Franklin County, VirginiaEdit This Page
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Virginia Franklin County
Franklin County, Virginia genealogy and family history research page. Guide to Franklin 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.
| Franklin County, Virginia | |
| Map | |
| |
 Location in the state of Virginia | |
 Location of Virginia in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | 1785 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Rocky Mount |
| Courthouse | |
Contents
|
County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse
Main Street
Rocky Mount, Va 24151-1392
Phone: 540-483-3065
Clerk Circuit Court has birth, marriage,
death land and court records[1]
| | |||||
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1853 | 1785 | 1853 | 1810 | 1786 | 1786 |
History
The county was named for Benjamin Franklin.
Parent County
1785--Franklin County was created 17 October 1785 from Bedford and Henry Counties.
County seat: Rocky Mount [2]
Boundary Changes
Record Loss
- Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890
Places/Localities
Populated Places
Neighboring Counties
Resources
Research Guides
- Sweeney, Alice J. "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3. Available at FHL; digital version at Virginia Genealogical Society website.
African American
- Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. 2005-present. - free online book. Beverly, Bibby
- Heinegg, Paul. "Franklin County Personal Property Tax List 1804-1821," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
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:
Cemeteries
- Tombstone Transcription Project Franklin County - cemetery transcriptions - USGenWeb
Census
For tips on accessing Franklin County, Virginia census records online, see: Virginia Census.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1790 | 6,842 | — |
| 1800 | 9,302 | 36.0% |
| 1810 | 10,724 | 15.3% |
| 1820 | 12,017 | 12.1% |
| 1830 | 14,911 | 24.1% |
| 1840 | 15,832 | 6.2% |
| 1850 | 17,430 | 10.1% |
| 1860 | 20,098 | 15.3% |
| 1870 | 18,264 | −9.1% |
| 1880 | 25,084 | 37.3% |
| 1890 | 24,985 | −0.4% |
| 1900 | 25,953 | 3.9% |
| 1910 | 96,480 | 271.7% |
| 1920 | 26,283 | −72.8% |
| 1930 | 24,337 | −7.4% |
| 1940 | 25,864 | 6.3% |
| 1950 | 24,560 | −5.0% |
| 1960 | 25,925 | 5.6% |
| 1970 | 26,858 | 3.6% |
| 1980 | 35,740 | 33.1% |
| 1990 | 39,549 | 10.7% |
| 2000 | 47,286 | 19.6% |
| Source: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. | ||
1800 - Lost, but a substitute is available, see Taxation.
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 Franklin 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.]
Church Records
Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):
- Bethel[3]
- Black Water (1804)[3]
- Chapel[3]
- Gill's Creek[3]
- Pig River (1773)[3]
- Snow Creek[3]
- Snow Creek and Pig River[3]
Franklin County fell within the bounds of the Strawberry Association.
Church of England
See also Patrick Parish See also Russell Parish
Court
Chancery Court
- Reddy, Anne Waller. Suit -- Brown vs. Brown: Chancery Court Records in Caroline County, Virginia. 1950?. MSS., available at FHL. [Rene (René, Rainey, or Renney) Parsons Brown of Caroline County was sued by John Brown of Franklin County.]
County Court
- Wingfield, Marshall. An Old Virginia Court: Being a Transcript of the Records of the First Court of Franklin County, Virginia, 1786-1789, with Biographies of the Justices and Stories of Famous Cases. Memphis: West Tennesee Historical Society, 1948. Available at FHL; digital version at World Vital Records ($) additional index at FHL; digital version of original edition at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
Genealogy
More than 150 genealogies have been published about Franklin County families. To view a list, visit Franklin County, Virginia Genealogy.
Land and Property
An early settlers map is available for Franklin County. The cartographers plot the locations of pioneers from 1786-1886. Find the map for free online, as well as an alphabetical list of names. The Family History Library has a full-scale copy: FHL Map 975.568 E7h.
Local Histories
- Claiborne, John G. Franklin County, Virginia: Historical and Industrial -- Past, Present and Future. Rocky Mount, Va.: The County News Print. Co., 1926. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
- Wingfield, Marshall. Franklin County, Virginia: A History. Berryville, VA: Chesapeake Book Co., 1964. Available at FHL; digital version at World Vital Records ($).
