Amherst County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Amherst County is located in the Piedmont region near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named in honor of Lord Jeffery Amherst, British Commander-in-Chief.

County Courthouse
Amherst County Courthouse 113 Taylor Street Amherst, Virginia, 24521 Phone: 434-946-9351 Amherst County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate court and land records from 1761

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:

History Timeline


The county was named after Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst (1717-1797). Amherst conquered what is now Canada for the British during the French and Indian War.

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
1783 Enumeration
 * Amherst County Heads of Families - 1783 at U.S. Census Bureau. County begins on page 47.

1785 Enumeration
 * Amherst County Heads of Families - 1785 at U.S. Census Bureau. County begins on page 83.

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

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
 * 1) Buffaloe River (by 1771). Edwards published a membership list dated 1771 in Materials Towards a History of the Baptists... (1772), 66.
 * 2) Ebenezer (1773)

Amherst County fell within the bounds of the Albemarle Association.

Church of England See also Amherst Parish See also Lexington Parish Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Amherst County is online at: Internet Archive
 * Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Amherst County is online at: Internet Archive

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records

Chancery Court
 * Amherst County Chancery Suits. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul., 1939), pp. 318-324. Online at: JSTOR ($). Loose chancery papers, also discusses Sweeny's discovery of Amherst's Revolutionary-era court order book.
 * Indexed images of Amherst County, Virginia Chancery Records 1773-1879 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. Additional records are also available at the Amherst County Courthouse. These records, often concerned inheritance disputes and contain a wealth of genealogical information.

County Court
 * Amherst County Chancery Suits. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul., 1939), pp. 318-324. Online at: JSTOR ($). Loose chancery papers, also discusses Sweeny's discovery of Amherst's Revolutionary-era court order book.

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
 * Amherst County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1822. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans.
 * Strangers in Their Midst the Free Black Population of Amherst County, Virginia. 1993. By Sherrie S. McLeRoy. Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books. Online at: eBook-Unlimited ($), AncestorStuff ($), ; . Information was taken from the register of free blacks, census listings, tax records, deeds, wills, marriages and land plats. Time period covers 1761-1865.
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans in Amherst County.
 * Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. c2005. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans of North Carolina and Virginia..

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 Amherst County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 225+ published books and Articles, or jump to a surname using the alphabet bar.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families:
 * Hardesty, H.H., James S. Presgraves, Jay Cregger, and Diane Neeley. Amherst County Families and History: Compiled from Henry Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopaedia. Wytheville, Va.: J. Presgraves, 1995.
 * Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. 2005-present. - free online book. Ailstock, Ampey, Arnold, Beverly, Brannum, Clark, Coy, Evans, Ferrar, Fields, Fortune, Hailstock, Hartless, Humbles, Jackson, Jenkins, Johns, Key, Lansford, Lantor, Mallory, Mason, Peters, Pinn, Redcross, Sneed, Thomas, Valentine, and Viers families of pre-1820 Amherst County, Virginia.
 * Pritchett, John W. Southside Virginia Genealogies. CD-ROM. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. Free online index, courtesy: Virginians - The Family History of John W. Pritchett. [Includes information about residents of Amherst County, see discussion of cited sources.].
 * Seaman, Catherine Hawes Coleman. Tuckahoes and Cohees: The Settlers and Cultures of Amherst and Nelson Counties 1607-1807. Sweet Brier, Va.: Sweet Briar College Printing Press, 1992.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Grants and Patents


 * Bannister, 971 patents dated 1738-1844 in what is now Amherst and Nelson Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2005. 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.

Local Histories
Officials
 * Amherst County Magistrates, 1779-1798. By Aubrey H. Starke. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1960):125-126. Available at . CD available at: New England Ancestors ($).

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Military Records
French and Indian War
 * Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. By William F. Boogher. 2007. Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co. Online at: Internet Archive; . 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 Amherst County, see p. 104.
 * Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. By Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. 1988. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Available at .  Online at: Ancestry ($). Identifies some Amherst County veterans; see place name.

