Botetourt County, Virginia Genealogy

United States &gt; Virginia &gt; Botetourt County



Parent County
1769--Botetourt County was created 7 November 1769 from Augusta County. County seat: Fincastle

Neighboring Counties

 * Alleghany
 * Bedford
 * Craig
 * Roanoke
 * Rockbridge

African American

 * Boyd-Rush, Dorothy A. Free Negroes Registered in the Clerk's Office, Botetourt County, Virginia, 1802-1836. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1993. Available at FHL.


 * Heinegg, Paul. "Botetourt County Personal Property Tax List 1783-1822," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]

Cemeteries
For a more detailed list, including addresses and external links, see Botetourt County, Virginia Cemeteries.

The following is a list of cemeteries in Botetourt County:

Census
1785


 * Burton, Charles T. Botetourt County, Va., 1785 Enumeration. Troutville, Va.: Burton?, 1972. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).

1790 - Lost

1800 - Lost

1810


 * 1810 Census of Botetourt County, Virginia. Beverly, W. Va.: Crickard, 1968?. Available at FHL; 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.]

Family Histories
It is anticipated that this bibliography will eventually identify all known family histories published about residents of this county. In addition to finding a direct ancestor’s surname listed, and watching to see if more recent publications make additions and corrections to earlier works, this list is also useful for determining if genealogists have published accounts, to quote Elizabeth Shown Mills, for any members of an ancestor’s “FAN Club” [Family, Associates, and Neighbors]. Checking publications about those individuals can lead you to new information about your own ancestry. Be mindful that compiled genealogies may contain errors.

Bibliography


 * [Adams] Austin, J. William and Rebecca H.R. Austin. Related Families of Botetourt County, Virginia. Baltimore, Maryland: Clearfield, 2000. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [Amman] See Adams.
 * [Austin] See Adams.
 * [Beaver] Hoeman, Andree Sieverin and Beavers - Riddle Family Association. A Partial History of the Riddle - Beavers Families of Botetourt County, Virginia; Highland County, Ohio; Decatur and Page Counties, Iowa: Including Cook, Rader, Bender / Painter, Harshbarger, Ammen, Ranck and Other Related Families. West Des Moines, Iowa: Beavers - Riddle Family Association, 1981. Available at FHL.


 * [Beckner] Beckner, William Everett. The Beckners of Botetourt. Fort Thomas, Kentucky: W.E. Beckner, 1928. Available at FHL.
 * [Brugh] Jennings, Ruby Brugh, Vista Brugh Robinson, and Joy Jennings Nash. Brugh (Bruch, Brough) Family of Pennsylvania and Botetourt Co., Virginia: Descendents of Hermanus Bruch (Brugh), 1722-1794. MSS., available at FHL.
 * [Cross] Cross, John Newton, Mary Thompson Cross Cole, and Sarah McLonie Conner. William Cross of Botetourt Co., Va., and His Descendants, 1733-1932: Also a Record of the Related Families of McCown, Gentry-Blythe, Cain- Robertson, Harris-Martin, and Conner, of Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. Columbia, Missouri: E.W. Stephens Publishing Co., 1932. Available at FHL.
 * [Eller] Eller, John C. Genealogy Problems Regarding Jacob and Magdalene Eller of Botetourt County, Virginia. 1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Fleming] Goodwin, Edmund P. Colonel William Fleming of Botetourt [Virginia], 1728-1795. Roanoke, Virginia: Progress Press, 1976. Available at FHL.
 * [Frantz] Frantz, Dore M. and Ilo Fisher. Burials, Frantz Family and Relatives--Extracts from the Dore Manfred Frantz Manuscript: Together with Some Frantz Immigrants Before 1776; Wills, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Wills and Administrations, Botetourt County, Virginia. Springfield, Ohio: Friends of the Library Genealogical Research Group, Warder Public Library, 1984. Available at FHL.
 * [Goodwin] Goodwin, John S. The Goodwin Families in America. Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1897. 1969 reprint available at FHL. 1990s supplement also available at FHL.
 * [Goodwin] "Appendix H: The Goodwins of Botetourt and Tazewell Counties, Virginia," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 2, Supplement (Oct. 1897):91-99. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Goodwin] "APPENDIX F: The Goodwins of Botetourt and Tazewell Counties, Va," The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 2, Supplement (Oct. 1899):17-18. Available at JSTOR ($).
 * [Goodwin] Bates, Edward Bryant. Brief History of the Goodwin Family of Augusta, Botetout and Tazewell and Tazewell Counties of Virginia. Bass Lake, California: E. Bates, [198-]. Available at FHL.
 * [Hansons] Hanson, Ray. Hansons-Hensons of Botetourt and Their Descendants. 1986. Available at FHL.
 * [Hensons] See Hansons.
 * [Johnston] Johnston, Charles. A Narrative of the Incidents Attending the Capture, Detention and Ransom of Charles Johnston of Botetourt Co., Va.: Who was Made Prisoner by the Indians on the River Ohio, in the Year 1790, Together with an Interesting Account of the Fate of His Companions, Five in Number, One of Whom Suffered at the Stake. To which is Added Sketches of Indian Character and Manners with Illustrative Anecdotes. New York: J. &amp; J. Harper, 1827. Microreproduction available at FHL.
 * [Kes(s)ler] Kessler, Morris S. Records of the Johannes Kes(s)ler Family of Botetourt County, Virginia. MSS., 1978, available at FHL.
 * [Kes(s)ler] Kessler, Morris S. and A. Dean Kessler. Out from the Blue Ridge: A Genealogical History of the Kessler--Kesler Families of Botetourt County, Virginia. 2 vols. Champaign, Illinois: M.S. Kessler, 1984-1994. Available at FHL.
 * [Lee] Lee, Lena Louise Jones. Descendants of Zachariah Lee of Albemarle, Rockingham and Botetourt Counties and Catawba Valley, 1765-1838. MSS., 1988, available at FHL.
 * [Little] Lytle, Leonard. The Descendants of John Little of Botetourt and Rockbridge Counties, Virginia: With Notes on Other Lines of Littles &amp; Lytles that May Be Related. MSS., National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D.C. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * [Looney] Crane, Madge Looney and Phillip L. Crane. Most Distinguished Characters of the American Frontier: Robert Looney (b 1692-1702 d 1770) of Augusta (now Botetourt) County, Virginia and Some of His Descendants with Histories of the Great Road, Looney's Ferry, Crow's Ferry, Anderson's Ferry, Boyd's Ferry and Beale's Bridge. 2 vols. Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1998-2008. Available at FHL.
 * [McClure] McClure, Joseph W., George E. Honts, and Ellwyn Worley. Following the McClures - Donegal to Botetourt. Chester, Virginia: J.W. McClure, [199-?]. Available at FHL.
 * [McNeil] McNeil, Don W. The Lineage of Joseph and John McNeil of Adams County, Ohio, Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and Botetourt County, Virginia: Including Neal McNeil, Grandfather, James McNeil, Father, Mary Anne McNeil, Mother, and Johnathan McNeil, Uncle and Archibald McNeil of Harrodsburg, Peggy McNeil (Archibald's Sister) of New Castle, Delaware, John Shelp of Harrodsburg, Ann Shelp (Step-sister of Joseph and John), and James Kelly of Harrodsburg. Honolulu, Hawaii: Valley Breeze Press, 1996. Available at FHL.
 * [Minnick] Minnick, Michiael Linden and Shirley Ann Driver Minnick. The Minnick Family of Botetourt County, Virginia and Henry County, Indiana. Middletown, Indiana : M.L. Minnick, 1992. Available at FHL; digital book at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Riddle] See Beaver.
 * [Rowland] Petersen, Carol Rowland. Descendants of John Rowland, Son of William Rowland : (Botetourt Co., Va.). Belton, Missouri: C.R. Petersen, 1999. Available at FHL; digital book at BYU Family History Archives.
 * [Smith] McNeil, Maynard W., Luther N. Byrd, and Ethel Simmons Pell. The Smith Family of Botetourt and Floyd Counties, Va. and Surrey and Stokes Counties, N.C.: Descendants of Absolem and Humphrey Smith. Washington, New Jersey: M.W. McNeil, 1990. Available at FHL.
 * [Stewart] Stewart, William C. "Mercantile Adventures in Early Virginia, John Stewart, Tailor of Augusta and Botetourt Counties," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1967):3-11; Vol. 11, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1967):61-66. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [Stoner] Stoner, Vera Barnhart. The Family of Jacob Stoner II of Botetourt County, Virginia: With Historical and Genealogical Records, 1732-1965. Ladoga, Indiana: V.B. Stoner, 1965. Two copies available at FHL: here and here.
 * [Stoner] Stoner, Norris Eugene. Our Stoner Family, 1732-1991: The Family of Jacob Stoner "II" (1781-1836) of Botetourt County, Virginia, and Some Other Descendants of His Grandfather Jacob Stoner "I" (1731/32-1804) of the Spring Garden Farm, Frederick County, Maryland, with Historical and Genealogical Records and Pictures. Tampa, Florida: N. E. Stoner, 1991. Available at FHL.
 * [Walker] Dolan, Charlou. Allied Family, Walker. C. Dolan, 1986. Available at FHL.
 * [Worley] Dean, H. Clark. "Caleb Worley (say 1730-circa 1790) of Virginia and Kentucky, Grandson of Francis Worley of Pennsylvania," The American Genealogist, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Apr. 1995):75-81.
 * [Wymer] Weimer, Robert E., Weimer Genealogical Center (Albuquerque, New Mexico), and Mary W. Dixon. The Weimer Family: As Known to 1974 [and Beyond]. Multi-volume. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Weimer Genealogical Center, 1975-. Available at FHL; digital version at BYU Family History Archives.

