Greensville County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Greensville County is located in the southeastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with North Carolina. Greensville County was probably named for Sir Richard Grenville, leader of the settlement on Roanoke Island, 1585. There is also belief that it may be named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army and second-in-command to General George Washington.

County Courthouse
Greensville County Courthouse 337 South Main Street Emporia, VA 23847-0631 Phone: 434-348-4215 Greensville County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, land and probate records from 1781, divorce and court records from 1900

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 is believed to have been named after English explorer Sir Richard Grenville (1542-1591).

Bible Records

 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Biographies

 * Brown, Douglas Summers. Historical and Biographical Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, 1650-1967. Emporia, Va.: The Riparian Woman's Club, 1968..

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records
1783 Enumeration
 * Greensville County Heads of Families - 1783 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 54.

1890 Union Veterans
 * 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 this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist Early Baptist churches (with years constituted): Greensville County fell within the bounds of the Meherrin Association.
 * 1) Fountain's Creek (1787)
 * 2) Zion (1806)

Church of England See also Meherrin Parish See also St. Andrew's Parish

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records

County Court Chancery Court
 * Goodwyn, Dora Hedges. "Notes from the Records of Greensville County," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jul., 1913):31-38. ; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Partial abstracts of Greensville County Court Order Book 1.]
 * Goodwyn, W. Samuel. "Officers Recommended and Qualified for the Militia of Greensville County, Virginia, 1782-1815," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Oct., 1918):96-103; Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jan., 1919):176-184 . ; digital version at JSTOR ($). [Abstracted from Greensville County Court Order Books.]
 * Library of Virginia's Chancery Records Index can be used to search for Greensville County chancery records for the years 1782-1924. Digital images are available for the years 1782-1899. Indexed information and original records available up until 1927 - see online catalog or contact Archives Research Services for availability.

Emigration and Immigration

 * Ljungstedt, Milnor. "Items from Southern Records" [Showing Family and Trade Connections with Northern Colonies and the Home Countries], The American Genealogist, Vol. 15 (1938):95-104. Online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [Greensville Co., VA surname: Harris]

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
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Greensville County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1830," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized images of African Americans of Greensville 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 Greensville 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
 * Brown, Douglas Summers et al. Historical and Biographical Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, 1650-1967. Emporia, Va.: Riparian Woman's Club, 1968. Available at Virginia Historical Society.
 * D.A.R. Hicksford Chapter (Emporia, Va.). Biographies of the Revolutionary War Ancestors and History of the Hicksford Chapter: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Va.: Hicksford Chapter, NSDAR, 1992..
 * Doyle, Stuart W. Roots Exposed the Lineage and Interrelationships of 15 Family Branches from Virginia's Sussex, Southampton and Greensville Counties. [Orlando, Fla.]: S.W. Doyle, 2002. 929.273 D772ds.  ISBN-13: 978-0-692-07598-2.  Library of Congress Control Number: 2002276293.  Includes Clanton, Graves, Heath, Hill, Hunnicutt, Maine, Massenburg, Reese, Seaborne, Smith, Vaughan, West, Wright and related families.
 * Joyner, Ulysses P. They Crossed the Blackwater: The First Settlers of Southampton County, Virginia. Orange, Va.: U.P. Joyner, 2001/2003..
 * 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 a great deal of information about residents of Greensville County, see discussion of cited sources..

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 694 patents dated 1715-1800 in what is now Greensville County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2000. 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

 * Brown, Douglas Summers, Virginia Lee Baker, Eleanor Little Eanes, and L. Ralph Slagle eds. Historical and Biographical Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, 1650-1967. Emporia, Va.: The Riparian Woman's Club, 1968. Reviewed by Herbert C. Bradsham in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 77, No. 4 (Oct., 1969):506-507. Review available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, Second Edition, 1968-2000.

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. ; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Greensville County's 1788 Delinquent List appears on pp. 127-128.
 * Elliott, Katherine B. Emigration to Other States from Southside Virginia. 2 vols. South Hill, Virginia: K.B. Elliott, 1966. Vol. 1 of original edition at ; 1983 reprints (both volumes) at ; 1990-1992 reprints (both volumes) also at . Includes individuals who migrated out of Greensville County to other parts of the country.

Military Records
Revolutionary War
 * Douthat, James L. 1782 Greensville County, Virginia Property Valuation Impressed During Revolutionary War. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2010. Mountain Press provides online surname list.
 * 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: . See Virginia, Eastern District, Greensville County on page 130.
 * 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.

Militia
 * Goodwyn, W. Samuel. "Officers Recommended and Qualified for the Militia of Greensville County, Virginia, 1782-1815," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Oct., 1918):96-103; Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jan., 1919):176-184 . ; digital version at JSTOR ($). Abstracted from Greensville County Court Order Books.

War of 1812
 * Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2007. Mountain Press provides online surname list. . Includes Greensville County.
 * 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. ; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. See Vol. 5, Virginia, Greenville County [sic], p. 82. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Regiments. Greensville County men served in the 50th 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 Greensville 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:
 * - 5th Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Wilson's)(Archer's)(Confederate).
 * - 12th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Huger Grays) and Company I (Meherrin Grays).

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.

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, ($)
 * 1781-1816 Digital Images of Greensville County Wills 1781 to 1816. See names of Testators. Virginia Pioneers


 * Images of Wills 1781 - 1806; 1806 - 1816. Virginia Pioneers ($)

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

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records How can Virginia tax lists help me?
 * 1782-1830 Heinegg, Paul. "Greensville County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1830," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
 * 1783 - Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783; index online at Revolutionary War Service website - free.
 * 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. . The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Greensville County is included in Vol. 1.
 * 1788 Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. ; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Greensville County's 1788 Delinquent List appears on pp. 127-128.
 * 1789, 1798 Indexed images of the 1789 and 1798 Personal Property Tax Lists of Greensville County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * 1800 Tax List, 1800, The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Apr. 1982); Vol. 26, No. 3 (Jul. 1982)..
 * 1815 Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. . The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Greensville County is included in Vol. 2.

Birth

 * 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 ($)
 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index, ($) — index $
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1781-1853 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1781-1853. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1861-1876 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1861-1876. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1876-1888 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1876-1888. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1888-1897 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1888-1897. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1897-1901 - Greensville County Marriage Index 1897-1901. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index & images

Family History Centers

 * Bennetts Creek Virginia Family History Center
 * Chesapeake Virginia Family History Center
 * Elizabeth River Virginia Family History Center
 * Franklin Virginia Family History Center


 * Richard H Thornton Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Greensville Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * Cyndi's List
 * Virginia Pioneers ($). This is a pay website; however, you can see names of testators (wills) for free.


 * – 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

 * Dorman, John Frederick. "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Greensville County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1968):107-108. ; online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).