Revolutionary War
 * "Petition by the Men of the Amherst County, Virginia Militia who fought at the Battle of Camden," transcribed by James Lynch.
 * 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. Washington : Blair and Rives. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($); . See Virginia, Eastern District, Amherst County on page 128.
 * Amherst County. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct., 1929), p. 324. Online at: JSTOR ($). List, found in private papers, which appears to identify payments made to Amherst County residents for Revolutionary War provisions.
 * Index to Revolutionary Pension and Bounty-Land Documents at the Library of Virginia. 2012. Compiled by C. Leon Harris. Online at: Library of Virginia.
 * 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. Virginia section begins on page 238.
 * Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: McAllister's Data. By J. T. McAllister. c1913. Hot Springs, Virginia : McAllister Pub. Co. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive;.

Regiments. Service men in Amherst County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Accomack County supplied soldiers for the:
 * - 6th Virginia Regiment
 * - 10th Virginia Regiment

War of 1812 Amherst County men served in the 90th Regiments.
 * 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... 1883. Washington, D.C : Government Printing Office. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Amherst County, p. 61.
 * Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. By James L. Douthat. 2007. Signal Mountain, Tenn : Mountain Press. Mountain Press provides online surname list..

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)
 * Amherst County Families and History. Compiled from Henry Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopaedia. Inc. Includes the reigments that served, campaigns and unit rosters on pages 5-19.

Civil War service men in Amherst 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 Cavalry (Confederate). Company E (Amherst Mounted Rangers)
 * - 19th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (The Southern Rights Guard) and Company I (The Amherst Rifles).
 * - 20th Battalion, Virginia Heavy Artillery (Confederate). Company D.
 * - 49th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Amherst Rough and Readys) were presumably from Amherst County.
 * - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Pedlar Mills Guard).

Records and histories are available, including:

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

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

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. 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.

Other Records
Petitions
 * A Calendar of Legislative Petitions Arranged by Counties Accomac - Bedford (Virginia State Library). By H.J. Eckenrode. 1908. Richmond, Virginia : Davis Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. Online at: HathiTrust. Amherst County petitions (1775-1856) are described on pp. 107-132.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1633-1800 Wills and Estate Records Index at Library of Virginia.
 * 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Digital Images of Amherst County Wills 1810-1831; 1832-1897. See names of Testators. Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Virginia Wills Before 1799: A Complete Abstract Register of All Names Mentioned in Over Six Hundred Recorded Wills, ... Copied from the Court House Records of Amherst, Bedford, Campbell, Loudoun, Prince William and Rockbridge Counties. 1924. By William M. Clemens. Pompton Lakes, NJ : Biblio Co. Online at: Access Genealogy, Ancestry ($). Mountain Press provides online surname list for their 2004 reprint.

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
 * 1782 Personal Property Tax List. Online at Genealogy Trails.
 * 1782-1822 Amherst County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1822. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans.
 * 1782-1851 Amherst County, Virginia Personal property tax lists, 1782-1851. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.; microfilmed reproduction available at - images.
 * 1783 Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783. Online at: Revolutionary War Service.
 * 1787 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 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. By Netti Schreiner-Yantis and Florene Speakman Love. c1987. Springfield, Virginia : Genealogical Books in Print. . Amherst County is included in Vol. 1.
 * 1800 Amherst County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1961):80-84; Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1961):125-130; Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):155-160; Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1962):18-22. ; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
 * 1800 Tax List, 1800. Bedford Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 2 (May 1998); Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1998); Vol. 9, No. 4 (Nov. 1998).
 * 1815 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). By Roger D. Ward. c1997. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co. ..

Birth

 * 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
 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages - Findmypast ($).
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1753-1783, 1763-1852 Amherst County Marriages 1753-1783, 1763-1852 Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1815-1821 Marriage Records of Amherst County, 1815-1821. 1961. By Lenora Higginbotham Sweeny. Lynchburg, VA : n.p..
 * 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

 * Deaths are online in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society.
 * 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 — How to Use this Collection; index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Buckingham Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Buena Vista Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Lynchburg Virginia FamilySearch Center


 * Jefferson - Madison Regional Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Central Virginia Genealogical Association

Websites

 * Amherst County, Virginia USGENWEB
 * 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: Amherst County. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1960):38-40., CD available at: American Ancestors ($).