Nottoway County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Nottoway County Virginia ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, immigration records, and military records.

Description
Nottoway County is located in the Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named for the Nadowa Indian tribe.

Nottoway County, Virginia Courthouse
Nottaway County Courthouse 328 West Courthouse Road Nottoway, VA 23955 Phone: 804-645-9043

Some records were destroyed during the civil war Clerk Circuit Court has marriage divorce and court records from 1865, land, probate and miliary records from 1789

Parent County
22 December 1788: Nottoway County was created 22 December 1788 from Amelia County.

County seat: Nottoway

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
1865 Most courthouse records were destroyed in 1865 during the Civil War. A few volumes of deeds, orders, and wills survived.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800

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:

African American

 * Heinegg, Paul. Nottoway County Personal Property Tax List, 1789-1822, Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in this source.
 * Records of the field offices for the state of Virginia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands : NARA, RG105, M1913, 1865-1872 Freedmen's Bureau Marriages 1815-1869

Bible Records

 * Featherston "Bible Record of William Featherston (Nottoway Co., Va. - Robertson Co., Tenn.)," Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 3 (July 1963):20.

Biography
Civil War


 * Cummins, A. B. Nottoway County, Virginia: Founding and Development with Biographical Sketches. Richmond, Va.: W.M. Brown and Son, Printers, 1970.

Business

 * Contract book of the Richmond Cooperative Milk Producers Association, 1930-1931

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

1850

 * 1850 census of Nottoway County, Virginia

1860

 * The 1860 federal census for Nottoway County, Virginia

1890 Union Veterans

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

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Nottoway (1765). Edwards published a membership list dated 1769 in Materials Towards a History of the Baptists... (1772), 68-69.

Nottoway County fell within the bounds of the Middle District Association.

Church of England
See also Nottoway Parish


 * Rev. John Cameron's marriage register of Bristol, Cumberland and Nottoway parishes, Virginia, 1784-1815 and other more recent records, mainly of Nottoway Parish

Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Nottoway County is available online.

Presbyterian

 * A brief history of the Blackstone Presbyterian Church 1823-1961. This church was formed in 1824 as a branch of the Nottoway Presbyterian Church. In 1911 it became a separate church.

Chancery Court

 * Indexed images of Nottoway County, Virginia Chancery Records 1818-1968 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Correctional Institutions

 * A register of persons convicted of felony, etc., 1931-1966

Genealogy
More than 75 genealogies have been published about Nottoway County families. To view a list, visit Nottoway County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Historic Residences

 * Turner, W. R. Old Homes and Families in Nottoway. Blackstone, Va.: Nottoway Pub. Co., 1950, c1932. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). For the index compiled by Colonel R. Bolling Batte and the Projects Committee of the Virginia Genealogical Society available at FHL.

History
Biography Civil War

Land and Property

 * Amelia County, Virginia deeds. Prince Edward County, Va. was not cut off of Amelia County until 1754, and Nottoway County was not cut off until 1789, so this book contains deeds for both of these present-day counties. -- Foreword, v. 1 v. 1. Deed book 1, 1735-1743, and bonds, 1735-1741 v. 2. Deed book 2, 1742-1747 v. 3. Deed books 3-4, 1747-1753 v. 4. Deed book 5-6, 1753-1759 v. 5. Deed books 7-8, 1759-1765 v. 6. Deed books 9-11, 1766-1773 v. 7. Deed books 12-14, 1773-1778 v. 8. Deed books 15-17, 1778-1786.
 * Deed records, 1789-1900; general indexes, 1866-1974. Some of the deed books may have been lost during the Civil War. After the war, the numbering of volumes started over with v. 1.
 * Returns of processioners, 1795-1824. Contains land processioning records recorded with the County Court which include the land description and who was present at the processioning.
 * Some early landowners in southern Nottoway and northern Lunenburg counties, Virginia and the Cocke (Coke) family who once lived there. Contains maps with tract codes and a list of landowners giving the names of grantor and grantee, tract code, year, number of acres, source, and other information. Includes a list of streams and other landmarks and the Cocke (Coke) family genealogy.

Grants and Patents

 * Hudgins and Sullivan. 901 patents dated 1717-1779 in what is now Amelia and Nottoway Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2003. 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.

Maps

 * Nottoway County, Virginia land ownership map, 1864

Migration

 * Elliott, Katherine B. Emigration to Other States from Southside Virginia. 2 vols. South Hill, Virginia: K. B. Elliott, 1966. Includes individuals who migrated out of Nottoway County to other parts of the country.

Revolutionary War
residents' participation in the Revolutionary War.

War of 1812
Nottoway County men served in the 49th Regiment.


 * Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2007. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. 975.5 M2djL. [Includes Nottoway 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. 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Nottoway County, p. 96. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 3rd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company E (Nottoway Troop).
 * - 18th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Nottoway Rifle Guards) and Company G (Nottoway Grays).
 * - 21st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (Meherrin Grays).

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)
 * The Nottoway Artillery and Barr's Battery, Virginia Light Artillery
 * Southside Virginia in the Civil War : Amelia, Brunswick, Charlotte, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, &amp; Prince Edward counties
 * Minute book for the Pension Board 1902-1917. The Pension Board handled the approval process and dispersion of pensions for the Confederate veterans of the Civil War.
 * The Captain remembers: the papers of Captain Richard Irby. Historical sketch of the Nottaway Grays, afterwards Company G, Eighteenth Virginia Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Nottoway County.


 * April 6, 1865 = Sailor's Creek, also known as Hillsman Farm or Lockett Farm


 * Maps of Civil War battles in Virginia: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865

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.

Occupations

 * Medical register, 1917-1975. Contains copies of medical licenses for physical therapists, surgeons, dentists, optometrists, general practioners ("regular doctors"), and "allopathic" doctors.
 * Register of physicians, surgeons and dentists, 1894-1950

Officials
Probate Records

Probate Records

 * SAMPUBCO free online index resource that serves as a good starting place to search for Nottoway County wills.
 * Will records, 1789-1964; general indexes, 1865-1975
 * Accounts current records, 1867-1915; general index to fiduciary settlements, 1867-1915
 * Fiduciary order books, 1942-1972
 * Record of fiduciaries, 1901-1902
 * Bond and guarantee companies books, 1923-1974. A bond is a legal document wherein a person commits himself, his heirs, executors and administrators to pay a required amount of money to another if certain duties are not performed. These were paid by people elected or appointed to public offices or to act as guardians, executors or administrators of a person's estate.
 * Bond books, 1852-1865, 1891-1917; general index to bond books, 1866-1917
 * Bond books, 1899-1914, 1972-1975
 * Images of Wills and Estates 1788-1802 Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Images of Wills and Estates 1803-1809 Virginia Pioneers ($)

Public Records

 * Minute book for the Board of Blendon Township 1871-1875 and the Pension Board 1902-1917.
 * Minute book for the Finance Board, 1932-1940

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1747] "Amelia Tithables, 1747," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Nov 2004. Vol. 42 Iss. 4.
 * [1782-1822] Heinegg, Paul. "Nottoway County Personal Property Tax List, 1789-1822," Free African Americans.com. Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in this source.
 * [1791, 1801] Indexed images of the 1791 and 1801 Personal Property Tax Lists of Nottoway County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist. Falmouth VA: Oct 2002. Vol. 46 Iss. 4
 * [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. Nottoway County is included in Vol. 1.


 * Minute book, 1915-1916
 * Personal property tax lists, 1789-1850

Vital Records

 * The Farmville Herald: index to births, deaths and marriages. Contents: v. 1. 1893-1912, also includes 1873-1876 of The Farmville Mercury and The Farmville Commonwealth.

Birth

 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

On microfilm:


 * 1865-1975 - Marriage register, 1865-1942; general indexes, 1866-1958, 1969-1975

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Nottoway County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * Account book, 1875-1877. This is the account book for Council no. 124, F. of T, which is a temperance society.

Nottoway County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Nottoway Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, documents.
 * Nottoway County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Nottoway County VA Trails to the Past.
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * USGenWeb Archives backup site