Immigration

 * [http://www.immigrantservants.com/search/advancedResults.php?surname=&givenName=&varientSurnameSpellings=&gender=&dateOfBirthDay=&dateOfBirthMonth=&dateOfBirthQuantifier=&dateOfBirthYear=&placeOfBirthParish=&placeOfBirthTown=&placeOfBirthCity=&placeOfBirthCounty=&placeOfBirthColony=&placeOfBirthNation=&occupations=&religions=&orphan=&familyPosition=&immigrationYearQualifier=&immigrationYear=&portOfDepartureTown=&portOfDepartureCity=&portOfDepartureCounty=&portOfDepartureNation=&placeOfArrivalTown=&placeOfArrivalCounty=&placeOfArrivalColony=&shipName=&convict=&yearOfIndentureQualifier=&yearOfIndenture=&lengthOfIndentureYears=&lengthOfIndentureMonths=&yearOfFreedomQualifier=&yearOfFreedom=&placeOfIndentureTown=&placeOfIndentureCity=&placeOfIndentureCounty=Botetourt&placeOfIndentureColony=&agentSurname=&agentGivenName=&agentTitle=&masterSurname=&masterGivenName=&masterTitle=&residenceParish=&residenceTown=&residenceCity=&residenceCounty=&residenceColony=&residenceNation=&landowner=&literate=&spouseSurname=&spouseGivenName=&spouseMarriageDateDay=&spouseMarriageDateMonth=&spouseMarriageDateQualifier=&spouseMarriageDateYear=&spouseMarriageLocationParish=&spouseMarriageLocationCounty=&spouseMarriageLocationColony=&spouseMarriageLocationNation=&deathDateDay=&deathDateMonth=&deathDateQualifier=&deathDateYear=&deathLocality=&deathCounty=&deathColony=&deathState=&testate=&proofServantStatus=&proofConvictStatus=&headright=&preServitudeSources=&postServitudeSources=&comments=&family=&sourceCitations=&interestedResearchers= List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe] who served labor terms in Colonial Botetourt County, Virginia (work in progress), courtesy: Immigrant Servants Database.

Land
Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 362 Botetourt County, Virginia Patents 1740-1803 (Partially Placed on a Map). DeedMapper, 2004. [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.]
 * Nugent, Nell M. Commonwealth's (Land) Grants or Patents, Botetourt County, Va., 1770-1802. n.d. Available at FHL.
 * Sims, Edgar Barr. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. [Springfield, Virginia]: Genealogical Books in Print, c1992. Available at FHL. [Includes Botetourt County, Virginia.]

