Grayson County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Grayson 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
Grayson County is located in the Southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with North Carolina. Grayson was named for William Grayson one of Virginia’s first two senators.

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

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

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

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.


 * Lost censuses: 1800, 1810, 1890

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: Grayson County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1967):157-159. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African American

 * Freedmen's Bureau


 * Grayson County, Virginia Slaveholders 1800-1860 (New River Notes) - free.


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

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
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." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.    Includes residents of this county.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 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)

Grayson County fell within the bounds of the Holston and Mountain Associations.

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)

Genealogy
More than 25 genealogies have been published about Grayson County families. To view a list, visit Grayson County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

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 . [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." ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

War of 1812
Grayson County, Virginia in the War of 1812

Grayson County men served in the 78th Regiment.


 * 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.]

Civil War

 * - 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.

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 -
 * 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)

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

 * Virginia

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

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?

Bibliography


 * Tax Laws, Local, Glimpses of Grayson, Vol. 9, Nos. 1-2 (Jun. 1988).
 * [1794-1814] Grayson County Personal Property Tax Lists 1794-1814 (images); digital version in Tax List Club at Binns Genealogy ($).
 * [1794] Grayson County, Virginia Tax List - 1794 (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1794] 1794 Grayson County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1796] The 1796 Grayson County, Virginia Land Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1799] The 1799 Grayson County, Virginia Land Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1800] The 1800 Grayson County, Virginia Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1800] "Grayson County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1981):204-210. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * [1805] The 1805 Grayson County, Virginia Land Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1805] The 1805 Grayson County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [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] The 1810 Grayson County, Virginia Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [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).
 * [1813] The 1813 Grayson County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists (New River Notes) - free.
 * [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.]
 * [1817] The 1817 Grayson County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1824] The 1824 Grayson County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1825] The 1825 Grayson County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1828] The 1828 Grayson County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1835] The 1835 Grayson County Virginia Personal Property Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1863] The 1863 Grayson County, Virginia Land Tax List (New River Notes) - free.
 * [1890] The 1890 Grayson County, Virginia Land Tax List (New River Notes) - free.

Birth

 * 1853-1879, 1884-1888 - Grayson County, Virginia Birth Records 1853-1879, 1884-1888, under Vital Statistics. (New River Notes).
 * 1853-1870 - Grayson County Birth Index 1853-1870. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 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) ($).


 * 1793-1836 - Grayson County, Virginia Marriages 1796-1836 (New River Notes) - free.


 * 1793-1906 - Grayson County Marriage Index 1793-1906. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1853-1931 - Grayson County, VA Marriages 1853-1931 (New River Notes) - free.


 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1853-1896 - Grayson County, Virginia Death Register 1853-1870 and Records 1870-1896 (New River Notes) - free.


 * 1853-1870 - Grayson County Death Index 1853-1870. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Grayson County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Grayson Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * Grayson County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List