Southampton County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Southampton County

County Courthouse
Southampton County Courthouse P.O. Box 190 22350 Main Street Courtland, VA 23837 Phone: 757-653-2200

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

History


The county is probably named after the English port of Southampton.

Parent County
1749--Southampton County was created 30 April 1749 from Isle of Wight and Nansemond Counties. Nansemond County merged with Suffolk City 1 Jan 1974. County seat: Courtland

Record Loss

 * Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

Research Guides
The Library of Virginia's website includes the following research guide:


 * "Southampton County," A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm.

Additional guides include:


 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Southampton County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1978):287-290. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * Historical Records Survey (Virginia). Inventory of the County Archives of Virginia, No. 88, Southhampton County (Courtland). Richmond, Va.: Virginia Historical Records Survey Project, 1940. Available at.

African American
From 1790 through 1860, Southampton County had one of the largest free colored populations in the state (559 in 1790; 1794 in 1860).


 * Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-18721
 * Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. 2005-present. - free online book. Allen, Anderson, Archer, Artis, Ash, Banks, Bartlett, Bartley, Bazden, Bell, Berry, Boon, Bowers, Bowser, Branch, Brooks, Byrd, Cannady, Charity, Chavis, Clark, Coleman, Davis, Day, Demery, Duncan, Fagan, Freeman, Garner, Gillett, Going, Haithcock, Hanson, Hathcock, Heathcock, Hicks, Hilliard, Hines, Hunt, Hurst, Jeffries, Keemer, Kersey, Lawrence, Locust, Munday, Newsom, Pompey, Portis, Powell, Rann, Reed, Roberts, Rogers, Ruff, Ruffin, Skipper, Smith, Stewart, Sweat, Taborn, Tann, Taylor, Turner (see introduction), Vickory, Walden, Wilkins, Williams, Wood, Worrell, Young families in pre-1820 Southampton County, Virginia.
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Southampton County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1821," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Southampton County Register of Free Negroes, 1794-1832," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Southampton County Loose Papers (Tax List), 1801-1826," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks, mainly by the surname "Artis," but also the complete 1822 list for St. Luke's Parish.]
 * Watkins, Raymond W. Watkins - Doyle - Bailey - Osborne Collection. Manuscript collection, donated by Raymond W. Watkins, Falls Church, Va. Available on microfilm at . [Includes list of blacks charged with 1831 Nat Turner insurrection in Southampton Co., Va., their sentences, and owner's names.]

Census
1808 Nottoway Indian


 * Heinegg, Paul. "1808 Nottoway Indian Census," Free African Americans.com.

1820 - Exists, but the National Archives microfilm copy of Southampton County, Virginia omits pages 111a and 112. The missing names have been published in The Virginia Genealogist:


 * Petty, Gerald M. "Virginia 1820 Federal Census: Names Not on the Microfilm Copy," The Virginia Genealogist 18, no 2 (April-June 1974):136-139.


 * The list is also available online at the Shenandoah County GenWeb Project.

1850 Mortality Schedule


 * Almasy, Sandra L. Mortality Census 1850-1880: Isle of Wight, Nansemond &amp; Southampton Counties, Virginia. Rome, New York: Kensington Glen Pub., 1988. Available at.

1860 Mortality Schedule


 * Almasy, Sandra L. Mortality Census 1850-1880: Isle of Wight, Nansemond &amp; Southampton Counties, Virginia. Rome, New York: Kensington Glen Pub., 1988. Available at.

1870 Agricultural Schedule


 * Productions of Agriculture, Virginia, 1870. Original records, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. Available on microfilm at . [Southampton County is included on FHL US/CAN Film 29742.]

1870 Mortality Schedule


 * Almasy, Sandra L. Mortality Census 1850-1880: Isle of Wight, Nansemond &amp; Southampton Counties, Virginia. Rome, New York: Kensington Glen Pub., 1988. Available at.

1880 Mortality Schedule


 * Almasy, Sandra L. Mortality Census 1850-1880: Isle of Wight, Nansemond &amp; Southampton Counties, Virginia. Rome, New York: Kensington Glen Pub., 1988. Available at.

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.]

Baptist
Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):


 * 1) Black Creek (1786). Birth records (1759-1818) were published in the Southside Virginian, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Oct. 1982). . A register (dated 1776-1804) was published in Virginia Tidewater Genealogy, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mar. 1976)..
 * 2) Meherrin (1788).
 * 3) South Quay (1785). Birth records (1758-1799) were published in the Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan. 1968), which is available online at Ancestry ($).
 * 4) Tucker's Swamp (1807).

Southampton County fell within the bounds of the Portsmouth Association.

Church of England
See also Nottoway Parish See also St. Luke's Parish


 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. Available at ; digital version at Family History Archives. [Includes Southampton County.]

Quaker

 * Bell, James Pinkney Pleasant. Our Quaker Friends of Ye Olden Time: Being in Part a Transcript of the Minute Books of Cedar Creek Meeting, Hanover County, and the South River Meeting, Campbell County, Va. Lynchburg, Va.: J.P. Bell Company, 1905. Available at ; digital version at Google Books (full-view). [Includes Quakers from Southampton County.]
 * Putnam, Martha A. Quaker Records of Southeast Virginia. Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1996. Available at . [Includes records about Quakers in Dinwiddie, Isle of Wight, Nansemond, Norfolk, Prince George, Southampton counties and Suffolk City from 1600s and 1700s (Blackwater Montly Meeting, Chuckatuck Monthly Meeting, Pagan Creek Meeting, Western Branch Monthly Meeting, and Somerton Monthly Meeting.)]

