Russell County, Virginia

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==== Maps  ====
 
==== Maps  ====
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Tom Rudder produced a map of the "First Land Owners in Castles Woods (Russel County, Virginia)," which as published in ''The Appalachian Quarterly,'' Vol. 11, No. 1 (Mar. 2006):59-62. {{FHL|1462631|item|disp=FHL Book 975.5743 D25a v. 12}}. Rudder's map includes supporting documentation.
  
 
*[http://libremap.org/ Libre Map Project] (includes detailed topographic maps of Russell Co.)  
 
*[http://libremap.org/ Libre Map Project] (includes detailed topographic maps of Russell Co.)  

Revision as of 23:04, 4 February 2013

United States go to Virginia go to Russell County



Russell County, Virginia genealogy and family history research page. Guide to Russell County (established 1785) genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, Revolutionary War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

Hand and keyboard.jpg Virginia
Online Records


Russell County, Virginia
Map
Boundary map of Russell County, Virginia
Map of Virginia highlighting Russell County
Location in the state of Virginia
Map of the U.S. highlighting Virginia
Location of Virginia in the U.S.
Facts
Founded 1785
County Seat Lebanon
Courthouse

Contents

County Courthouse

Russell County Courthouse
P O Box 435
Lebanon, Virginia 24266
Phone:  540-889-8023

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1853,
divorce and court records from 1786, probate records
from 1803 and land records from 1787[1]

Beginning Dates for Russell County, Virginia Government Records
Birth Marriage Death Census Land Probate
1853 1853 1853 1820 1787 1803

History

Parent County

1785--A petition to form Russell County was submitted by citizens of Washington County in Dec 1785. Russell County was formed on 2 Jan 1786. The county's first court met on 9 May 1786 at Castle's Woods, later known as Castlewood.
County seat: Lebanon [2]

Boundary Changes

Lee, Scott, Wise, and Buchanan Counties were formed either in whole or in part from Russell County.

Record Loss

  • Censuses lost: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1890
  • Courthouse fire 1872: Loss of a deed book and a marriage book attributed to this event

Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

Resources

Varussell.jpg

Research Guides

  • "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Russell County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1978):131-133. Digital version at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African American

Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-1872

Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at FHL; digital version at FamilySearch Books Online. [Includes information from Russell County.]

Bible Records

Images of the Virginia Historical Society's family Bible collection have been digitized:

Additional Bible records include:

Cemeteries

Census

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

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
17903,338
—
18004,80844.0%
18106,31931.4%
18205,536−12.4%
18306,71421.3%
18407,87817.3%
185011,91951.3%
186010,280−13.8%
187011,1038.0%
188013,90625.2%
189016,12616.0%
190018,03111.8%
191023,47430.2%
192026,78614.1%
193025,957−3.1%
194026,6272.6%
195026,8180.7%
196026,290−2.0%
197024,533−6.7%
198031,76129.5%
199028,667−9.7%
200030,3085.7%
201028,897−4.7%

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.

1820

  • Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. Russell County, Virginia, Census of 1820. Clintwood, Va.: unknown, 1940. FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

1840

  • Douthat, James L. 1840 Mountain Empire of Virginia Census. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2001. FHL Collection 975.5 X2d 1840. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. [Includes Russell County.]

1850

Census takers uncharacteristically recorded the birth town or county of residents this census year.[3]

1860

1870

1880

1890 Union Veterans

Church Records

Baptist

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

  1. Castlewoods (1806)[4]
  2. Copper Creek (1808)[4]
  3. Glade Hollows (1788)[4]
  4. Russel (1805)[4]
  5. Stony Creek (1802)[4]

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

Court

Genealogy

More than 100 genealogies have been published about Russell County families. To view a list, visit Russell County, Virginia Genealogy.

Land and Property

Grants and Patents

Land patents (pre-1779), land grants (after 1779) and surveys are available online at the Library of Virginia website. For step-by-step instructions on retrieving these records, read the Virginia Land and Property article.

Deeds

Local Histories

Russell County Lookups (Russell Co. GenWeb)

  • Albert, Ethel Evans. Southwest Virginia Kin, Vol. 1.
  • Chafin, Andrew. Russell County (Images of America series). Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2008. Google Books page | WorldCat page
  • The Heritage of Russell County, Virginia 1786-1986, 2 vols. Russell County Heritage Book Committee, 1989. Google Books page | WorldCat page
  • Sutherland, Elihu J. Pioneer Recollections of Southwest Virginia.

