Buckingham County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Buckingham County is located in the central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the origin of its name is unknown. Some surmise it was named for either a person or place in England; it is the only Buckingham County in the United States.

County Courthouse
Buckingham County Courthouse 13061 West James Anderson Hwy. P.O. Box 107 Buckingham, VA 23921-0107 Phone: 434-969-4734 Buckingham County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has birth and death records from 1896, marriage, divorce and probate records from 1869.

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 origin of the county's name is disputed. Some argue it was named after the Duke of Buckingham, others point to the English city or county of Buckingham, while others point out that Archibald Cary's estate was named Buckingham.

Bible Records

 * Harris-Stinson-Carter-Wood-Branch Bible Record, Buckingham County, Virginia. By Hubert M. Stinson. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1980):41-43. CD available at: American Ancestors ($).
 * 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Payne Family Bible, Buckingham County, Virginia, and Micapony, Florida. By Caroline Tiedeman Moore. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1974):304. CD available at: American Ancestors ($).

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Buckingham Burials: A Survey of Cemeteries in Buckingham County, Virginia. c1997. By Janice J. R. Hull, Historic Buckingham, Inc. Alexandria, VA : Hearthside Press. Vol. 2..
 * Cemeteries of Buckingham County. Online at: VAGenWeb.

Census Records
Since the 1790 and 1800 Census were burned, tax lists may be used as a substitute. See the "Taxation" section below.
 * Census and Related Documents of Buckingham County. Online at: VAGenWeb.

1850 Census In 1850, census enumerators uncharacteristically recorded both the state and county of birth of residents of half of Buckingham County's population.

1890 Union Veterans
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. c1994. By Ronald Ray Turner. Online at: Prince William County Virginia, ;.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places


 * Churches of Buckingham County. Online atVAGenWeb.

Baptist Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
 * 1) Buckingham (1771). Records were published in 1993:.
 * Materials towards a history of the American Baptists. 1770. By Morgan Edwards. Philadelphia, PA : Joseph Crukshank and Isaac Collins. Online at: Internet Archive (1772), 83.

Buckingham County fell within the bounds of the Appomattox Association.
 * 1) Providence (1774)
 * 2) Slate River (1805)
 * 3) Union (1786)
 * 4) Wreck Island (1784)

Church of England Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Buckingham County is available online.
 * See also Tillotson Parish

Presbyterian
 * History of Maysville Presbyterian Church, Buckingham Court House, Virginia, 1824-1996. c1997. By Carl Coleman Rosen. Buckingham, VA : Maysville Presbyterian Church..

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Early converts with Buckingham County connections:
 * Kitchen

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * See Virginia_Cohabitation_Records for links to online records.*Black America Series: Buckingham County. c2005. By E. Renee Ingram, Charles W. White, Sr. Charleston, SC : Arcadia Publishing..
 * Buckingham County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1826. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans.
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * The Big House After Slavery: Virginia Plantation Families and Their Postbellum Domestic Experiment. c2010. By Amy Feely Morsman. Charlottesville, Virginia : University of Virginia Press. Online at: Google Books
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans in Buckingham 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 Buckingham County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of published books and articles or jump to the surnames using the alphabet bar.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * Genealogical Records of Buckingham County, Virginia. 1984. By Edythe Whitley, Johns Rucker. Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Pub. Co. Available at.
 * The Cabells and Their Kin : A Memorial Volume of History, Biography, and Genealogy. c1895. By Alexander Brown. Boston, MA : Houghton, Mifflin and Co. Online at: Hathitrust.
 * The Genealogy, in part, of Stephen and William Garrett of Buckingham, Virginia. By Rev. Clyde B. Garrett, Mary E. Gaither. Online at: Ancestry ($).
 * A History of Welcome Garrett and His Descendants, From His Birth in 1758 Down to a Recent Date. c1909. By Samuel Bond Garrett. Muncie, Indiana : Hoosier Printing Co. Online at: Google Books.
 * Ward, Roger G. A Rich Heritage: The Porr Family of Henrico County, Virginia and the Moss Family of Buckingham County, Virginia Allied Families in Richmond and Henrico County Include Hertzberger, Rahm, Collins, Crittenden, Jordan, Stubbs, Hudson, Williams, Cocke and Huddlesy: Allied Families in Buckingham County Include Meador, Wilkinson, Whitlow, Sharpe, Pendleton, and the Berry, Mann, and Thomas Families of Prince Edward County. Chandler, Ariz.: R.G. Ward, 1991. Item 3
 * Whitley, Edythe Johns Rucker. Genealogical Records of Buckingham County, Virginia. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1984. ; and World Vital Records ($).

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Grants and Patents
 * Bannister. 778 patents dated 1723-1842 in what is now Buckingham County, Virginia Patents 1723-1842 placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2002. [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

 *  A History of Buckingham County. c1976. By Eugene A Maloney. Dillwyn, Virginia : Buckingham County Bicentennial Commission..
 * At a Place Called Buckingham: Historic Sketches of Buckingham County, Virginia. c2015. By Joanne L. Yeck. Kettering, Ohio : Slate River Press. Vol 2..
 * The Early History of Buckingham County. 1955. By James Meade Anderson. Richmond, Virginia : University of Richmond. Online at: UR Scholarship Repository;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Buckingham County Virginia Historical Markers. Online at: Historical Marker Database.
 * Maps of Buckingham County. Online at: VAGenWeb.
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Related Service Records of Buckingham County. Online at: VAGenWeb.