Maps
Migration
- Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Franklin County's 1786 Delinquent List appears on p. 171.]
- 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 FHL; 1983 reprints (both volumes) available at FHL; 1990-1992 reprints (both volumes) also available at FHL. [Includes individuals who migrated out of Franklin County to other parts of the country.]
Military
Revolutionary War
- 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 versions at U.S. Census Bureau and Google Books et. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Franklin County on page 130.]
- 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
Franklin County men served in the 42nd and 110th Regiments.[4]
- 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, Franklin County, p. 80. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
Civil War
Regiments. Service men in Franklin 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 Franklin County, Virginia:
- - 2nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company D (Franklin Rangers).
- - 10th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (1st Cavalry Regiment, Wise Legion (Confederate). Company K (Rosser's Mounted Rangers, Virginia Rangers, or Texas Rangers).[5]
- - 21st Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company G 2nd.[6]
- - 24th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Franklin Rifles) and Company D (Early Guards).[7]
- - 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company A and Company G.[8]
- - 42nd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (Franklin Invincibles).[9]
Newspapers
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 the Virginia Gazette and other Virginia newspapers (1736-1803), see: The Geography of Slavery in 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 FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).
Probate Records
Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?
- [1786] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1977):167-171. Available at FHL; digital version at New England Ancestors ($). [These records often identify migrants who left the county and their intended destinations. Franklin County's 1786 Delinquent List appears on p. 171.]
- [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 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & 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. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Franklin County is included in Vol. 1.]
- [1788, 1799] Indexed images of the 1788 and 1799 Personal Property Tax Lists of Franklin County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
- [1800] Tax List, 1800, Bedford Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov. 1997); Vol. 9, No. 1 (Feb. 1998).
- [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Apr. 1978); Vol. 22, No. 3 (Jul. 1978); Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct. 1978).
- [1804-1821] Heinegg, Paul. "Franklin County Personal Property Tax List 1804-1821," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
- [1812] Tax Relief in 1812, Times of Franklin Before & After 1786. Rocky Mount VA: Jun 2007.
- [1815] Ward, Roger D. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). 6 vols. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Franklin County is included in Vol. 2.]
- [1830] Persons with Taxable Property in Robert Hairston's District, 1830, Times of Franklin Before & After 1786. Rocky Mount VA: Aug 2004.
- [1830] Personal Property Tax List, 1830, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Feb. 1984).
- [1840] Personal Property Tax List, 1840, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1985).
Vital Records
Indexes to Franklin County, Virginia births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Courtesy: FamilySearch - free.
Marriage
- Wingfield, Marshall. Marriage Bonds of Franklin County, Virginia. Memphis, TN, USA: West Tennessee Historical Societ, 1939. 1967 index available at FHL; 1973 reprint available at FHL; digital version of original edition at Ancestry ($).
Vital Record Substitutes
The Virginia Historical Society's Marriage and Obituary Index, 1736-1820 (newspaper abstracts) is available for free online. Images of the original index cards are browseable, arranged alphabetically by surname.
 |
For birth, marriage, and death record substitutes, see Bible Records, Cemeteries, Church Records, Newspapers, and Probate Records. |
Societies and Libraries
- Franklin County Genealogical Society P O Box 316 Ferrum, Virginia 24088
- Franklin County Historical Society
- 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.[10]
- VA-NC Piedmont Genealogical Society
Family History Centers
Websites
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- Family History Library Catalog
- Cyndi's List
References
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Franklin County, Virginia. Page 713 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Robert Baylor Semple and George William Beale, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 338-339. Digital version at Google Books.
- ↑ Stuart Lee Butler, A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812 (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1988), 85. FHL Book 975.5 M2bs.
- ↑ Robert J. Driver, 10th Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1992). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 87.
- ↑ John E. Olson, 21st Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, c1989). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 57.
- ↑ Ralph White Gunn, 24th Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1987). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 34.
- ↑ J.L. Scott, 36th and 37th Battalions Virginia Cavalry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1986). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 24.
- ↑ John Chapla, 42nd Virginia Infantry (Lynchburg, Va.: H.E. Howard, 1983). FHL Book 975.5 M2vr v. 5.
- ↑ Alice J. Sweeney, "Bassett Historical Center," The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug. 2002):1-3, available online at: http://www.vgs.org/vgsn2804.pdf.
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