Maps

Tom Rudder produced a map of the "First Land Owners in Castles Woods (Russel County, Virginia)," which as published in The Appalachian Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Mar. 2006):59-62. FHL Book 975.5743 D25a v. 12. Rudder's map includes supporting documentation.

Military

Pre-Revolutionary War
Revolutionary War
  • Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at FHL. [Includes Russell 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 version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Western District, Russell County on page 136.]
  • 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." FHL Book 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]
War of 1812

Russell County men served in the 72nd Regiment.[5]

  • 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. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Russell County, p. 102. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Russell County, Virginia 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 in Russell County, Virginia:

- 2nd Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry) (Confederate). Companies A, E, and H.
- 13th Battalion, Virginia Reserves (Confederate). Company G.[6]
- 16th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company A and Company B.[7]
- 21st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company E 1st.[8]
- 22nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Bowen's Virginia Mounted Riflemen) (Confederate). Company A, Company D, Company E, Company I, and Company K.
- 29th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A.[9]
- 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company K.[10]
- 37th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C, Company G, and Company I (New Garden Fearnots).[11]
- 48th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Russell Guards).[12]

Records and histories are available, including:

World War I and Later
  • Military discharge records from World War I and later are housed in the courthouse

Naturalization

Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

Newspapers

The Virginia Newspapers Project identifies local Russell County, Virginia newspapers.

Periodicals

Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin

Genealogical articles with abstracts of Russell County, Virginia records have been published in the Watauga Association of Genealogists Bulletin (39+ vols., 1972-present), the journal of the Watauga Association of Genealogists. The organization has posted tables of contents for most volumes on their website. Back issues are available for purchase. The Family History Library has a complete collection FHL US/CAN Books 976.897 B2w, including Margaret W. Hougland and Betty Jane Hylton's Bulletin Subject Index: The First Thirty Years, 1972-2001 (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Association of Genealogists, 2002) FHL US/CAN Book 976.897 B2w index 1972-2001.

Photos

  • Indexed digital photo archive at the Russell County Public Library in Lebanon, documenting Russell County communities from the 20th century to the present

Private Papers

Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007

  • Knisely, Mary Jane. "An Old Account Book of Russell County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1977):310. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Probate Records

Taxation

How can Virginia tax lists help me?

Russell County's original personal property tax books are held at the Library of Virginia. The years 1787 through 1850 were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1993: FHL US/CAN Films 1905718-1905720.

Digitized images for select years are available online and abstracts of many of these records have appeared in print:

Vital Records

Indexes to Russell County, Virginia births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Courtesy: FamilySearch - free.

Birth
  • Birth registers, 1853-1889, on microfilm at the Russell County Public Library
  • Birth records, 1863-1864, are missing
  • Birth records, 1889-1896,  on microfilm at the Library of Virginia
  • Birth records, 1890, are missing
  • Birth records, 1895, are missing
  • Russell County Births, 1853-1896 (Russell Co. GenWeb)
Marriage
Death
Vital Record Substitutes
Tip
 For birth, marriage, and death record substitutes, see Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church History and Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records.

Societies and Libraries

General William Campbell Chapter SAR
19770 McCray Drive
Abingdon, Virginia 24211
540-623-2442

Family History Centers

Websites

Hands on keyboard.png Genealogy courses: Learn how to research from an expert in Fun Five Minute Genealogy Videos.


References

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Russell County, Virginia. Page 721 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
  3. ↑ Alycon Trubey Pierce, "In Praise of Errors Made by Census Enumerators," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 81, No. 1 (March 1993):51-55. FHL Book 973 B2ng
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 358-359. Digital version at Google Books.
  5. ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 192. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.
  6. ↑ William C. Pendleton, History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia, 1748-1920 (Richmond, Va.: W.C. Hill Printing Company, 1920), 629-630. Digital version at Google Books.
  7. ↑ Jack L. Dickinson, 16th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 60.
  8. ↑ John E. Olson, 21st Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 57.
  9. ↑ John Perry Alderman, 29th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 53.
  10. ↑ J.L. Scott, 36th and 37th Battalions Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1986). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 24.
  11. ↑ Thomas M. Rankin, 37th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1987). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 37.
  12. ↑ John D. Chapla, 48th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 54.
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