Mecklenburg County, Virginia Genealogy

United States

Virginia

Mecklenburg County

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

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Boydton Organized: 01 Mar 1765 Parent County(s): Lunenburg Variant Spellings: Mecklenburgh Neighboring Counties Brunswick  • Charlotte  • Granville (NC)  • Halifax  • Lunenburg  • Vance (NC)  • Warren (NC) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

Mecklenburg County is located in the south-central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with North Carolina. Mecklenburg County was named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III.

County Courthouse

Mecklenburg County Courthouse
911 Madison Street
PO Box 306
Boydton, VA 23917-0306
Phone: 434-738-6260
Mecklenburg County Website

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, probate, land and court records

Mecklenburg County, Virginia Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1853	1765	1853	1764	1765	1764	1810
* Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1912. General compliance year is unknown.

Record Loss

Loose papers before 1793 are missing. Bound volumes of deeds, orders, and wills still exist. Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1890 Visit the Library of Virginia's website to determine exactly what records have been lost and their Lost Records Localities Database to find additional resources. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see: Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle. When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog. Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. List of counties in the United States with Record Loss

Boundary Changes

Parent County: Created from Lunenburg County, 01 Mar 1765 County seat: Boydton Interactive Map of Virginia County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes Virginia Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

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:

Towns
Boydton Brodnax	Chase City Clarksville	La Crosse South Hill
Unincorporated communities
Buffalo Nelson	Palmer Springs Shiny Rock	Skipwith
Census-designated places
Baskerville Bracey	Fairview Thynedale	Union

Resources

Bible Records

For databases and indexes, see Virginia Bible Records.

• 1607-2007 Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Free Bible Index with over 200,000 entries.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

• Cutten, George Barton. The Silversmiths of Virginia (together with Watchmakers and Jewelers) from 1694 to 1850. Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, Incorporated, 1952. Available at FHL. [Includes a section on Mecklenburg County silversmiths.]

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Mecklenburg County, Virginia online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave VAGenWeb USGenWeb Archives VA Tombstone Transcription Project Virginia Gravestones BillionGraves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find A Grave FamilySearch Places
See Virginia Cemeteries for more information.

 

• 1800-1986 Virginia, Jewish Cemetery Records Index, ca. 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records

For databases, indexes, and information online, see Virginia Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	14,733	—
1800	17,008	15.4%
1810	18,453	8.5%
1820	19,786	7.2%
1830	20,477	3.5%
1840	20,724	1.2%
1850	20,630	−0.5%
1860	20,096	−2.6%
1870	21,318	6.1%
1880	24,610	15.4%
1890	25,359	3.0%
1900	26,551	4.7%
1910	28,956	9.1%
1920	31,208	7.8%
1930	32,622	4.5%
1940	31,933	−2.1%
1950	33,497	4.9%
1960	31,428	−6.2%
1970	29,426	−6.4%
1980	29,444	0.1%
1990	29,241	−0.7%
2000	32,280	10.4%
2010	32,727	1.4%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

1782 Enumeration

• Mecklenburg County Heads of Families - 1782 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 32.

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.
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

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

1. Allen's Creek (1791)
2. Blue Stone (1772)
3. Buffaloe (1778)
4. Maloane's or Geneto (1773)
5. Wilson's (1799)

• 1776 Petition of Baptists (10,000 names!) and sympathizers from all over Virginia, dated 16 October 1776, asking for an end to persecution of Baptists by the established church. After locating your ancestor, view the digital copies.
  – Digital copies at Library of Congress; also at Library of Virginia using the code word "000606093"
  – Hall, Jean Pickett. "Legislative Petitions: the 10,000 name petition" transcription in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vols. 35-38, with annotations in Vol. 39, (Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Genealogical Society, 1983-) online at Ancestry ($) and in book form at various libraries.
  Mecklenburg County fell within the bounds of the Meherrin Association and the Roanoke Association.

