23 (Dec. 1981); Vol. 5, No. 25 (Jun. 1982); Vol. 5, No. 26 (Sep. 1982). ff. [perhaps 1792]
 * [1794] 1794 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List
 * [1794] 1794 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List
 * [1794] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1794, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 5, No. 27 (Dec. 1982); Vol. 6, No. 28 (Jun. 1983); Vol. 6, No. 29 (Jun. 1983). ff.
 * [1795] 1795 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1795] 1795 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1795] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1795, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 6, No. 30 (Sep. 1983); Vol. 6, No. 31 (Dec. 1983)..
 * [1796] 1796 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1796] 1796 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1796] Personal property and tax list, 1796, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 7, No. 32 (Mar. 1984)..
 * [1797] 1797 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1798] 1798 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1799] 1799 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1800] 1800 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1800, 1802, 1810] Tax list, 1800, 1802, 1810, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 1, No. 5 (1978)..
 * [1801] 1801 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1802] 1802 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1803] 1803 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (document scans; Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1809] 1809 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1810] 1810 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [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. Russell County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * [1810] Douthat, James L. 1810 Russell County, Virginia Tax List. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, n.d. Free online surname index at publisher's website.
 * [1814] 1814 Russell County Virginia Land Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [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. Russell County is included in Vol. 5.]
 * [1815] Kegley, Mary B. Southwest Virginia Tax Assessments, 1815: Grayson, Lee, Scott, Russell, Washington, and Wythe Counties. Wytheville, Va.: Kegley Books, 1991. Original edition and 1992 supplement available at . [The source for this publication is a private collection of 1815 tax assessment tickets for the First District of Virginia. The tickets includes landowners' names, number of acres or lots, number of buildings along with descriptions, and number of slaves. N.B. These are not the 1815 land tax books.]
 * [1816] Kincaid, Bathsheba. "Russell County, Virginia Tax Book for 1816," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Fall 1985):177-179..
 * [1821] 1821 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1824] 1824 Russell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * [1841] Personal property tax list, 1841, A-D, Researcher. Chillicothe MO: Jul 1967. Vol. - Iss. 9.

Vital Records

 * Russell County Vital Records (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * Some Naturalizations, Births &amp; Deaths of Russell County, Virginia (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Birth

 * 1853-1866 Birth Index, Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1853-1889 Birth registers, Russell County Public Library
 * 1853-1896 Births, Russell Co. GenWeb
 * 1889-1896 Birth records, Library of Virginia

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1849-1911 Licenses or permissions, Russell County Public Library
 * 1853-1908 Russell County Marriages, 1853-1908 (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * 1848-1853 Lost Marriage Records of Russell County, Virginia 1848-1853 (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * 1853-1908 Russell County Marriage Index 1853-1908. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * Marriage Register of Rev. Alexander Little (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * Some Early Divorces of Russell County, Virginia (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * Some Early Russell County, Virginia Marriage Clues (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * 1900-1935 - Crouse, Randy F. McNew "Russell County, Virginia Marriages, Vol. 1, 1900-1923; vol. 2 1923-1935, 2012-2015. 248 pages. Available at Lulu ($) and FHL. Family History Library Call Number: 975.5755 V22. A transcription of the Russell County, Virginia marriage register, two volumes, covering the years from 1900-1923 and 1923-1935. A total of 7,846 marriages are included in the two volumes with separate indices sorted by groom surname and by bride surname. The register also contains the names of the parents, ages, birthplaces, marital condition, the groom’s occupation and residences of the parties. Marriage and Proportional Occupational Statistics are compiled for each year and there is a summary table and graphs. This will be a valuable aid to genealogical researchers trying to trace family history in Russell County in the early 20th century and also to those interested in social dynamics, demographics, and population statistics of the era. Full color front and back covers. Figures and graphs printed in full color (Hardcover version only, gray-scale in softcover) with black and white text. Available in Full color print version with a handsome Casewrap-hardcover binding and also in a black-and-white, economy softcover, “Perfect Bound” edition.  ISBN volume 1: 9781105658839;  ISBN volume 2: 9781312934078.
 * 2000-present - All marriage licenses after May 2000 are electronic with no paper records at the courthouse

Death

 * 1853-1866 Death Index, Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1853-1896 Death register, Russell County Public Library
 * 1853-1896, 1912-1919 Russell County Deaths (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * From 1961 Death records, available from the Russell County Health Department (released only to immediate family); earlier records are at the Virginia Department of Vital Records in Richmond
 * Russell Countians Found in the Wise County, Virginia Death Register (Russell Co. GenWeb)
 * Some Early 1900s Russell, Scott, and Washington Co., VA Deaths (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Russell County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * General William Campbell Chapter SAR 19770 McCray Drive Abingdon, VA 24211 Phone: 540-623-2442


 * Russell County Public Library: Local History
 * Branches located in Lebanon and Honaker. Visit website for details.

Russell County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
 * Russell County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
 * References for Southwest Virginia (Southwest Virginia Project)
 * Russell County Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Russell County Genealogy and History (Genealogy Trails)
 * Russell County, Virginia (Wikipedia)
 * Russell County, Virginia 1860-1865
 * Virginia Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Russell County, Virginia Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
 * Russell County, Virginia GenWeb (VA GenWeb)
 * Russell County, Virginia U.S. GenWeb Archives (U.S. GenWeb)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List