Grayson County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Grayson County

Southwest Virginia county.





Parent County
1792--Grayson County was created 7 November 1792 from Wythe and Patrick Counties. County seat: Independence

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1800, 1890

Resources
New River Notes

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. "Grayson County Personal Property Tax List, 1805-1818," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Census
For tips on accessing census records online, see Virginia Census.

1790 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1810 - Lost, but a subsitute 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 website. [Includes Grayson County.]

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.]

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. Use this list to:


 * Locate publications about direct ancestors
 * Find the most updated accounts of an ancestor's family
 * Identify publications, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, about an ancestor's "FAN Club" [Friends, Associates, and Neighbors]

General
As of November 2010, a query for individuals born in Grayson, Virginia at World Connect, results in more than 110,000 entries.


 * Nuckolls, B.F. Pioneer Settlers of Grayson County, Virginia. Bristol, Tennessee: The King Printing Company, 1914. 873858 Item 4; 1975 reprint: ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books; and World Vital Records ($). [Chapters on the Bourne, Cornett, Cox, Dickey, Flower, Garland, Goodykoontz, Hale, Hash, Jones, Kenney, Nuckolls, Osborne, Phipps, Reeves, and Swift families.]

Immigration
During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 1 British alien living in Grayson County.

Revolutionary War

 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at FHL. [Includes Grayson 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, Grayson County on page 134.]
 * 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.]

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, Grayson County, p. 82. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

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.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Grayson County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1967):157-159. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * Tax Laws, Local, Glimpses of Grayson, Vol. 9, Nos. 1-2 (Jun. 1988).
 * [1800] "Grayson County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1981):204-210. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors($).
 * [1805-1818] Heinegg, Paul. "Grayson County Personal Property Tax List, 1805-1818," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [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. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Grayson County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * [1810] Tax List, 1810, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 5, No. 27 (Dec. 1982).
 * [1810] Tax List, 1810, Southwest Virginia Ancestors, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring 1995); Vol. 9, No. 2 (Summer 1995).
 * [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. Grayson 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 available at FHL. [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.]

Vital Records

 * Grayson County, VA Marriages 1853-1931. Free Lookups Available!

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
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)