Wythe County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Wythe County

Parent County
1789--Wythe County was created 1 December 1789 from Montgomery County. County seat: Wytheville

Neighboring Counties

 * Bland
 * Carroll
 * Grayson
 * Pulaski
 * Smyth

Census
1840


 * Douthat, James L. 1840 Mountain Empire of Virginia Census. Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 2001. Available at FHL. [Includes Wythe County.]

1890 Union Veterans


 * Turner, Ronald Ray. Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. Available online, courtesy: Prince William County Virginia website. [Includes residents of this Wythe County.]

Court

 * Kegley, Mary B. Abstracts of Court Orders of Wythe County, Virginia [1790-1850]. 5 vols. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 1996-2000. Available at FHL.

Family Histories
Bibliography


 * [Alford] Gallaugher, Jewell Alford and Leroy Gallaugher. Alford Lineage, as of February 1963. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Alley] See King.
 * [Andruss] Kokojan, Merriam and Barbara A. Irwin. Andruss Family. Irving, Texas: M. Kokojan, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [Bates] Bates of Old Virginia, Wayne Witt Bates, and Bates Association. The Bates Booster: The Bates Family of Old Virginia. Centreville, Virginia: Bates Family of Old Virginia, 1972-. Newsletter. Available at FHL.
 * [Bates] Miller, Jackie D. Bates Family of Kentucky, 1415-1992. Silver Grove, Kentucky: J.D. Miller Publishing Co., c1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Blackard] Padgett, Wilma Lawson. Early Virginia Settlers: Blackard, DeHart, Hubbard, Hurst, Lawson, Shelor, Southern, Thompson, Turner. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, c2001. Available at FHL.
 * [Bralley] Swecker, Kathleen B. History of the Descendants of John Bralley, immigrant from Ireland to America : an authentic genealogical family register of eight generations from the first of the name in America, with numerous sketches collected from many indisputable sources, church records, old family Bible records, and tombstones
 * [Braun] See Brown.
 * [Brown] Balis, Leila Smith. My Braun/Brown Family of Lebanon Co., Pa.; Wythe Co., Va.; Clinton Co., Oh. [Murray, Utah: L.S. Balis, 1999]. Available at FHL.
 * [Bunts] Tickle, James Robert. The Tickle, Bunts, Bond and Jennings Families of Southwest Virginia: A Family History with Some North Carolina Roots. Morristown, Tennessee: J.R. Tickle, c1996. Available at FHL.
 * [Calhoun] Johnson, Ellen R. History of the Colquhoun/Calhoun Families and Their Ancestral Homeland. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1993. Available at FHL.
 * [Chaney] Lewis, Olan R. and Dorothy Anne Vedder Jenner. The Hezekiah Chaney Sr. Family. Lakeport, Ca.: O.R. Lewis, 1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Clark] Coleman, Ella W. Lest We Forget: John Clark of Wythe County, Virginia, with Allied Lines of Seybert, Eager, Carter &amp; Others. Port St. Lucie, Florida: E.W. Coleman, c1990. Available at FHL.
 * [Colquhoun] See Calhoun.
 * [Copenhaver] Canfield, Clifford R. The Copenhaver Family of Wythe County, Virginia. Pasadena, California: Canfield, 1958. Available at FHL.
 * [Cowan] Rehm, Martha Weidlich. The Cowan Family History: Descendants of Samuel Thomas Cowan &amp; Margaret Maria Halsey of Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia 1816-1208. Fort Collins, Colorado: M.W. Rehm, 2008. Available at FHL.
 * [Creager] See Phillippe and Shupe.
 * [Crockett] Trimble, David B. Crockett and Graham of Southwest Virginia. Austin, Texas: D.B. Trimble, 1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Davis] Marella, Maureen E. Chronicles of the Davis Family of Virginia and Kentucky. Rodeo, California: M.E. Marella, c1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Dick] Hickam, Nora Jones. The Dick Family of Wayne County, Kentucky. MSS., Willard Library, Evansville, Indiana; microfilmed reproduction available at FHL.
 * [Engle] Towle, Juanita Belle Anderson. So Many Ancestors, Our Engle Ancestors, Henry (Heinrich) Engle 1742-1811, Revolutionary War, Pennsylvania Militia with Many Descendants to 1983: Supplement to Hartwell Colman Genealogy. [San Bernardino, California: J.A. Towle, 198_?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Finley] Finley, Carmen J. John and Mary Finley of Montgomery and Wythe County, Virginia. Santa Rosa, California: C. Finley, 1990. Available at FHL.
 * [Gose] See Litz.
 * [Graham] See Crockett.
 * [Groseclose] Groseclose, B. Clark. Grosecloses and Descendants in America: (With Short Sketches of Nineteen Related Families). [Brentwood, California: B.C. Groseclose], 1999. Available at FHL.
 * [Hale] Lynch, Muriel Nadine Hale. Spanning the Centuries with the Hale Family. 3 vols. Independence, Missouri: M. Lynch, 1990 and Kansas City, Missouri: MNL Publishers, 1999. Available at FHL.
 * [Hanshew] Frandsen, Margaret Walter Croom and Jean Knight Whalen. The History of William Vaughan and Related Families. [Las Vegas, Nevada?]: M.A. Frandsen, 1989. Available at FHL.
 * [Henson] Henson, John P. and Sarah Henson. Ancestors and Family of John P. &amp; Sarah Henson. MSS., microfilmed reproduction available at FHL.
 * [Honaker] Honaker Family Association, National Association of Hans Jacob "Honnegger" Honaker Families, and Tom Hanlin. Honaker Family Newsletter. Alexandria, Virginia: National Association of Hans Jacob Honaker Families, 1992-. Available at FHL.
 * [Honaker] Davison, Freida Patrick. Honaker Family in America. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, c1998. Original edition and two supplements available at FHL; digital version of a supplement at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Hounshell] Canfield, Clifford R. The Hounshell Family of Southwest Virginia. Frankfurt am Main: Canfield, 1973. Available at FHL.
 * [Hurst] Branch, Virginia. The Hurst Nation: A Family History. 2 vols. Paragould, Arkansas: V. Branch, [1987-1991?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Johnston] Davis, Elsie Jean Spry. Some Ancestors and Descendants of David Johnston: Born 1797, Wythe County, Virginia, Died 1879, Pike County, Illinois. Coronado, California: E.S. Davis, 1992. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Keen] Westfall, Reta Keene. Father's Grandparents: Their Ancestors and Following Generations. [Cottage Grove, Oregon]: R.K. Westfall, [198-?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Kelly] Stallard, Christine and Conley D. Stallard. The Ferguson Connection: Russell County, Virginia, 1775-1994 : A Family History. [Ormond Beach, Florida]: C. Stallard, c1995. Available at FHL.
 * [King] King, Larry. Blue Ridge Mountain Kinfolks: A Record of Ancestors, Descendants and Relatives of the Author and Wife, Including Fisher - Gilbert - Hall - Hartley - Hill - King - Kirby - Lawson Families. Manchester, Tennessee: King, c1976. Available at FHL.
 * [Lambert] Manson, Robert W. and Linda Manson. The Lambert Family of Old Wythe County, Virginia, 1778-1930. n.p.: R.W. Manson, 2005. Available at FHL.
 * [Litz] Lower, Samuel S. Peter Gose Litz (1802-1880), Burke's Garden, Tazewell, Virginia, and Wife, Sarah Gose (1805-1860): Ancestors, Descendants and History. Plain City, Utah: S.S. Lower, 1996. Available at FHL.
 * [Love] Love, Robert A. General Thomas Love of Western North Carolina and Western Tennessee and His Brothers Robert and James. St. Petersburg, Florida: R.A. Love, [194_?]. Available at FHL.
 * [McGavock] Aiken, Leona Taylor. The Descendants of James McGavock, Sr. and the McGavock Mansions, Fort Chiswell, Va and Carnton, Franklin, Tenn. Rogersville, Tenn.: L.T. Aiken, 1986. Available at FHL.
 * [Phillippe] Smith, Donald R. Phillippe Ancestry. Hopkinsville, Kentucky: Donald R. Smith, 2005. Available at FHL.
 * [Rife] Rife, A. Dewey. History of Rife and Riffe Families. Cedar Bluff, Virginia: A.D. Rife, c1987. Available at FHL.
 * [Riggle] Kegley, Mary B. The Riggle Family of Wythe County Virginia. Chincoteague, Virginia: M. Kegley, 1960. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Rippas] Hoch, Beverly Repass. Repass Family Newsletter: Descendants of Hans Jacob Rippas and Anna Gerber. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Jacob Repass Memorial Fund, 1991-. Available at FHL.
 * [Rogers] Dallas, Zella Rogers, Eureatha Rogers Lourens and John Keith Lourens. Families of Dallas, Lourens, Rogers and Some of Their Relatives. 4 vols. plus index. Enon, Ohio: J.K. Lourens, 1984. Available at FHL.
 * [Rutherford] Jobe, Sybil Shipley. My Shipley Family: A Genealogical History of the Christopher Shipley Family. Neosho, Missouri: S.S. Jobe, 1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Scott] Thomas, LaVerne and Kay Lee Wrage Gunn. The Scotts of Southwest Virginia: Descendants of the James &amp; Rachel Scott of Wythe/Smyth County and Ten Other Early Lines. 3 vols. Marion, Virginia: Dean Tucker Printing, c1999. Available at FHL; digital versions of Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol. 3, courtesy: BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Shupe] Hansen, Holly T., Charlene Strickland, and Samuel S. Lower. Andrew Jackson Shupe, 1815-1877 and Mary Elizabeth Creager, 1820-1900. Croydon, Utah: H.T. Hansen, 1995. Available at FHL.
 * [Shupe] Raty, Leslie Shupe. John Shupe (Shoop) and Catherine of Cripple Creek, Wythe Co., Virginia. [S.l.: s.n., 1995?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Shupe] Raty, Leslie Shupe. Peter Shupe, 1792-1846, and Sarah Wright, 1793-1846: A History of Peter Shupe and Sarah Wright and Their Families Who Originated in Southwestern Virginia and Pennsylvania in the Early 1700's. [Utah : Shoop--Shoup--Shupe Family Organization, 1995?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Shupe] Harris, Angeline Agnes Block. The Harris, Marsh, and Shupe families of Surry County, North Carolina; Grayson County, Virginia; Wythe County, Virginia. Ventura, California: A.B. Harris, 2001. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Staley] Staley, Alan L., John Everett Staley and Nellie Logie Mitchell Staley. Staley-Keith Family Histories, 265 Years, 1732-1997: Wythe County, Virginia, Lafayette County, Missouri, Huron County, Canada. [Roswell, New Mexico: A.L. Staley], c1997. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Thompson] Cragun, Brian J. Andrew Thompson of Wythe and Bland Counties, Virginia and Descendants. Rochester, Minnesota: B.J. Cragun, 1995. Available at FHL.
 * [Totten] Dillon, Anna Mary Totten. The John Totten Family of Early Tazewell County, Virginia (McDowell County, W. Va.) and Descendants 1774 - 1986. Columbus, Ohio: A.M.T. Dillon, 1986. Available at FHL.
 * [Totten] Dillon, Anna Mary Totten. Errara and Additional Totten Families of The John Totten Family of Early Tazewell Co., Va. (McDowell Co., W. Va.) and Descendants, 1774-1986. [Columbus, Ohio]: A.M.T. Dillon, [1990?]. Available at FHL.
 * [Vaught] Spurlin, Helen Alice Woodrow. Vaught Compilation. Multi-volume. Diamond Springs, California: Vaught Association of the United States, 1989-. Available at FHL.
 * [Ward] Anderson, Judy B. Virginia Connections, 1722-1986. 2 vols. Roy, Utah: J.B. Anderson, c1987-c1988. Available at FHL.
 * [Ward] Anderson, Judy B. Virginia Connections. 5 vols. Roy, Utah: J. B. Anderson, 1990. Available at FHL.
 * [Ward] Anderson, Judy B. Virginia Connections: A Genealogical History of the Thompson-Ward Family Originating in Southwest Virginia in Three Parts. Bountiful, Utah: Family History Publishers, c1992. Available at FHL.
 * [Ward] Anderson, Judy B. Virginia Connections: A Genealogical History of the Thompson and Ward Families of Southwest Virginia. Roy, Utah: J.B. Anderson, 2005. Available at FHL.
 * [Weaver] Curtis, Oscar F. Research File: Weaver and Allied Families. MSS., Oscar Curtis, Bloomington, Indiana. Microfilmed reproduction available at FHL.