Surveys


 * Creekmore, Pollyanna. "Botetourt County, Virginia, First Surveys," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1964):3-13. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Local Histories

 * Burton, Charles T. Botetourt County, Virginia, Early Settlers: From the Earliest Times through 1795, in the Area that was Botetourt County in 1782, Covers Parts of Present-day Counties of Montgomery, Bath, Giles, Floyd, Alleghany, Roanoke, Craig and Monroe. Troutville, Virginia: 1979?. Available at FHL.
 * Prillaman, Helen R. Places Near the Mountains: From the Community of Amsterdam, Virginia Up the Road to Catawba, on the Waters of the Catawba and Tinker Creeks, along the Carolina Road as it Aproached Big Lick and Other Areas, Primarily North Roanoke [Botetourt and Roanoke Counties, Virginia]. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002. Available at FHL; digital version at Ancestry ($). Alternative title: Places Near the Mountains [Botetourt and Roanoke Counties, Virginia].

Maps

 * Hildebrand, John R., F.B. Kegley, and Roanoke Valley Historical Society. Historical Map of the Roanoke Historical Society Showing Botetourt County, Virginia, 1770-1820. 1965. Available at FHL. [Includes historical notes and list of prominent men.]

Military
French and Indian War


 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Botetourt County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]

Dunmore's War


 * Augusta, Bedford, Botetourt, Culpeper and Fincastle Payrolls and Public Service Claims, 1775: Also Known as Dunmore's War: Enlarged and Photocopied. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library, 2004. Available at FHL.
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Botetourt County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

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.

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 Fincastle silversmiths.]
 * Stewart, William C. "Mercantile Adventures in Early Virginia, John Stewart, Tailor of Augusta and Botetourt Counties," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1967):3-11; Vol. 11, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1967):61-66. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Botetourt County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1961):131-134. Available at New England Ancestors ($).

Taxation
At first glance, researchers might conclude that Virginia tax lists contain very little family history data, though one soon learns that valuable genealogical conclusions can be drawn from these records, nicknamed "annual censuses," such as: relationships, approximate years of birth, socio-economic status, identification of neighbors, the ability to distinguish between persons of the same name, evidence of land inheritance, years of migration, and years of death.

Virginia began enumerating residents' payments of personal property and land taxes in 1782. These two types of taxation were recorded in separate registers. Personal property tax lists include more names than land tax lists, because they caught more of the population. The Family History Library has an excellent microfilm collection of personal property tax lists from 1782 (or the year the county was organized) well into the late nineteenth century for most counties, but only scattered land tax lists. Microfilm collections at The Library of Virginia include land tax lists for all counties and independent cities for the years 1782 through 1978, as well as personal property tax lists for the years 1782 through 1930 (and every fifth year thereafter). Taxes were not collected in 1808.

Some tax records are available online or in print, though published abstracts often omit useful details found only in the original sources. Statewide indexes can help genealogists identify specific counties where surnames occurred in the past, providing starting points for research.


 * [1770-1789] Botetourt County, Virginia Lists of Tithables, 1770-1789. Original records, Botetourt County Courthouse, Fincastle, Virginia; also available on microfilm at FHL.
 * [1770-1777] Burton, Charles T. Botetourt County, Virginia, Its Men, 1770-1777. Troutville, Virginia: C.T. Burton, [197-?]. Available at FHL. [Contains names of tithable men in Botetourt Co., 1770-1777. Includes delinquent lists.]
 * [1770-1771] Creekmore, Pollyanna. "Botetourt County, Virginia, Tithables, 1770-1771," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1966):51-56; Vol. 10, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1966):109-122. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [1770-1773] Kegley, Mary B. New River Tithables, 1770-1773. Wytheville, Virginia: M.B. Kegley, 1972. Available at FHL.
 * [1783-1822] Heinegg, Paul. "Botetourt County Personal Property Tax List 1783-1822," Free African Americans.com, available online. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1784] Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Available at FHL. [1784 personal property tax list of Botetourt County.]
 * [1787] Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florene Speakman Love. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle &amp; Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Botetourt County is included in Vol. 1.]
 * [1789] Indexed images of the 1789 Personal Property Tax List of Botetourt County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1799] Images of the 1799 Personal Property Tax List of Botetourt County, Virginia are available to browse online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1800] "Botetourt County, Virginia 1800 Tax List," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1965):105-110; Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1965):154-158; Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1966):11-17. Available at New England Ancestors ($).
 * [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. Botetourt County is included in Vol. 5.]

Vital Records
Birth


 * Fridley, Beth, comp. Botetourt County, Virginia Births, 1885-96 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Available at Ancestry ($).

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