Mecklenburg County, Virginia Genealogy

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

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

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:

Bible Records

 * 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 . [Includes a section on Mecklenburg County silversmiths.]

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Census Records
1782 Enumeration 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
 * Mecklenburg County Heads of Families - 1782 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 32.
 * 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): Mecklenburg County fell within the bounds of the Meherrin Association and the Roanoke Association.
 * 1) Allen's Creek (1791)
 * 2) Blue Stone (1772)
 * 3) Buffaloe (1778)
 * 4) Maloane's or Geneto (1773)
 * 5) Wilson's (1799)

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.

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

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.] . Purchase at Virginians.com.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records

Grants and Patents
 * 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

 * 1870 Map of Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Includes creeks, roads, churches, landowners, and landmarks.
 * FamilySearch Places: Cities and Towns in this couinty - 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 ; 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 ; 1983 reprints (both volumes) available at ; 1990-1992 reprints (both volumes) also available at . [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.

Military Records
French and Indian War Revolutionary War
 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. . [Identifies some Mecklenburg County militia officers and veterans; see place name index.]
 * Elliott, Katherine B. Revolutionary War Records, Mecklenburg County, Virginia. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1983. Available at.
 * 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: 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." ; 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. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. 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. 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 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 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 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1906-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers
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 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * Bolten, Joseph S. Will of William Davis, Lunenburg County, Va. 1964. Available at . [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 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
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1782 1782 Land Tax Records online at Genealogy Trails - free.
 * 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, American Ancestors by NEHGS ($).
 * 1787 Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. . [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Mecklenburg County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * 1787-1789 Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1976):199-208; Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1978):43-50. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). [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, 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 . [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 . [The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Mecklenburg County is included in Vol. 2.]

Birth

 * 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 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 ($)
 * 1765-1810 Nottingham, Stratton. Marriage License Bonds of Mecklenburg County, Virginia from 1765 to 1810. Onancock, VA, USA: Stratton Nottingham, 1928. Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($); and World Vital Records ($).
 * 1785-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1785-1940 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Death

 * 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1853-1912 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection;  index & images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index & images

Family History Centers

 * 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
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.

Websites

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


 * – 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.