Land
Deeds


 * Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. 1800 Tax Lists &amp; Abstracts of Deeds (1796-1800) of Wythe County, Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia: N. Schreiner-Yantis], 1971. Available at FHL.

Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 976 patents dated 1750-1883 in what is now Wythe County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2009. [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.]
 * Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. Available at FHL. [Includes Wythe County, Virginia.]

Local Histories

 * Boyd, Charles Rufus. Resources of South-west Virginia: Showing the Mineral Deposits of Iron, Coal, Zinc, Copper and Lead, also the Staples of the Various Counties, Methods of Transportation Access, Etc. New York : J. Wiley, 1881. Available at FHL.
 * Kegley, Mary B. and F.B. Kegley. Early Adventurers on the Western Waters. 5 vols. Orange, Va.: Green Publishers, 1980, 1982 and Wytheville, Va.: Kegley Books, 1995, 1998. Available at FHL.

Maps

 * Hildebrand, John R., F.B. Kegley, Mary B. Kegley and Roanoke Valley Historical Society (Roanoke, Va.) A Settlement Map of Wythe County, Virginia: Giving the Names and Locations of Many of the Early Adventurers in the Territory - From 1745 to 1858. [Roanoke, Virginia]: Roanoke Valley Historical Society, 1974. Available at FHL.