French and Indian War
 * Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. By Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. 1988. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. . Online at: Ancestry ($).

Revolutionary War Regiments. Service men in Buckingham County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Buckingham County supplied soldiers for the:
 * Revolutionary Patriots of Buckingham County, Virginia Paperback, 2002. Carl Coleman Rosen. Identifies Revolutionary War patriots from the county from 1775 through 1783. Information includes service, enlistments, rank, pensions, bounty land, births, deaths, and names of family members. It includes patriots who were living in the county before, during and after the war.
 * Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters, Will Graves and C. Leon Harris, https://revwarapps.org/ This site is dedicated to celebrating the lives and contributions made by the brave men and women who fought or lived in the South during the American Revolution and making their eye-witness accounts freely available in this searchable database. Currently 390 Roster Transcriptions and 24,326 Pension Applications, Bounty Land Claims and related publicly available records have been posted in this database including 3540 transcripts (designated using VAS file numbers) made from the online collection of the Library of Virginia and 1531 transcripts made from the online collection of the South Carolina Department of Archives & History. A search using the word "buckingham" yielded 376 hits.
 * 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. Online at: U.S. Census Bureau, Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Eastern District, Buckingham County on page 129.
 * 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. c1913. By J. T. McAllister. Hot Springs, Virginia : McAllister Pub. Co. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.
 * - 6th Virginia Regiment

War of 1812 Buckingham County men served in the 24th and 100th 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, Google Books. See Vol. 5, Virginia, Buckingham County, p. 65.
 * Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. 2007. By James L. Douthat. Signal Mountain, Tennessee : Mountain Press. Online at: Mountain Press ($) with Free online surname index..

Civil War Regiments: Civil War service men in Buckingham 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:
 * 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)
 * A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861-1865. c1986. By Wallace Lee. Lynchburg, Virginia : H.E. Howard..
 * A History of Buckingham County. 1976. By Eugene A. Maloney, Buckingham County Bicentennial Commission (Virginia). Berryville, Virginia : Virginia Book Co. . Original muster rolls are kept in the county clerk's office. Lists regiments, companies and muster rolls on pages 107-112.
 * - 4th Regiment Virginia Cavalry, Company K.
 * - 20th Regiment Virginia Infantry, Col. E "Lee Guards," and Co. F "Buckingham Institute Guard."
 * - 21st Regiment Virginia Infantry, Co. E "Buckingham Leaches."
 * - 44th Regiment Virginia Infantry, Co. C "Travis Rifles."
 * - 56th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (Buckingham Yancey Guards)
 * - 57th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Buckingham Institute).

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

 * 1736-1850 the freshest Advices, Buckingham County, Virginia Genealogical Records from Newspapers, 1736-1850, 2019. ISBN: 978-1-7343481-0-1, Available at: Lulu ($). Randy F. McNew Crouse has transcribed newspaper articles relating to Buckingham County, Virginia. A  chronicle  of the history and life of Buckingham county up through 1850. The 800 page volume, transcribed from some 140 news periodicals' more than 75,000 issues, contains, in its 2,050  fully  transcribed articles, images of a great many of the actual articles and a 56 page, 3-column index with nearly 17,000 references. There are photographs, illustrations and numerous footnotes, a bibliography, statistics and a source guide. The index is extremely thorough and includes nearly every noun, including watercourses, counties, cities, towns, over 10,000 personal names, (among which are a few thousand named women and children and 523 named slaves,) occupations, taverns, pastimes, entertainment, plantations, geographical features, natural resources, social and political events, agricultural crops, technology, medicine, crime, punishment, weather and more. There are slave sale ads, land sale ads, ads for lost horses and runaway slaves, marriage and death notices, obituaries, chancery cases (some naming entire and extended families over multiple generations,) committee appointments, removal notices and more. This compilation, that bridges the records gap for this burned county until the 1850 census, is an important addition to Buckingham's all too few available historical and genealogical sources. The reader will find a discriminating selection of the “freshest Advices” of the sort that slaked the thirst for intelligence and for the amusement of yeomen, tavern patrons, gentry and wealthy planters all. Arguably, the most thorough and complete work of its kind yet produced for a single Virginia county. This valuable resource will be especially appreciated by genealogists, antiquarians, historians, demographers, journalists and sociologists as it offers a glimpse into the life and mores of early America.
 * 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.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * Some Wills from the Burned Counties of Virginia and Other Wills Not Listed in Virginia Wills and Administrations 1632-1800. 1987. By William Lindsay Hopkins. Richmond, Virginia : W.L. Hopkins. Available at.
 * Will of Joseph Cabell, Buckingham County, Virginia. By George Harrison Sanford King. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1971):298-302. CD available at: American Ancestors ($).
 * 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)

