Wise County, VirginiaEdit This Page
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| Wise County, Virginia | |
| Map | |
| |
 Location in the state of Virginia | |
 Location of Virginia in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | 1856 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Wise |
| Courthouse | |
Virginia Wise County Southwest Virginia county.
Contents
|
County Courthouse
Wise County Courthouse
206 East Main Street
P.O. Box 1248
Room 245
Wise, VA 24293
Phone: 276-328-6111
Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, and divorce,
probate court and land records [1]
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1857 | 1856 | 1857 | 1860 | 1856 | 1856 |
History
The county is named after Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise (1806-1876), who was in office at the time of Wise County's organization. He later served as a Confederate States Army General during the Civil War.[2]
Parent County
1856--Wise County was created 16 February 1856 from Lee, Russell, and Scott Counties.
County seat: Wise [3]
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
- Lost census: 1890
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Neighboring Counties
Resources
Bible Records
Images of the Virginia Historical Society's family Bible collection have been digitized:
- Virginia Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 - browse collection at FamilySearch; free.
Additional Bible records include:
Biographies
- Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. Some Sandy Basin Characters. Clintwood, Va.: Hettie Sutherland, 1962. 1985 reprint available at FHL.
Cemeteries
- Adams, James Taylor (1892-1954). Wise County Historical Inventory: Family Burying Grounds. St. Louis, Mo.: R.R. Seibel and D.A. Griffith, 1971. Available at FHL.
- Ben Bolling Cemetery, Flat Gap, Wise Co., VA
- Kilgore, Paul. Butcher's Fork, American Legion, Skeen's Ridge and Back Valley Cemeteries of Wise County, Virginia. [West Virginia]: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [1997?]. Available at FHL.
- Kilgore, Paul. Powell Valley Memorial Gardens: Located in Beautiful Powell Valley, Wise County, VA. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), 2003. Available at FHL.
Census
For tips on accessing Wise County, Virginia census records online, see: Virginia Census.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 4,508 | ||
| 1870 | 4,785 | 6.1% | |
| 1880 | 7,772 | 62.4% | |
| 1890 | 9,345 | 20.2% | |
| 1900 | 19,653 | 110.3% | |
| 1910 | 34,162 | 73.8% | |
| 1920 | 46,500 | 36.1% | |
| 1930 | 51,167 | 10.0% | |
| 1940 | 52,458 | 2.5% | |
| 1950 | 56,336 | 7.4% | |
| 1960 | 43,579 | −22.6% | |
| 1970 | 35,947 | −17.5% | |
| 1980 | 43,863 | 22.0% | |
| 1990 | 39,573 | −9.8% | |
| 2000 | 40,123 | 1.4% | |
1860 Agriculture Census
- Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1860 Agriculture Census of Wise County, Virginia. Clintwood, Va.: Mullins Printing, 1992. Available at FHL.
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.]
Church
Court
Chancery Court
- Indexes (1855-1925) and images (1855-1912) to Wise County, Virginia Chancery Records 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 25 genealogies have been published about Wise County families. To view a list, visit Wise County, Virginia Genealogy.
Land
Local Histories
- Johnson, Charles A. A Narrative History of Wise County, Virginia. Norton, Va.: Norton Press, 1938. Reprint edition, The Overmountain Press, 1988. FHL Collection; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($). Google Books page.
- Wise County: Her Industries, Resources and Prominent Men. Norton, Va.: n.p., 1920. FHL Collection; digital version at Ancestry ($).
Maps
Military
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.: Government Printing Office, 1883. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Wise County, p. 107. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
Civil War
Regiments. Service men in Wise 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 Wise County, Virginia:
- - 4th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry and Infantry) (Confederate). Company C.[4]
- - 29th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company F.[5]
Records and histories are available, including:
- Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865
- Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers 1861-1865
- Virginia, The Civil War in Wise County, Virginia: 1861-1865. Wise, VA: Wise County Historical Society, 2004. WorldCat page.
- Gobble, Lillian and Rhonda Robertson. Between Brothers: Civil War Soldiers of Wise & Dickenson County [Virginia]. [Big Stone Gap, Va.: L. Gobble & R. Robertson, 200-?]. FHL Collection
Naturalization
Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929
Newspapers
- The Big Stone Gap Post, Big Stone Gap, VA, 1892-1928. (Chronicling America at the Library of Congress)
- The Big Stone Post, Big Stone Gap., VA, 1890-1892. (Chronicling America at the Library of Congress)
- Clinch Valley Times
- The Coalfield Progress, The Dickenson Star, and The Post
- Meade, Angie Bell. A Collection of Obituaries and Other Published Death Notices: Mostly of Russell, Scott and Wise Counties of Virginia, a Few Other Counties, Some Out-of-state: Most Collections Before 1940. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [2000?]. FHL Collection
- Wise County, Virginia Obituaries (NewspaperObituaries.net)
Private Papers
Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007
Probate
Research Guides
- "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Wise County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1980):204-206. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?
- [1857] Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1857 Wise County, Virginia Land Tax List (Surnames A through M only), available online, courtesy: New River Notes.
Vital Records
Indexes to Wise County, Virginia births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Courtesy: FamilySearch - free.
Birth
- Wise Co., Va., Births, 1867-1871, MSS., James Taylor Adams Collection, Box 68. St. Louis, Mo.: R.R. Seibel and D.A. Griffith, 1971. Microfilmed reproduction: FHL Collection
Death
Wise County, Virginia deaths are included in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society, available online - free.
- Kilgore, Paul and Fred Harry King Funeral Home. Death Records, Fred H. King Funeral Home, 1927-1935. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [1999?]. FHL Collection
- Robertson, Rhonda. The Wise County, Virginia Death Register 1856-1894. [Wise, Virginia]: Wise County Historical Society (VA), [200-?]. FHL Collection
Vital Record Substitutes
See also Bible Records
Societies and Libraries
Family History Centers
Websites
- Family History Library Catalog
- Lumbee Indians and Goins Family: Wise County, VA Early Records
- RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
- Wise Co., VA (RootsWeb)
- Wise Co., VA Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
- Wise County Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- Wise County, Virginia (government, tourism, etc.)
- Wise County, Virginia (Wikipedia)
- Wise County, Virginia History, Genealogy (New River Notes)
- Wise County, Virginia Genealogical Research Site (VA GenWeb)
- Wise County, Virginia Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
- Wise County, Virginia Genealogy Trails
- Cyndi's List
- Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites
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References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wise County, Virginia. Page 723 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ "Henry A. Wise," in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_A._Wise, accessed 13 January 2012.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ The Virginia State Line: Organizational Structure of the Virginia State Line, Ranger95.com, accessed 11 June 2012.
- ↑ John Perry Alderman, 29th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 53.
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