Surry County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Surry County





History


The county is named after the English county of Surrey.

Parent County
1652--Surry County was created in 1652 from James City County. County seat: Surry

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

African American

 * George, W. Herbert. The History of Negro Churches in Surry County, Virginia. 1965?. 1753002 Item 20
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Surry County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1816," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Hudgins, Dennis. Surry County, Virginia Register of Free Negroes. Richmond, Va.: Virginia Genealogical Society, 1995. 975.5562 F2h

Biographies

 * Gwaltney, Anne W. et al. Personal History Departments of Surry and Isle of Wight Counties, Virginia from Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, Special Virginia Edition, c. 1884. 1884; reprint, 1993?. 975.55 D3p

Census
1890 Union Veterans


 * Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website. [Includes residents of this county.]

Church
Church of England


 * Boddie, John Bennett. Births, Deaths and Sponsors, 1717 - 1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 1998. ; digital version at World Vital Records ($).
 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. ; digital version at BYU Family History Archives. [Includes Surry County.]

Quaker


 * Brown, Jane Douglas Summers and Jones Memorial Library. Jane Douglas Summers Brown (1903-) Quaker Records: Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Virginia); MS 1515. MSS, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, Va. Available on 26 microfilms at FHL. [Includes records of Surry County Quakers; Brown assisted "William Wade Hinshaw in the writing of the Virginia volume of the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy."]

Court
County Court


 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake and Robert Barnes. Surry County Records. [1652-1684] 195-?; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. Original edition available at FHL US/CAN Film 483733 Item 2; reprint available at FHL US/CAN Book 975.5562 P2de; digital version at Ancestry ($)' and World Vital Records ($). [Includes court, land, and probate records.]

Genealogy
More than 25 genealogies have been published about Surry County families. To view a list, visit Surry County, Virginia Genealogy.

Immigration

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. "Some Surry County, Virginia, Colonists, 1678-1705," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1979):255-258. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [Arrival lists of indentured servants who appear in Surry County Court Order Books.]
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Surry County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]
 * [http://immigrantservants.com/search/advancedResults.php?surname=&givenName=&varientSurnameSpellings=&gender=&dateOfBirthDay=&dateOfBirthMonth=&dateOfBirthQuantifier=&dateOfBirthYear=&placeOfBirthParish=&placeOfBirthTown=&placeOfBirthCity=&placeOfBirthCounty=&placeOfBirthColony=&placeOfBirthNation=&occupations=&religions=&orphan=&familyPosition=&immigrationYearQualifier=&immigrationYear=&portOfDepartureTown=&portOfDepartureCity=&portOfDepartureCounty=&portOfDepartureNation=&placeOfArrivalTown=&placeOfArrivalCounty=&placeOfArrivalColony=&shipName=&convict=&yearOfIndentureQualifier=&yearOfIndenture=&lengthOfIndentureYears=&lengthOfIndentureMonths=&yearOfFreedomQualifier=&yearOfFreedom=&placeOfIndentureTown=&placeOfIndentureCity=&placeOfIndentureCounty=Surry&placeOfIndentureColony=Virginia&agentSurname=&agentGivenName=&agentTitle=&masterSurname=&masterGivenName=&masterTitle=&residenceParish=&residenceTown=&residenceCity=&residenceCounty=&residenceColony=&residenceNation=&landowner=&literate=&spouseSurname=&spouseGivenName=&spouseMarriageDateDay=&spouseMarriageDateMonth=&spouseMarriageDateQualifier=&spouseMarriageDateYear=&spouseMarriageLocationParish=&spouseMarriageLocationCounty=&spouseMarriageLocationColony=&spouseMarriageLocationNation=&deathDateDay=&deathDateMonth=&deathDateQualifier=&deathDateYear=&deathLocality=&deathCounty=&deathColony=&deathState=&testate=&proofServantStatus=&proofConvictStatus=&headright=&preServitudeSources=&postServitudeSources=&comments=&family=&sourceCitations=&interestedResearchers= List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Colonial Surry County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Deeds


 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake and Robert Barnes. Surry County Records. [1652-1684] 195-?; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. Original edition available at FHL US/CAN Film 483733 Item 2; reprint available at FHL US/CAN Book 975.5562 P2de; digital version at Ancestry ($)' and World Vital Records ($). [Includes court, land, and probate records.]

Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 592 patents dated 1619-1788 in what is now Surry County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2001. [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.]
 * Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1666. Vol. I (1934; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1991). Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Surry County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]

Colonial Militia

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Surry County militia officers and/or soldiers; see place name index.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Surry County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Surry County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]
 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at FHL; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Surry County, see p. 101.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Surry County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

 * 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, Eastern District, Surry County on page 133.]
 * 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." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette(1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburgwebsite. In addition, 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 this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Probate
Unrecorded Wills


 * Livingston, Virginia Pope. "Unrecorded Wills of Surry County, Virginia, 1759-1844," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1969):51-55. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Wills


 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake. Wills and Administrations of Surry County, Virginia, 1671 - 1750. [Smithfield, VA: s.n.], c1955. Available FHL US/CAN Book 975.5562 P2d, and FHL US/CAN Film 928168 Item 2, Reprint FHL US/CAN Book 975.5562 P2d 1980. Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Local Court


 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake and Robert Barnes. Surry County Records. [1652-1684] 195-?; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. Original edition available at FHL US/CAN Film 483733 Item 2; reprint available at FHL US/CAN Book 975.5562 P2de; digital version at Ancestry ($)' and World Vital Records ($). [Includes court, land, and probate records.]
 * Hopkins, William Lindsay. Some Wills from the Burned Counties of Virginia and Other Wills Not Listed in Virginia Wills and Administrations 1632-1800. Richmond, Virginia: W.L. Hopkins, 1987. Available at FHL. [Includes Surry County.]

London Courts


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Surry County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Surry County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):125-127. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1668] "Census of Tithables in Surry County in the Year 1668," William and Mary College Quarterly, 1st Series, Vol. 8 (1900):160-164. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1668-1703] MacDonald, Edgar and Richard Slatten. Surry County (Virginia) Tithables, 1668-1703. Baltimore, Maryland: Clearfield, 2007. Available at FHL.
 * [1668-1670] Tithables, 1668, 1669, 1670, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 1.
 * [1673] Annual co. levy, unlawful assembly, advices, 1673, Colonial Williamsburg. Williamsburg VA: Spring 2003. Vol. 25 Iss. 1.
 * [1673-1675] Tithables, 1673, 1674, 1675, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: May 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 2.
 * [1677-1679] Tithables, 1677, 1678, 1679, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Aug 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 3.
 * [1680-1682] Tithables, 1680, 1681, 1682, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Nov 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 4.
 * [1683-1685] Tithables, 1683, 1684, 1685, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 1.
 * [1686-1688] Tithables, 1686, 1687, 1688, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: May 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 2.
 * [1689-1691] Tithables, 1689, 1690, 1691, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Aug 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 3.
 * [1692-1694] Tithables, 1692, 1693, 1694, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Nov 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 4.
 * [1695-1697] Tithables, 1695, 1696, 1697, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 1986. Vol. 24 Iss. 1.
 * [1698-1700] Tithables, 1698, 1699, 1700, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: May 1986. Vol. 24 Iss. 2.
 * [1701-1703] Tithables, 1701, 1702, 1703, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Aug 1986. Vol. 24 Iss. 3.
 * [1704] "Virginia Quit Rent Rolls, 1704," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 28 (1920):207-218, 328-339; Vol. 29 (1921):18-28, 337-343, 402-412; Vol. 30 (1922):21-30, 280-285, 341-347; Vol. 31 (1923):70-75, 153-163, 215-231, 314-318; Vol. 32 (1924):69-75, 144-158, 281-287, 338-343; Vol. 33 (1925):47-50, 359-370; Vol. 34 (1926):113-119, 252-258, 313, 321. Available at FHL; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at FHL; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Surry County appears in 29:18-28.]
 * [1782-1821] Heinegg, Paul. "Surry County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1816," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [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. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Surry County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1790, 1800] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Surry County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1790, 1799] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1799 Land Tax Lists of Surry County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Surry County is included in Vol. 3.]

Vital Records
Birth


 * Boddie, John Bennett. Births, Deaths and Sponsors, 1717 - 1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 1998. Available at FHL. Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Marriage


 * Knorr, Catherine Lindsay. Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns of Surry County, Virginia, 1768-1825. Pine Bluff, Arkansas: C.L. Knorr, 1960. Available at FHL. Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1961):41. Review available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

Death


 * Boddie, John Bennett. Births, Deaths and Sponsors, 1717 - 1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 1998. Available at FHL. Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog