Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Tazewell 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
Tazewell County lies in the Southwest Appalachian area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named in honor of Senator Henry Tazewell who made the motion to create the county.

Tazewell County, Virginia Courthouse
Tazewell County, Virginia 315 School Street P O Box 968 Tazewell, Virginia 24651 540-988-7541

Clerk Circuit Court has birth and death records 1853-1870, marriage probate and land records from 1800 and court records from 1832

Tazewell County, Virginia History


The county is named after Henry Tazewell (1753-1799), a Revolutionary War Captain and Virginia politician.

Parent County
1799--Tazewell County was created 17 December 1799 from Russell and Wythe Counties. County seat: Tazewell

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 censuses: 1800, 1810, 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:

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Tazewell County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1979):218-220. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African American

 * 1865-1872 Freedmen's Bureau
 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Tazewell County.

Biography

 * Brock, R.A. Virginia and Virginians: Tazewell County: Eminent Virginians, 1606-1888. Richmond, Va.: H.H. Hardesty, 1888. 1998 reprint: . Online index is available.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
1790 - Lost.

1800 - Lost.

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

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. Includes Tazewell County.

1890 Union Veterans


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

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):


 * Bluestone Monthly Meeting (1781-1783)

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexed images to Tazewell County, Virginia Chancery Records 1800-1920 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, which were often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

County Court


 * "Tazewell County, Virginia, Order Book 1800-1810, Selected Entries," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1971):61-70; Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1971):121. Available at American Ancestors ($). [Project cancelled once it was learned that Netti Schreiner-Yantis was preparing to publish a complete transcript of this order book.]

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete

Genealogy
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
 * See Tazewell County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 125+ 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


 * Gose, George B. Pioneers of the Virginia Bluegrass (and Their Descendants). Radford, Va.: Commonwealth Press, n.d. Available.


 * Harman, John Newton. Annals of Tazewell County, Virginia, From 1800 to 1922. 2 vols. 1922-1925. Digital version at Ancestry ($); . Includes genealogies of many early Tazewell County families: Baldwin, Bandy, Barns, Bowen, Chapman, Copenhaver, Coulling, Crockett, Gillespie, Gose, Graham, Graybeal, Greever, Hankins, Harman, Higginbotham, Holmes, Hopkins, Linkous, Litz, Lockhart, Moss, Maxwell, Martin, May, Mays, Moore, McGuire, Peery, Sparks, Stras, Thompson, Ward, Whitley, Williams, Witten, Wohlford-Mustard, Yost, Young, and others.


 * Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. Archives of the Pioneers of Tazewell County, Virginia. Springfield, Va.: N. Schreiner-Yantis, 1973. ; Free Lookups Available!

Land and Property
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.


 * Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. Available at . Includes Tazewell County, Virginia.

Local Histories

 * Bickley, George W.L. and J. Allen Neal. History of the Settlement and Indian Wars of Tazewell County, Virginia. Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Print. Co., 1974. Available at.
 * Bundy, Nellie White. Sketches of Tazewell County, Virginia's Early History. Virginia?: Historic Crab Orchard Museum, 1976. Available at.
 * Harman, John Newton. Annals of Tazewell County, Virginia from 1800 to 1922 in Two Volumes. Richmond: W.C. Hill Print. Co., 1922-1925. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Pendleton, William C. History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia, 1748-1920. 4 parts. Richmond, Va.: W.C. Hill Printing Co., 1920. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($), Google Books, FamilySearch Digital Library.

Revolutionary War

 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Includes Tazewell 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, Tazewell 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.

War of 1812
Tazewell County men served in the 112th Regiment.


 * Tazewell County, Virginia Soldiers who served in the War of 1812
 * 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, Tazewell County, p. 106. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Civil War

 * - 5th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry) (Confederate). Company G probably recruited in Tazewell County.


 * - 8th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company H (Tazewell Troop)
 * - 13th Battalion, Virginia Reserves (Confederate). Company B.
 * - 14th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Company K
 * - 16th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Companies C, F, and I.
 * - 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company F, Company H, and Company I.
 * - 23rd Battalion, Virginia Infantry Reserves (Confederate). Company C and Company D.
 * - 34th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Witcher's Battalion, Virginia Mounted Rifles) (Confederate). Company C (McDowell Partisan Rangers) and Company E.
 * - 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company K.
 * - 45th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Floyd Guard), Company G (West Augusta Rifles), Company H (Tazewell Rangers), and Company K (Tazewell Boys).
 * - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C.
 * - 51st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company L.

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 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)

World War I

 * Virginia War History Commission. Virginia World War memorial records, county of Tazewell, 1928-1964

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and 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.


 * 1887-1922 - Clinch Valley News at Chronicling America - free.
 * 2010-present - Richlands News-Press at Genealogy Bank ($).

Occupations

 * Stevenson, John J. "Notes on the Quinnimont Coal Group in Mercer Co. of West Virginia and Tazewell Co. of Virginia Notes on the Quinnimont Coal Group in Mercer Co. of West Virginia and Tazewell Co. of Virginia," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 19, No. 109 (Jun.-Dec. 1881):498-505. Available at JSTOR ($).

Private Papers

 * Virginia,

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1800 - 1832 - Images of Wills and Estates. Virginia Pioneers ($)

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?

Bibliography


 * 1801-1820 Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. Archives of the Pioneers of Tazewell County, Virginia. Springfield, Va.: N. Schreiner-Yantis, c1973..
 * 1802 Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1802 Tazewell County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List, available online, courtesy: New River Notes.
 * 1810Schreiner-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 lists. Tazewell County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.
 * 1810 Tazewell County, Virginia, 1810 [Personal Property] Tax List. [Signal Mountain, Tennessee?: Mountain Press?, n.d.] Available at.
 * 1810 Tax list, 1810, Southwest Virginian. Norton VA: Feb 1981. Vol. 4 Iss. 19.
 * 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. Tazewell County is included in Vol. 5.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Compiled Tazewell Co. Birth Index (VAGenWeb) - free.

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).


 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
 * 1800-1949 - Compiled Tazewell County Marriage Index (VAGenWeb) - free.
 * Marriages - Bonds 1801-1845;1845-1853. Virginia Pioneers ($)


 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries
Tazewell County Public Library 310 East Main Street PO Box 929 Tazewell, VA 24651 Phone: (276) 988-2541 Fax: (276) 988-5980

Family History Centers
To locate the closest family history center or affiliate library, use the link listed above.

Tazewell County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * VAGenWeb
 * USGenWeb
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List