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
 * 1764-1792 Personal Property Tax Lists of Buckingham County Virginia, Vol. 1, 1764-1792. 2017. By Randy F. McNew Crouse. Available at: Lulu ($), FHL. Comprehensive transcription of all extant tithe and personal property tax lists (over 12,000 records) for Buckingham County, Virginia from its formation in 1761 through 1792. Includes 1764, 1773-1774, 1782-1792. All proprietors are named (male or female) along with many additional white males over the age of 16, number of white tithes, number of slave tithes, names of slaves over the age of 12 (until 1783), carriages, ordinary licenses, horses, cattle (1783-1788) and acres of land (1764). 428 pages. Comments and annotations are included, as found in the original lists, describe familial relationships, marital status (widow), physical characteristics, race, occupation, nationality, religion, place of residence and more.Transcribed records are ordered as they appear in the tax lists and, in addition, are ordered alphabetically in a 160 page index section. Includes an introduction and guide to use, a table and graphs to summarize statistics, extensive bibliography, table of alternate surname spellings, list of abbreviations and appendices.
 * 1792-1802 Personal Property Tax Lists of Buckingham County Virginia, Vol. 2, 1792-1802. 2017. By Randy F. McNew Crouse. Available at: Lulu ($). Comprehensive transcription of all extant personal property tax lists (over 13,700 records enumerating over 47,000 tithes) for Buckingham County, Virginia from 1792-1802. All proprietors are named (male or female) along with many additional white males over the age of 16, number of white tithes, number of slave tithes, carriages, ordinary licenses and horses. 460 pages. 130 page index. An illustrated appendix on Riding Carriages is a very interesting added feature.
 * 1773-1774 Buckingham County, Virginia Tithables, 1773-1774. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; also available on microfilm at.
 * 1764 A Guide to the Buckingham County (VA) Tithable List A-G, 1764. c2012. By Library of Virginia. Richmond, VA : Library of Virginia. Online at: Virginia Heritage. A scan of the actual record is online at Library of Virginia.
 * 1764 Buckingham County, Virginia, Church and Marriage Records, 1764-1822. 1993. By Warren, Mary Bondurant et al. Athens, Georgia : Heritage Papers. Available at.
 * 1764 Virginia's District Courts, 1789-1809: Records of the Prince Edward District: Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, and Prince Edward Counties: (Wills to 1829, Deeds to 1816). 1991. By Mary Bondurant Warren and Eve Bondurant Warren Weeks. Danielsville, Georgia : Heritage Papers. Available at . Buckingham County tithables list, 1764 found in the loose case papers.
 * 1773-1774 Virginia Tithables from Burned Record Counties: Buckingham, 1773-1774; Gloucester, 1770-1771, 1774-1775; Hanover, 1763 and 1770; James City, 1768-1769; Stafford, 1768 and 1773. 1970. By Robert F. Woodson, Isobel B. Woodson. Richmond, Virginia : I.B. Woodson. Available at.
 * 1782 Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940. By Augusta B. Fothergill and John Mark Naugle. Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Publishing Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, . 1782 personal property tax list of Buckingham County.
 * 1782-1810 Buckingham County Personal Property Tax Lists 1782-1810. Online at: Binns Genealogy ($).
 * 1782-1826 Buckingham County Personal Property Tax List 1796-1820. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.
 * 1783 Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783. Online at: Revolutionary War Service.
 * 1787 Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790. By Robert Y. Clay. The Virginia Genealogist. Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1977):113-118. Online at:, American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Buckingham County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on p. 115.
 * 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 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; 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. c1987. By Netti Schreiner-Yantis and Florene Speakman Love. Springfield, Virginia : Genealogical Books in Print. . The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Buckingham County is included in Vol. 1.
 * 1788, 1800 Indexed images of the 1788 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Buckingham County, Virginia - Binns Genealogy.
 * 1800 Buckingham County, Virginia 1800 Tax List. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1968):114-118; Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1968):162-168; Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1969):23-27. Online at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
 * 1815 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). By Roger D. Ward. c1997. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co. . . The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Buckingham County is included in Vol. 1.

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 ($)
 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($).
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1784-1794 Buckingham County Virginia Marriage Bonds, 1784-1794. By Mrs. James R. Lindsay. Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2 (April 1963):13-14. Only known marriage records during this period.
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 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 — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Family History Centers

 * Buckingham Virginia Family History Center
 * Lynchburg Virginia Family History Center


 * Greenwood Library, Longwood University - an affiliate library
 * Jefferson Madison Regional Library - Nelson Memorial Branch - an affiliate library
 * Jefferson Madison Regional Library, Scottsville Branch - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Central Virginia Genealogical Association

Websites

 * Buckingham 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: Buckingham County. By John Frederick Dorman. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1962):121-124. CD available at: American Ancestors ($).
 * Buckingham County, Virginia, and the Southern Parts of Early Albemarle. By Anne Bradbury Peebles. Special Aids to Genealogical Research on Southern Families. National Genealogical Society Special Publications, No. 15, Washington, D.C., 1962.
 * Genealogical Records of Buckingham County, Virginia. 1984. By Edythe Rucker Whitley. Dayton, Ohio.