Church of England
See also St. James Parish Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Mecklenburg County is available online.

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):

• Durham's Monthly Meeting (1790-?)
• Ladd's Monthly Meeting (1790-1808) aka Taylor's Creek

Court Records

Online Court Indexes and Records
Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index can be used to search Mecklenburg County chancery records for the years 1783-1941. Originals located at the Library of Virginia.

Emigration and Immigration

For databases and immigrant groups, see Virginia Emigration and Immigration

• List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe who served labor terms in Colonial Virginia are online at: Immigrant Servants Database.
  

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African American
In 1860, Mecklenburg County had one of the largest enslaved populations in the state (12,420 individuals). Ten years later in 1870, it had one of the largest African American populations in Virginia (14,156).

• 1935-2009 Virginia, African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Heinegg, Paul. "Mecklenburg County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1820," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
• List of Colored Voters Registered at Pearsons Store Precinct in Palmers Springs Magisterial District, Mecklenburg Co., Va. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.; available on microfilm at FHL. [No registration years are identified on the FamilySearch Catalog.]
• Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Mecklenburg County.

Genealogies

Compiled Genealogies by Surname

• See Mecklenburg County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 150+ published books and artilcles, or jump to surname using the alphabet bar.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families

• Pritchett, John W. Southside Virginia Genealogies. CD-ROM. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. Free online index, courtesy: Virginians - The Family History of John W. Pritchett. [Includes a great deal of information about residents of Mecklenburg County, see discussion of cited sources.] FHL CD-ROM no. 3887.

Land and Property Records

For land indexes, records, and databases, see Virginia Land and Property, including Colonial and State Land Grants.

Online Land Indexes and Records

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.

• Hudgins. 779 patents dated 1722-1819 in what is now Mecklenburg County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2002. 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.

Maps and Gazetteers

County and state maps, historical and more current, are valuable research tools. For map collections, online and in libraries, see Virginia Maps.

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• 1870 Map of Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Includes creeks, roads, churches, landowners, and landmarks.
• FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration

• Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1976):199-208; Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1978):43-50. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Mecklenburg County's 1787-1788 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:204-207; 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on 22:46-50.]
• 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 Mecklenburg County to other parts of the country.]
• Bell, Mary McCampbell. "Some Migrations from Virginia to South Carolina," The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Summer 1982):136-143. FHL Book 975.7 B2sc v. 10

Military Records

French and Indian War

• Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. FHL Collection. [Identifies some Mecklenburg County militia officers and veterans; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

• Elliott, Katherine B. Revolutionary War Records, Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1983. Available at FHL.
• 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 et. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Mecklenburg County on page 132.]
• 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. Virginia section begins on page 238.
  

Regiments. Service men in Mecklenburg County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Mecklenburg County supplied soldiers for the:

- 6th Virginia Regiment

Mecklenburg residents' participation in the Revolutionary War.

War of 1812

• Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2007. Mountain Press provides online surname list. FHL Collection 975.5 M2djL. Includes Mecklenburg County.
• 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, Mecklenburgh County [sic], p. 90. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.

Regiments. Mecklenburg County men served in the 22nd and 98th Regiments.

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1861-1865 Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 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)

Regiments. Civil War service men in Mecklenburg 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:

- 3rd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company A (Boydton Cavalry or Mecklenburg Dragoons).

- 14th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company E (Clarksville Blues) and Company F (Chambliss Grays).

- 21st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company C (Oliver Grays).

- 34th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company B (Mecklenburg Heavy Artillery).

- 38th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Pittsylvania Regiment) (Confederate). Company G (Mecklenburg Rifles) and 1st Company I (Confederate Guards).

- 56th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies A (Mecklenburg Guards) and B (Mecklenburg Spartans).

World War II

• 1940-1945 Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1906-1929 Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

For online newspaper resources, see the Virginia Newspapers page.

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.

