Buchanan County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Buchanan 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
Buchanan County is located in the Southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is the only county to border West Virginia and Kentucky. The County was named after the 15th U.S. President, James Buchanan.

Buchanan County Virginia Courthouse
Buchanan County Courthouse P.O. Box 929 Grundy, Virginia 24614 Phone: 540-935-6575

Courthouse burned in 1885 Clerk Circuit Cout has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1885

Buchanan County Virginia History


The county was named after President James Buchanan (1791-1868), who was in office at the time of the county's formation.

Parent County
1858--Buchanan County was created 13 February 1858 from Russell and Tazewell Counties. County seat: Grundy

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
The courthouse burned in 1885 destroying many records. In 1977 a flood caused extreme damage to many later records.


 * Lost census: 1890

Research Guides

 * A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Buchanan County. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1962):81-82. CD available at: American Ancestors ($).

African Americans

 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete


 * 1865-1872 Freedmen's Bureau

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 -

Census
1860 Agricultural Census


 * The 1860 Agriculture Ceneus [sic] of Buchanan County, Virginia. 1992. By Jeffrey C. Weaver. Clintwood, Virginia : Mullins Printing. Available at.

1890 Union Veterans


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

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009, index and images, incomplete

Genealogy
Compiled Genealogies by Surname
 * See Buchanan County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a few published books and Articles.

Compiled genealogies for multiple families


 * Atkins, Oscar T. Buchanan County, Virginia, Families 1860. Williamson, West Virginia: East Kentucky/Southern W.Va. Family Records, 1997. ["Taken in part from the federal census of Buchanan County, Virginia, for 1860, ... and from tax lists, from other census records, marriage records, and from the library and files of the compiler."--T.p.]
 * Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. Some Sandy Basin Characters. 1962; reprint, Clintwood, Va.: Hettie Sutherland, 1985.


 * Early Southwest Virginia Families: Families of Kelly, Smyth, Buchanan, Clark and Related Families of Edmondson, Keys, Beattie, Ryburn, McDonald. 1960. By Elizabeth Kelly Allison. Ann Arbor, MI : Edwards Brothers, Inc. Online at: Hathitrust.

Local Histories

 * Looking Back One Hundred Years, a Brief Story of Buchanan County and Its People. 1979. By Hannibal Albert Compton. Knightstown, Indiana : Bookmark..
 * The Forests of Buchanan County, Virginia. 1918. By W. G. Schwab. Charlottesville, Virginia : Office of State Forester, University of Virginia. Online at: Hathitrust, Google Books.

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... 1883. Washington, D.C : Government Printing Office. Online at: Internet Archive, Google Books. See Vol. 5, Virginia, Buchanan County, p. 65.

Civil War

 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (State Line) (Confederate)
 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry) (Confederate). Company D, likely Company I.
 * - 4th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (State Line) (Confederate)
 * - 7th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 10th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 14th Regiment, Kentucky Cavalry (Confederate). Companies C, F, G, H, and I
 * - 21st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate)
 * - 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company B.
 * - 29th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F.
 * - 34th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Witcher's Battalion, Virginia Mounted Rifles) (Confederate). Company C and Company E.
 * - 50th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 51st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
 * - 64th Regiment, Virginia Mounted Infantry (Confederate). Company F2.
 * - French's Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 -
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 Ancestry
 * 1861-1865 - U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 -

Naturalization

 * Virginia

Birth

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

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($).
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1936-1988 -.

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 -

Death

 * Early Deaths, Buchanan County, Virginia, 1858-1896. 1990. By Jesse Stewart. Grundy, Virginia : J. Stewart. Available at.
 * 1912-1987 -

Family History Centers
To locate the closest family history center or affiliate library, use the link listed above.

Buchanan County Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Buchanan Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
 * Buchanan County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List