Powhatan County, Virginia Genealogy

Guide to Powhatan County Virginia ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, immigration records, and military records.

Virginia Online Genealogy Records

Description
Powhatan County is located in the Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 20 miles west of the state capital, Richmond. It was named in honor of the Indian Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas.

Powhatan County, Virginia Courthouse
Powhatan County Courthouse P.O. Box 37 3880 Old Buckingham Road Suite C Powhatan, Virginia 23139-0037

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1777

Powhatan County, Virginia History


The county is named after Chief Powhatan (c1545-c1618).

Many descendants of early Virginia French Huguenot families lived in this area.

Parent County
1777--Powhatan County was created 5 May 1777 from Chesterfield and Cumberland Counties. County seat: Powhatan

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Virginia county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Virginia County Boundary Maps" (1617-1995) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.


 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

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:

African American

 * Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-1872


 * Heinegg, Paul. "Powhatan County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1817," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at ; digital version at .[Includes information from Powhatan County.]

Cemeteries

 * 1800-1986 - at FamilySearch — index

Census
1783 Enumeration


 * Powhatan County Heads of Families - 1783 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 58.

1850

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

1890 Union Veterans


 * "Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890." Prince William County Virginia, by Ronald Ray Turner.    Includes residents of this county.

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Muddy Creek (1774)
 * 2) Powhatan (1771)

Powhatan County fell within the bounds of the Middle District Association.

Church of England

 * See also King William Parish
 * See also St. James Southam Parish

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexes (1782-1938) and images (1782-1913) to Powhatan 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
For more genealogy links and 100+ published books and articles, see Powhatan County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies. or jump to a surname using the alphabet bar.

Compiled genealogies that treat multiple Powhatan County families include:


 * Foley, Louise Pledge Heath. Early Virginia Families Along the James River, Their Deep Roots and Tangled Branches. 3 vols. Richmond, Va.: L.P.H. Foley, 1974-1990. . Volume 1 includes Powhatan County 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 Powhatan County, see discussion of cited sources.] ; purchase at Virginians.com.

Immigration

 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. "Intercepted Letters Relating to America, 1777-1811" The Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2000):184-200. [Overseas contacts of a resident of Powhattan Co. with the following surname: Mayo.]

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 5 British aliens, some of whom had families, living in Powhatan County.

Land and Property
Grants and Patents


 * Bannister et al. 380 patents dated 1702-1751 in what is now Powhatan County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. [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.]

Migration

 * Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Powhatan County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on p. 271.]

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Powhatan County veterans; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War
residents' participation in the 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: 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Powhatan 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 from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

War of 1812
Powhatan County men served in the 102nd Regiment.


 * 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 Powhatan 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, Powhatan County, pp. 98-99. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * Information about the Companies that served from Powhatan County can be found at:

(1)    titled Powhatan: A Bicentennial History, pages 240-268 and 504-507    (2)     titled A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861-1865


 * - 1st Regiment, Virginia Reserves (Confederate) (Company I)
 * - 4th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company E.
 * - 20th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (Powhatan Rifles).
 * - 59th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)
 * - Powhatan Artillery (Confederate)

Records and histories are available, including:


 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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)

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

 * Virginia

Newspapers
Indexed images of the Virginia Gazette(1736-1780) are available online through the Colonial Williamsburgwebsite. 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.

Private Papers
Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007

Probate Records
Digital Images of Powhatan County Wills 1777-1795; 1797-1806; 1806-1811. See names of testators. Pioneers
 * 1777-1795 Images of Wills Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * 1797-1806 Images of Wills Virginia Pioneers ($)

Research Guide

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Powhatan County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1976):210-212-214. Available at American Ancestors ($).

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1782-1817] Heinegg, Paul. "Powhatan County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1817," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1782, 1784] Powhatan County Tax List 1782 and 1784.
 * [1783] Powhatan County, VA - Census - 1782 Taxlist; index online at USGenWeb Archives - free.
 * [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. Powhatan County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1787] Clay, Robert Y. "Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1976):269-274. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Powhatan County's 1787 Delinquent List appears on p. 271.]
 * [1787-1789] Powhatan County Tax List 1787-1789.
 * [1790, 1801] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1801 Personal Property Tax Lists of Powhatan County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] County Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist. Falmouth VA: Apr 2005. Vol. 49 Iss. 2.
 * [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. Powhatan County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1816, 1818] Insolvents and Removals, 1816, 1818, Southside Virginian. Richmond VA: Jul 1983. Vol. 1 Iss. 4; online at Internet Archive - free.

Birth

 * 1853-1896 - Fridley, Beth, comp. Powhatan County, Virginia Births, 1853-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Available at Ancestry ($).
 * 1853-1870 - Powhatan County Birth Index 1853-1870. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1853-1866 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1912-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
 * 1777-1830 - Knorr, Catherine Lindsay. Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns of Powhatan County, Virginia, 1777-1830. Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 1957.
 * 1777-1853 - Powhatan County Marriage Index 1777-1853. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1853-1935 - Powhatan County Marriage Index 1853-1935. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1853-1935 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1936-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce

 * 1918-1988 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

 * 1853-1870 - Powhatan County Death Index 1853-1870. Batch at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1912-1987 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Powhatan County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia

Powhatan County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Powhatan County, Virginia USGENWEB
 * Powhatan County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Virginia Pioneers ($)
 * Virginia Pioneers ($)