• 1893 Midland Express (Boydton, Va.) at Genealogy Bank ($).

Other Records

Voting Records

• 1902-1970 Virginia Voter Registration, 1902-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Probate Records

For probate records, indexes, and databases, see Virginia Probate Records.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• Bolten, Joseph S. Will of William Davis, Lunenburg County, Va. 1964. Available at FHL. [Davis's will was proved in Mecklenburg County.]
• 1765-1948 Index to Wills Index Transcription Project 1765-1948 at VAGenWeb
• 1765-1782 Digital Images of Mecklenburg County Wills 1765-1782. See names of testators. Virginia Pioneers
• 1765-1782;1782-1788;1788-1798 Images of Wills & Estates Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1777-1778 Index to Deed Bk 5 Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1779-1786 Index to Deed Bk 6 Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1782-1798 Digital Images of Mecklenburg County Wills 1782-1788; 1788-1798. See names of testators. Virginia Pioneers
• 1786-1791 Index to Deed Bk 7 Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1792-1795 Index to Deed Bk 8 Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1795-1797 Index to Deed Bk 9 Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1798-1801 Index to Deed Bk 10 Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry — index, incomplete ($)
• Images of Guardian Accounts 1766-1793; 1802-1812; 1812-1825 Virginia Pioneers ($)

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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

Tax Records

For additional online collections and the value and use of Virginia's tax lists in your research, see Virginia Taxation.

Online Tax Indexes and Records

• 1782 1782 Land Tax Records online at Genealogy Trails - free.
• 1782-1805 FHL Mecklenburg County Personal Property Tax Lists 1782-1805; images
• 1782-1820 Heinegg, Paul. "Mecklenburg County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1820," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
• 1784 Sheriff's Tax Land Sales, 1784, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct. 1989). Available at FHL, American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
• 1787 Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Mecklenburg County is included in Vol. 1.]
• 1787-1789 Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1976):199-208; Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1978):43-50. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Mecklenburg County's 1787-1788 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:204-207; 1788-1789 Delinquent Lists appear on 22:46-50.]
• 1800 Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan. 1996); Vol. 40, No. 2 (Apr. 1996); Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul. 1996); Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct. 1996); Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan. 1997); Vol. 41, No. 2 (Apr. 1997). Available at FHL, American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
• 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 FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax list. Mecklenburg County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
• 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. Mecklenburg County is included in Vol. 2.]

Vital Records

For additional indexes, databases, and details, see Virginia Vital Records.

Birth

• 1853-1866 Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1912-1913 Virginia, Birth Certificates, 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1584-1917 Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Fridley, Beth. Mecklenburg County Virginia Birth Records, 1866-85 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001. Available at Ancestry ($).

Marriage

• 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at at Findmypast — index, ($) — index $
• 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1765-1810 Nottingham, Stratton. Marriage License Bonds of Mecklenburg County, Virginia from 1765 to 1810. Onancock, VA, USA: Stratton Nottingham, 1928. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
• 1785-1940 Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
• 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1853-1935 Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1936-1988 Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

• 1912-1987 Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1853-1912 Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Divorce

• 1918-1988 - Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index & images

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Mecklenburg County. For state-wide facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Caswell North Carolina Family History Center
• Danville Virginia Family History Center
• Franklin Virginia Family History Center

• Blue Ridge Regional Library - Collinsville Branch - an affiliate library
• Blue Ridge Regional Library - Martinsville Branch - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Mecklenburg County. For state-wide library facilities, see Virginia Archives and Libraries.

Library of Virginia (Virginia State Archives)
Website

Virginia Memory Collection, part of Library of Virginia's
Website. It contains digitized collections of chanceries, newspapers, photo collections etc.

Societies

Listed below are societies in Mecklenburg County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Virginia Societies.

Websites

• Mecklenburg Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
• Virginia Pioneers ($)
• Cemeteries, history, pictures, resources

• FamilySearch Catalog – 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.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a family history center.