Russell County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Russell County

Southwest Virginia county.





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

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

Populated Places

 * Belfast (unincorporated)
 * Castlewood (unincorporated)
 * Cleveland | Wikipedia page
 * Dante (unincorporated)
 * Honaker | official site | Wikipedia page
 * Lebanon | Wikipedia page
 * Rosedale (unincorporated)
 * part of St. Paul | official site | Wikipedia page
 * Swords Creek (unincorporated)
 * Willis (unincorporated

African American

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

Cemeteries

 * Tombstone Transcription Project Russell County - cemetery transcriptions - USGenWeb
 * Knisely, Mary Jane. "Russell County, Virginia, Family Cemeteries," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1977):111-112. Available at ; digital version at New England Ancestors ($).

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.

1820


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

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 Russell County.]

1850

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

The returns have been published by a local expert:


 * Ball, Bonnie S. and Ada Grace Catron. The Seventh Population Census of the United States for Russell County, Virginia, 1850. Haysi, Va.: B. Ball?, 1964. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

1860


 * Russell County, Virginia 1860 Census (Russell Co., VA Civil War Website)

1870


 * Salyer, Elisabeth L.W. 1870 Census of Russell County, Virginia. West Palm Beach, Fla.: Palm Beach County Genealogical Society, 1975. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($).

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.]

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Russell County, Virginia residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.


 * [Fletcher] Descendant of William Fletcher, b. c1744, d. 1798 Russell County, Virginia. Y-DNA 12 Marker Test, FTDNA. Genetic signature available online (labelled William Fletcher of Accomac County, Virginia/James Fletcher of Brunswick County, Virginia), courtesy: The Fletcher DNA Project.

General
As of November 2010, a query for individuals born in Russell, Virginia at World Connect, results in more than 175,000 entries.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Anderson. 699 patents dated 1782-1912 in what is now Russell and Tazewell Counties, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2007. [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.]
 * Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. Available at . [Includes Russell County, Virginia.]

Pre-Revolutionary War

 * The First Militia Roster of the Clinch River Area of Russell County (Russell Co. GenWeb)

Revolutionary War

 * Kegley, Mary B. Revolutionary War Pension Applications of Southwest Virginia Soldiers. n.p.: M.B. Kegley, 1997. Available at . [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: 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." 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

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. 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

 * Russell County, Virginia 1860-1865
 * Russell County, Virginia Civil War Website

Newspapers

 * The Geography of Slavery in Virginia: 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.
 * Obituaries and Death Notices of Russell County (Russell Co., VA Civil War Website)
 * Lebanon News mentions of Civil War veterans, 1900-1933 (Russell Co., VA Civil War Website)

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, 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).

Private Papers

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

Research Guides

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

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:.

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


 * Personal property &amp; land tax list (no date), Southwest Virginian, Vol. 7 (Mar. 1984)..
 * Tax list [date?], Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 9 (Jun. 1979)..
 * [1786-1818] Land Tax Books, 1786-1818, Virginia Appalachian Notes, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Winter 2001).
 * [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. Available at . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Russell County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1787] Tax list, 1787, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 7 (1979)..
 * [1787-1800] Tax list, 1787 through 1800, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 9 (Apr. 1979)..
 * [1788] Tax list, 1788, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 10 (Aug. 1979)..
 * [1789] Tax list, 1789, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 11 (Oct. 1979)..
 * [1790] Tax list, 1790, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 2, No. 12 (1979)..
 * [1790] Personal property and land tax, 1790, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 3, No. 14 (Apr. 1980); Vol. 3, No. 15 (Jun. 1980)..
 * [1791] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1791, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 3, No. 16 (Aug. 1980); Vol. 3, No. 17 (Oct. 1980)..
 * [1792, 1801] Images of the 1792 and 1801 Personal Property Tax Lists of Russell County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1792] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1792, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 3, No. 18 (Dec. 1980); Vol. 4, No. 19 (Feb. 1981); Vol. 4, No. 20 (Apr. 1981); Vol. 4, No. 21 (Jun. 1981). ff.
 * [1793] Personal property &amp; land tax list, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 4, No. 22 (Sep. 1981); Vol. 4, No. 23 (Dec. 1981); Vol. 5, No. 25 (Jun. 1982); Vol. 5, No. 26 (Sep. 1982). ff. [perhaps 1792]
 * [1794] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1794, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 5, No. 27 (Dec. 1982); Vol. 6, No. 28 (Jun. 1983); Vol. 6, No. 29 (Jun. 1983). ff.
 * [1795] Personal property &amp; land tax list, 1795, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 6, No. 30 (Sep. 1983); Vol. 6, No. 31 (Dec. 1983)..
 * [1796] Personal property and tax list, 1796, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 7, No. 32 (Mar. 1984)..
 * [1800, 1802, 1810] Tax list, 1800, 1802, 1810, Southwest Virginian, Vol. 1, No. 5 (1978)..
 * [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. Russell 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 . [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Russell County is included in Vol. 5.]
 * [1815] Kegley, Mary B. Southwest Virginia Tax Assessments, 1815: Grayson, Lee, Scott, Russell, Washington, and Wythe Counties. Wytheville, Va.: Kegley Books, 1991. Original edition and 1992 supplement available at . [The source for this publication is a private collection of 1815 tax assessment tickets for the First District of Virginia. The tickets includes landowners' names, number of acres or lots, number of buildings along with descriptions, and number of slaves. N.B. These are not the 1815 land tax books.]
 * [1816] Kincaid, Bathsheba. "Russell County, Virginia Tax Book for 1816," The Mountain Empire Genealogical Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Fall 1985):177-179..
 * [1841] Personal property tax list, 1841, A-D, Researcher. Chillicothe MO: Jul 1967. Vol. - Iss. 9.

Societies and Libraries

 * Russell County Public Library: Local History

Websites

 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
 * References for Southwest Virginia (Southwest Virginia Project)
 * Russell County Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Russell County Genealogy and History (Genealogy Trails)
 * Russell County is Rich in History (Russell Co. Chamber of Commerce)
 * Russell County, Virginia (Wikipedia)
 * Russell County, Virginia 1860-1865
 * Russell County, Virginia Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Russell County, Virginia Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
 * Russell County, Virginia GenWeb (VA GenWeb)
 * Russell County, Virginia U.S. GenWeb Archives (U.S. GenWeb)
 * Russell County, Virginia U.S. GenWeb Archives (U.S. GenWeb)