Military
Revolutionary War


 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at FHL. [Includes Smyth County pensioners.]

Civil War


 * Douthat, James L. Wythe County, VA, Civil War Records, 1861-1865. 1986. Available at FHL.

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

 * Kegley, Mary B. The Lost Children of Wythe County, Virginia, 1790-1878: Poor School Children, Orphans and Apprentices from County Records. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 1995. Available at FHL.

Poor

 * Kegley, Mary B. The Lost Children of Wythe County, Virginia, 1790-1878: Poor School Children, Orphans and Apprentices from County Records. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 1995. Available at FHL.

Private Papers

 * [Graham] Graham Family Bible Records, 1800-1894. Original records, microfilmed reproduction available at FHL.
 * [Raper] Raper Family Bible Records, 1796-1813. Original records, microfilmed reproduction available at FHL.
 * [Shepperd] Prosser--Sheppard Family Bible Records, 1795-1901. MSS., microfilmed reproduction available at FHL.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Wythe County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1981):49-51. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Taxation
At first glance, researchers might conclude that Virginia tax lists contain very little family history data, though one soon learns that valuable genealogical conclusions can be drawn from these records, nicknamed "annual censuses," such as: relationships, approximate years of birth, socio-economic status, identification of neighbors, the ability to distinguish between persons of the same name, evidence of land inheritance, years of migration, and years of death.

Virginia began enumerating residents' payments of personal property and land taxes in 1782. These two types of taxation were recorded in separate registers. Personal property tax lists include more names than land tax lists, because they caught more of the population. The Family History Library has an excellent microfilm collection of personal property tax lists from 1782 (or the year the county was organized) well into the late nineteenth century for most counties, but only scattered land tax lists. Microfilm collections at The Library of Virginia include land tax lists for all counties and independent cities for the years 1782 through 1978, as well as personal property tax lists for the years 1782 through 1930 (and every fifth year thereafter). Taxes were not collected in 1808.

Some tax records are available online or in print, though published abstracts often omit useful details found only in the original sources. Statewide indexes can help genealogists identify specific counties where surnames occurred in the past, providing starting points for research.


 * [1770-1773] Kegley, Mary B. New River Tithables, 1770-1773. Wytheville, Virginia: M.B. Kegley, 1972. Available at FHL.
 * [1793] Images of the 1793 Personal Property Tax List of Wythe County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1793-1800] Murphy, Malita Warden and James L. Douthat. Wythe County, Va. Tax List, 1793-1800. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 1985. Available at FHL.
 * [1800] Indexed images of the 1800 Personal Property Tax List of Wythe County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. 1800 Tax Lists &amp; Abstracts of Deeds (1796-1800) of Wythe County, Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia: N. Schreiner-Yantis], 1971. Available at FHL.
 * [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Wythe 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 FHL. [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.]

Vital Records
Birth


 * Fowler, Deborah Thompson. Wythe County, Virginia, Vital Records: Births 1853-1859. Wytheville, Virginia: Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * Kegley, Mary B. and Jean Porter Desmaris. Birth Records of Wythe County, Virginia, 1865-1872. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2005. Available at FHL.
 * Desmaris, Jean Porter. Wythe County, Virginia, Vital Records, Births, 1873-1879. Wytheville, Virginia: Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * Moore, Jeraldyne A. Wythe County, Virginia, Vital Records, Births, 1882-1884, Deaths, 1881-1884, 1886, 1888. Wytheville, Virginia: Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association. Wythe County, Virginia, Vital Records, Births 1891-1895. Wytheville, Virginia: Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association, 2005. Available at FHL.

Marriage


 * Hoch, Beverly Repass, Mary B. Kegley, and Janie Dillon. Wythe County, Virginia, Marriages: 1790-1880. 3 vols. Wytheville, Virginia: Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association, 2006-2007. Available at FHL.

Divorce


 * Kegley, Mary B. Divorces of Wythe County, Virginia, 1816-1886. Wytheville, Va.: Kegley Books, 2004. Available at FHL.

Death


 * Moore, Jeraldyne A. and Mary B. Kegley. Wythe County, Virginia, Vital Records, Deaths. [1853-1894] 2 vols. Wytheville, Virginia: Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * Moore, Jeraldyne A. Wythe County, Virginia, Vital Records, Births, 1882-1884, Deaths, 1881-1884, 1886, 1888. Wytheville, Virginia: Wythe County Genealogical and Historical Association, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * Luck, Joyce Shelton. Wythe County, Virginia Annotated Death Records. Chester, Virginia: J.S. Luck, 2008. Available at FHL.

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Family History Library Catalog