Lee County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Lee County is located in the far southwestern corner of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares borders with Kentucky and Tennessee. Lee County is named for Henry Lee, Governor of Virginia, 1791-1794.

County Courthouse
Lee County Courthouse 33640 Main Street PO Box 326 Jonesville, VA 24263-0326 Phone: 540-346-7763 Lee County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has birth and death records 1853-1877, marriage records from 1830, divorce records from 1832, probate records from 1800, and court and land records from 1793

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
1790 See Parent County. 1800 Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation. 1810 Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1830
 * Simmons, Don. Lee County, Virginia, Census of 1830. [Virginia?]: D. Simmons, 1976. Available at ; digital version at MyHeritage ($).

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 Lee County.

1890 Union Veterans' Census
 * 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. Includes this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist Early Baptist churches (with years constituted): Lee County fell within the bounds of the Holston and Mountain Associations.
 * 1) Deep Spring (1797)

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Lee Circuit Court
 * Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index can be used to search for digital images of Lee County chancery records for the years 1857-1912.

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
 * 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 records related to African Americans of Lee 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 Lee 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
 * Bicentennial Book Committee et al. Bicentennial History of Lee County, Virginia 1792-1992. n.p.: Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society and Don Mills, 1992. 975.5735 H2b
 * Laningham, Anne Wynn and Hattie Byrd Muncy Bales. Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and Adjacent Counties. 2 vols. Greensboro, N.C.: Media, Inc., 1977. 975.5735 D2L v. 1
 * Lockwood, Frances B. and Hattie Byrd Muncy Bales. Annotations, Corrections and Additions to Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia and Adjacent Counties. 1978. 975.5735 D2L v. 2 supp

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

 * Historical Facts of Lee County, Virginia. Pennington Gap, Va.: Pennington High School, 1930. ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Military Records
Revolutionary War War of 1812
 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at . Includes Lee County pensioners.
 * 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 ($). 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Lee County on page 135.
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. 973 M2Lp v. 5. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Lee County, p. 87. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Regiments. Lee County men served in the 94th 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 Lee 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:
 * - 1st Regiment, Virginia Artillery (Confederate)
 * - 20th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate) - possibly from Lee County
 * - 25th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company B, Company G (Lee Rangers), Company H, and Company I (Lee Rangers aka Lee Greys).
 * - 32nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate) -possibly from Lee County
 * - 37th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company E (Walnut Hill Company).
 * - 48th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (Lee County Guards).
 * - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Lee Rifles), Company B, and Company G (2nd).
 * - 64th Regiment, Virginia Mounted Infantry (Confederate). Companies A, B, C1, C2. - Lee Home Guard

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

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.

Other Records
Private Papers
 * Bell, Annie W.B. Southwest Virginia Historical Records: Family Bible Records of the People Living in Lee County, Virginia Adjoining Historical Cumberland Gap, Tennessee One Year Before the Civil War Began, During which the Families were Separated, Many Never to Meet Again, as Taken from the 1860 Census of the United States ... 195-?..

Periodicals
Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin Genealogical articles with abstracts of Lee 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 FamilySearch 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).

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1633-1800 Wills and Estate Records Index at Library of Virginia.
 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1793-1944 General Index to Wills and Estates Virginia Pioneers.net ($)
 * 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

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records

The original Lee County Personal Property Tax Lists are held at the Library of Virginia. The FamilySearch Library has acquired microfilms the Library of Virginia made for the years 1795-1850:.

The original Lee County Land Tax Lists are held at the Library of Virginia. The FamilySearch Library does not have microfilm copies of these records, but has acquired abstracts for select years published in genealogical journals.

Lee County is also fortunate in being part of the First Tax District whose detailed 1815 records survive in the Kincade Private Papers. The FamilySearch Library has acquired a microfilm copies of these records from the Library of Virginia: and. These records were also abstracted, published, and indexed by Kegley (see below).


 * 1795-1805 1795-1805 Lee County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists; indexes online at New River Notes.
 * 1795-1799 1795-1799 Lee County, Virginia Land Tax Lists; indexes online at New River Notes.
 * 1795-1850 Lee County, Virginia Personal property tax lists of Lee County, 1795-1850. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.; microfilmed reproduction available at - images.
 * 1806 Kincaid, Bathsheba W. "Lee County, Virginia 1806 Land Tax Book," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Summer 1986):129-130; Vol. 5, No. 3 (Fall 1986):195-198..
 * 1807 Kincaid, Bathsheba W. "Lee County, Virginia 1807 Land Tax Book," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Fall 1986):198-199; Vol. 5, No. 4 (Winter 1986):263-267..
 * 1809 Kincaid, Bathsheba W. "Lee County, Virginia 1809 Land Tax Book," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Spring 1987):33-34; Vol. 6, No. 2 (Summer 1987):120-123; Vol. 6, No. 3 (Fall 1987):191-192..
 * 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. . The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Lee County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.
 * 1810 Kincaid, Bathsheba W. "Lee County, Virginia 1810 Land Tax Book," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Summer 1987):120-123; Vol. 6, No. 3 (Fall 1987):192-193; Vol. 6, No. 4 (Winter 1987):276-277; Vol. 7, No. 1 (Spring 1988):61-62; Vol. 7, No. 3 (Fall 1988):190-192. ff.
 * 1812 Kincaid, Bathsheba W. "Lee County, Virginia 1812 Land Tax Book," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Fall 1989):169-175..
 * 1815 Kincaid, Bathsheba. "Lee County, Virginia Tax Book for 1815," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Fall 1985):175-176..
 * 1815 Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. . [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Lee 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: and . 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.
 * 1835 1835 Lee County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List; index online at New River Notes.

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

 * 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * Book 1 Lee County Marriages at VAGenWeb
 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index ($) — index $
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1851-1929 Virginia Marriages 1851-1929 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 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

 * Cumberland Gap Tennessee FamilySearch Center
 * Kingsport Tennessee FamilySearch Center


 * Washington County Public Library - Main Library - an affiliate library

Websites

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


 * – 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.