Grayson County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Description
Grayson County is located in the southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with North Carolina. The county was named for William Grayson, one of Virginia’s first two senators.

County Courthouse
Grayson County Courthouse 129 Davis Street/P.O. Box 130 Independence, VA 24348-0130 Phone: 276-773-2231 Grayson County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court, and land records from 1793

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:

Bible Records

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

Cemeteries

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

Census Records
1800 Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.

1810 Lost, but a substitute 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
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. By Ronald Ray Turner. .  Includes residents of this county. Includes residents of this county.
 * 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census. Online at: Ancestry ($). Includes residents of this county. Includes residents of this county.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Baptist Early Baptist churches (with years constituted): Grayson County fell within the bounds of the Holston and Mountain Associations.
 * 1) Cedar Island or Fox Creek (1782)
 * 2) Meadow Creek (1797). A list of new members (1840) was published in Glimpses of Grayson, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Dec. 1985).
 * 3) N. Fork of New River (1796)

Quaker Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):
 * Chestnut Creek Monthly Meeting (1785-1841)
 * Fruit Hill Monthly Meeting (1790-1814)
 * Mount Pleasant Monthly Meeting (1790-1825, 1980s)

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records Library of Virginia's Chancery Records Index can be used to search for Grayson County chancery records for the years 1795-1912. Original records 1795-1899 may be closed for digitization, but the full index is available.

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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * 1800-1860 Grayson County, Virginia Slaveholders 1800-1860 (New River Notes) - free.
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Grayson County Personal Property Tax List, 1805-1818," 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 Grayson County.

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 Grayson 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
 * 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 ($), MyHeritage ($). Chapters on the Bourne, Cornett, Cox, Dickey, Flower, Garland, Goodykoontz, Hale, Hash, Jones, Kenney, Nuckolls, Osborne, Phipps, Reeves, and Swift families.

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Military Records
Revolutionary War
 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at . [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 Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. 1841. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). 1967 reprint:  973 X2pc 1840. See Virginia, Western District, Grayson County on page 134.
 * Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. Washington, D.C., 1852. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Includes veterans. Virginia section begins on page 238.

War of 1812
 * Grayson County, Virginia in the 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. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Vol. 5, Virginia, Grayson County, p. 82. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Regiments. Grayson County men served in the 78th 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 Grayson 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:
 * - 4th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Grayson Dare Devils).
 * - 4th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry and Infantry) (Confederate). Companies B and D.
 * - 8th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company C (Grayson Cavalry)
 * - 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company G.
 * - 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company D and Company I.
 * - 45th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Grayson Rifles).
 * - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (Wilson Rifles) (Grayson Hornets).
 * - 51st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies A and D.
 * - 63rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (McMahon's) (Confederate). Companies C and G.

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 ($)
 * 1793-1849 Grayson County, Virginia Wills 1793-1849 (New River Notes) - free.
 * 1796-1839;1839-1849Images of Wills and Estates 1796-1839;1839-1849. Virginia Pioneers ($)

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


 * Tax Laws, Local, Glimpses of Grayson, Vol. 9, Nos. 1-2 (Jun. 1988).
 *  1794-1850 Grayson County, Virginia Personal property tax lists, 1794-1850. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.; microfilmed reproduction available at - images.
 * 1794-1890  Grayson County, Virginia Land and Personal Property Tax Lists at New River Notes. Lists are found under heading Enumerations.
 * 1800 "Grayson County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1981):204-210. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
 * 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 . 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 . 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 . 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.

Birth

 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1853-1879, 1884-1888 Grayson County, Virginia Birth Records 1853-1879, 1884-1888, under Vital Statistics. (New River Notes).
 * 1912-1913 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 $
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1793-1836 Grayson County, Virginia Marriages 1796-1836 (New River Notes) - free.
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1853-1931 Grayson County, VA Marriages 1853-1931 (New River Notes) - free.
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1853-1896 Grayson County, Virginia Death Register 1853-1870 and Records 1870-1896 (New River Notes) - free.
 * 1853-1911 Virginia, U.S., Death Registers, 1853-1911 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images
 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bristol Virginia FamilySearch Center


 * Washington County Public Library - Damascus Branch - an affiliate library
 * Washington County Public Library - Glade Spring Branch - an affiliate library
 * Smyth County Public Library - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Grayson Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * 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: Grayson County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1967):157-159. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).