Henry County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Henry 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
Henry County is located in the Southern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with North Carolina. Henry County was named in honor of Patrick Henry, who was then serving as the first Governor of Virginia.

Henry County, Virginia Courthouse


Henry County Courthouse Suite B 3160 Kings Mountain Rd. Martinsville, VA 24112-3966 Phone: 276-634-4880

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage and land records from 1777 divorce records from 1909 and probate records

Henry County, Virginia History


The county was named after Virginia Governor Patrick Henry (1736-1799).

Parent County
1776--Henry County was created 7 October 1776 from Pittsylvania County. County seat: Martinsville

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: 1790, 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:

African American
The John B. Harris Collection (African American) at Bassett Historical Center (see Societies and Libraries) includes the following resources:


 * "African-American Census Records, 1870-1910, Henry County, Virginia"
 * "Afro-American Marriages of Henry County, Virginia"
 * "Henry County Cohabitation List"
 * Extensive list of obituaries 1950s-1995

Other Henry County African American resources include:


 * Heinegg, Paul. "Henry County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at ; digital version at . [Includes information from Henry County.]

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
For tips on accessing census records online, see Virginia Census.

1790 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1810 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1830


 * Simmons, Don. Henry County, Virginia Census of 1830. 1976. Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

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 Henry 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 county.]

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Beaver Creek aka Bever Creek (1786). A history was published in 1933: ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Contains church minutes 1786-1800, family records 1771-1858 (births, marriages and deaths for the Anthony, Brittin and Strother families and their slaves), and accounts 1810-1815.
 * 2) Leatherwood (1772)

Henry County fell within the bounds of the Strawberry Association.

Some residents attended Matrimony Creek Baptist Church in neighboring Guilford (later Rockingham) County, North Carolina in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Church membership lists and minutes (1776-1814) are available online, with an index at the end: online.

Church of England
See also Camden Parish See also Patrick Parish

Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Henry County is available online.

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexes (1783-1946) and images (1783-1931) to Henry County, Virginia Chancery Records 1755-1912 are available online through Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Genealogy
More than 125 genealogies have been published about Henry County families. To view a list, visit Henry County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Local Histories

 * Hill, Judith Parks America. A History of Henry County, Virginia: With Biographical Sketches of Its Most Prominent Citizens and Genealogical Histories of Half a Hundred of Its Oldest Families. 1925. [2 copies]; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). Index at EveryNameIndex.com - free.
 * Pedigo, Virginia G. History of Patrick and Henry Counties, Virginia. Roanoke, Va.: Stone Printing and Manufacturing Co., 1933. and  available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Henry County's 1786 and 1790 Delinquent Lists appear on pp. 128-129.]
 * 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 Henry County to other parts of the country.]

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Henry County veterans; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War
The following unit rosters of Henry County residents in the Revolutionary War are available for free online, courtesy: Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution:


 * 1) "Payrolls of the Militia Company of Capt. Daniel Carlin, Henry County, Virginia, in 1779 and 1781," transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris.
 * 2) "Henry County, Virginia, Continental Soldiers Recruited by Act of October 1780," transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris.
 * 3) "Militia List - Capt. Jonathan Hanby" (1781), transcribed and annotated by James L. Lynch III.

Additional resources include:


 * 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 version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Henry County on page 131.]
 * 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.]
 * Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War. By J.T. McAllister. 1913. Hot Springs, Va.: McAllister Pub. Co. Online at: Internet Archive

War of 1812
Henry County men served in the 64th 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, Henry County, pp. 85-86. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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)


 * - 21st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company G 2nd.
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company H.
 * - 24th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company H (Henry Guards).
 * - 42nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Henry Volunteers), Company F (Leatherwood Fencibles), and Company G (Second Company of Volunteers).
 * - 57th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F (Henry and Pittsylvania Rifles).

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website. In addition, 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 this source and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia. These newspapers are valuable resources for all regions of Virginia.

Petitions

 * Watts, Dorothy C. "Petitions of Residents of Bedford and Henry Counties, Virginia, in Favor of and Opposed to a New County (Franklin)," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1980):83-89; Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1980):192-199. Available at American Ancestors ($).

Probate Records
Online Probate Links
 * 1639 – 1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry.com — index to transcribed records, incomplete, $
 * 1778 - 1794 Marriage Licenses Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Tax Digest - 1782 Virginia Pioneers ($)

Research Guides

 * Sweeney, Alice J. "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3. Available at ; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?

Bibliography


 * [1778-1780] Adams, Lela C. Henry County, Virginia Tax Lists 1778-1780.
 * [1780] Specific Taxes, 1780, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jan. 1894). Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [1782] 1782 Henry County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List; index online at New River Notes - free.
 * [1782] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Online at FamilySearch - free; . [1782 personal property tax list of Henry County.]
 * [1782-1814] Heinegg, Paul. "Henry County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1783] - Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783; index online at Revolutionary War Service website - free.
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Online at FamilySearch - free; . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Henry County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1786, 1790] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1976):199-208. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Henry County's 1786 and 1790 Delinquent List appear on pp. 128-129.]
 * [1790, 1800] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Henry County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan. 1988); Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr. 1988). Available at.
 * [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. Henry County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
 * [1810] Tax List, 1810, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 6, No. 28 (Mar. 1983).
 * [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. Henry County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1820] Lands Returned Delinquent, List, 1820, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Feb. 2006). Available at.

Birth

 * 1853-1871 - Henry County Birth Index 1853-1871. 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 $
 * 1700-1799 - Henry County, Virginia Marriages 1700-1799 - free.
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1778-1849 - Dodd, Virginia Anderton. Henry County, Virginia, Marriage Bonds, 1778-1849. Richmond, Va.: Clearfield Co., 1953. 1976 reprint available at ; digital versions at Google Books ($) and World Vital Records ($).
 * 1778-1849 - Henry County Marriage Index 1778-1849. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1778-1913 - Henry County Marriage Index 1778-1913. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1788-1794 - Henry County Marriage Licenses Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Henry County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * Bassett Historical Center, Bassett, Virginia. Website includes descriptions of collections. Excellent resource for family history research in Henry, Patrick, Floyd, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties in Virginia, the city of Martinsville, Virginia, and Rockingham, Stokes and Surry counties in North Carolina..
 * VA-NC Piedmont Genealogical Society

Family History Centers

 * Martinsville Virginia Family History Center (Bassett)

Henry County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

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