Bland County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Bland 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
Bland County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. Bland County was named after Richard Bland, a leader of Colonial Virginia.

Bland County Virginia Courthouse
Bland County Courthouse 612 Main Street, Suite 104 Bland, VA 24315 Phone: 540-688-4562

Clerk Circuit court has marriage, probate and land records 1861 and divorce records from 1900

Bland County Virginia History


The county was named after Richard Bland (1710-1776), Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775.

Parent County
1861--Bland County was created 30 March 1861 from Giles, Tazewell and Wythe Counties. County seat: Bland

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes, Rotating Formation Virginia County Boundary Maps (1617-1995) may be viewed at MapofUS.

Record Loss
1888 Most loose papers were destroyed by a courthouse fire in 1888. Bound volumes, and some of the chancery papers remain.

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: Bland County. By John Frederick Dorman. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1961):77-78. CD available at: New England Ancestors ($).

African Americans

 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans in Bland County.

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 -

Chancery Court

 * Indexed images of Bland County, Virginia Chancery Records 1874-1928 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. The online indexes continues from 1928 through 1938, but at present does not include images. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete

Genealogy

 * See Bland County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies, for a few published books and articles.

See also: Virginia Compiled Genealogies

Local Histories

 * History of Bland County, Virginia. c1961. By Bland County Centennial Corporation. Radford, Virginia : Bland County Centennial Corporation..
 * Little Walkers Creek : A History of the Land and Its People. c2005. By Rebecca Cox Sowers. Franklin, Tennessee : American History Imprints..

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... 1883. Washington, DC : Government Printing Office. Online at: Internet Archive, Google Books. See Vol. 5, Virginia, Bland County, p. 64.

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry

Bland County men most often served in regiments (and companies) from their home county. At times, however, individuals and small groups can be found serving in regiments from neighboring counties. Later in the war, Confederate units often reorganized.


 * - 8th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company F (Bland Rangers)
 * - 36th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate).
 * - 45th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Sharpshooters).
 * - 47th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company B.
 * - 51st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (or K).


 * History of Bland County, Virginia. c1961. By Bland County Centennial Corporation. Radford, Virginia : Bland County Centennial Corporation. . Includes names of units from this county and a roster of the men who served in these units on pages 259-277.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 -

Taxation

 * 1890 - Bland County, Virginia Property Tax Records. 2004. By Denise A. Smith. Signal Mountain, TN : Mountain Press. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1861-1896 - Bland County, Virginia Births: 1861-96. 2000. By Beth Fridley. Provo, UT : The Generations Network, Inc. Online at: Ancestry ($).
 * 1912-1913 -

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages Online at: FindMyPast ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1861-1929 - Bland County Marriage Index 1861-1929. Batch.
 * 1936-1988 -

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 -

Death

 * 1912-1987 -

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

Bland County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Bland Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * Bland County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List