Court
County Court Minute Books

The original Southampton County Court Minute Books are held at the County Courthouse in Courtland, Va. These records have been reproduced multiple times. The Virginia State Library (now Library of Virginia) microfilmed these records. They were also microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (now FamilySearch) in 1949 and again in 1985.

The Southampton Project

In 2009 and 2010, in cooperation with Circuit Court Clerk, the Honorable Richard Francis, volunteers of the Brantley Association of America digitized the entire court book collection from 1749 through the early 1880s and recruited volunteers across the nation to index some 57,000 pages involving approximately one million names. It has been named "The Southampton Project" (SoH). All the images and indexes shown below, are fruits from the SoH project and have made been made available online, for free. See how it developed at www.brantleyassociation.com. Completion of the initial indexing phase is scheduled in mid 2010. Acquired files are outlined in the following table:

County Court Order Books

The original Southampton County Court Order Books are held at the County Courthouse in Courtland, Va. These records have been reproduced multiple times. The Virginia State Library (now Library of Virginia) microfilmed these records. They were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (now FamilySearch) in 1949 and again in the mid-1980s.

The Southampton Project

In 2009 and 2010, in cooperation with Circuit Court Clerk, the Honorable Richard Francis, volunteers of the Brantley Association of America digitized the entire court book collection from 1749 through the early 1880s and recruited volunteers across the nation, to index some 57,000 pages, involving approximately one million names. The Court Order books were part of the collection. All the images and indexes shown below, are fruits from the SoH project and have made been made available online, for free. Completion of the initial indexing phase is scheduled for mid 2010. Acquired files are outlined in the following table:

Chancery Court

Genealogy
More than 150 genealogies have been published about Southampton County families. To view a list, visit Southampton County, Virginia Genealogy.

Immigration
South Quay was a port during the colonial period. No official passenger lists survive for the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.

Land and Property
Deeds

The original Southampton County Deed Books are held at the County Courthouse in Courtland, Va. They have been reproduced multiple times. The Genealogical Society of Utah (now FamilySearch) microfilmed Deed Books 1-46 and Grantee/Grantor Indexes in 1949. The Virginia State Library (now Library of Virginia) has also collected microfilms of these records. In 2001, local expert John Anderson Brayton abstracted Deed Book 1 and annotated the records.

The Southampton Project

In 2009 and 2010, in cooperation with Circuit Court Clerk, the Honorable Richard Francis, volunteers of the Brantley Association of America digitized all of the first 35 deed books through 1881. Volunteers indexed the entire collection. All the images and indexes shown below, are fruits from the Southampton Project (SoH)and have made been made available online, for free. See how it developed at www.brantleyassociation.com. Completion of the initial indexing phase is scheduled in mid 2010. Acquired files are outlined in the following table:


 * Brayton, John Anderson. Annotated Abstracts of Southampton County, VA, Deed Book 1, 1749-1753. Memphis, Tenn.: J.A. Brayton, 2001. Available at.

Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 891 patents dated 1701-1836 in what is now Southampton County, Virginia 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.]

Procession Map Book

The Brantley Association of America digitized and indexed Southampton County Procession Map Book 1826-1836.

Local Histories

 * Parramore, Thomas C. Southampton County, Virginia. Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978. Available at.

Migration

 * Removals from delinquent list, 1797, Southside Virginian. Richmond VA: Oct 1982. Vol. 1 Iss. 1.

Early migration routes to and from Southampton County for European settlers included:


 * Atlantic Ocean
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Southampton County militia officers, soldier enlistments, and veterans; see place name index.]
 * Boogher, William F. Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources. Washington: n.p., 1903. Available at ; digital version at Google Books. [Includes a chapter titled "Legislative Enactments connecting the preceding historic sketch [French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War] with the adjudication of the resulting accounts that follow; with the list of officers, soldiers and civilians entitled to compensation for military and other services rendered." For Southampton County, see p. 100.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Southampton County militia officers; see place name index.]

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


 * - 4th Virginia Regiment
 * - 15th Virginia Regiment

Additional resources:


 * Proceedings of the Committees of Safety of Caroline and Southampton Counties, Virginia, 1774-1776. Richmond, Virginia: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1929. Available at . Reproductions of the original records are also available for free online and on microfilm, see Court Records.
 * 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, Southampton County on page 133.]
 * 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
Southampton County men served in the 86th Regiment.


 * 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, Southampton County, p. 104. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 3rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (Southampton Greys) and Company G (Rough and Ready Guards).
 * - 5th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (12 months, 1861-62) (Mullins') (Confederate).
 * - 13th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (12th Months, 1861-62) (Confederate). Company A (The Southampton Cavalry).

Records and histories are available, including:


 * Virginia, Civil War
 * Virginia, Civil War

Native Americans

 * Heinegg, Paul. "1808 Nottoway Indian Census," Free African Americans.com.

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.

Occupations

 * Livingston, