Appomattox County, Virginia Genealogy

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



Description
Appomattox County is located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named after the Appamatuck people who were shown on Captain John Smith's map of 1612. The name eventually evolved into "Appomattox".

County Courthouse
Appomattox County Courthouse 297 Court Street Appomattox, VA 24522-0672 Phone: 434-352-5540 Appomattox County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce and probate records from 1892, court and land records

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:

History Timeline
The county was named after the Appomattox River.

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
1890 Union Veterans
 * Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890. By Ronald Ray Turner. ; (*); images.
 * 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census. Online at: Ancestry ($).

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
A Calendar of Legislative Petitions Arranged by Counties Accomac - Bedford (Virginia State Library). By H.J. Eckenrode. 1908. Richmond, Virginia : Davis Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. Online at: HathiTrust.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * 1865-1872 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans in Appomattox County.

Funeral Homes

 * 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Genealogies
Compiled Genealogies by Surnames
 * See Appomattox County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of published books and articles.

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families
 * Featherston, Nathaniel Ragland. Appomattox County History and Genealogy. Baltimore, MD: Reprinted for Clearfield Co. by Genealogical Pub. Co., 1998..
 * Heritage Book Committee. Appomattox County, Virginia. Summersville, W. Va.: S.E. Grose and the Appomattox Heritage Committee, 2001..

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Grants and Patents


 * Bannister et al. Patents 482 patents dated 1739-1828 in what is now Appomattox County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2010. 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.

Local Histories

 * Appomattox County History and Genealogy. 1998. By Nathaniel Ragland Featherston. Baltimore, MD : Reprinted for Clearfield Co. by Genealogical Pub. Co., Available at ;.

Historic Residences
 * Clover Hill. Early History of an Old Appomattox Landmark. By Ethel Marion Smith. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 57, No. 3 (Jul., 1949), pp. 269-273. Online at: JSTOR ($). Includes information about the Patteson family.

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Migration

 * Elliott, Katherine B. Emigration to Other States from Southside Virginia. 2 vols. South Hill, Virginia: K.B. Elliott, 1966. Vol. 1 of original edition available at ; 1983 reprints (both volumes) available at ; 1990-1992 reprints (both volumes) also available at . Includes individuals who migrated out of Appomattox County to other parts of the country.

Military Records
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.: Governnment Printing Office, 1883. ; online at Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Appomattox County, pp. 61-62.]

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)
 * Hopkins, Luther W. From Bull Run to Appomattox: A Boy's View. Baltimore: Press of Fleet-McGinley Co., 1914. ; online at: Ancestry ($).

The following battles were fought in Appomattox County.
 * April 8, 1865 - Appomattox Station.
 * April 9, 1865 - Appomattox Court House.
 * Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.

Civil War service men in Appomattox 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:
 * - 2nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company H (Appomattox Rangers)
 * - 18th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (Appomattox Grays).
 * - 20th Battalion, Virginia Heavy Artillery (Confederate). Company C.
 * - 44th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Appomattox Invincibles).
 * - 46th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Liberty Guards).

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1906-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Probate Records

 * 1652-1900 Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

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 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records

Bibliography
 * 1764-1792  Personal Property Tax Lists of Buckingham County Virginia, Vol. 1, 1764-1792. c2017. By Randy F. McNew Crouse. n.p. : Crouse. .. Appomattox County was created in 1845, in part, from that portion of Buckingham County that lays south of the Appomattox River. Buckingham residents living there then, and following the division of the county, became residents of Appomattox County. Transcription of all extant tithe and personal property tax lists (over 12,000 records) for Buckingham County, Virginia from its formation in 1761 through 1792. Includes 1764, 1773-1774, 1782-1792. All proprietors are named (male or female) along with many additional white males over the age of 16, number of white tithes, number of slave tithes, names of slaves over the age of 12 (until 1783), carriages, ordinary licenses, horses, cattle (1783-1788) and acres of land (1764). 428 pages. Comments and annotations are included, as found in the original lists, describe familial relationships, marital status (widow), physical characteristics, race, occupation, nationality, religion, place of residence, etc. Transcribed records are ordered as they appear in the tax lists and, in addition, are ordered alphabetically in a 160 page index section. Includes an introduction and guide to use, a table and graphs to summarize statistics, extensive bibliography, table of alternate surname spellings, list of abbreviations and appendices.
 * 1792-1802  Personal Property Tax Lists of Buckingham County Virginia, Vol. 2, 1792-1802. c2017. By Randy F. McNew Crouse. n.p. : Crouse. . Comprehensive transcription of all extant personal property tax lists (over 13,700 records enumerating over 47,000 tithes) for Buckingham County, Virginia from 1792-1802. All proprietors are named (male or female) along with many additional white males over the age of 16, number of white tithes, number of slave tithes, carriages, ordinary licenses and horses. Indexed.
 * 1845 Appomattox County, Virginia Tax Lists, 1845 Only Extant Record for the First Year the County was Established, Includes Land Tax Rolls, Personal Property Tax Rolls. 1975. By Harriett A. Chilton. Falls Church, Virginia : H.A. Chilton. FS Library;.

Birth

 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages - Findmypast ($)
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1771-1989 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index ; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * Deaths are online in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society.
 * 1715-1901 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 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 — How to Use this Collection; index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Buena Vista Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Lynchburg Virginia FamilySearch Center
 * Jefferson - Madison Regional Library - an affiliate library

Societies

 * Central Virginia Genealogical Association

Websites

 * Appomattox 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: Appomattox County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1960):79-80., online at: American Ancestors ($).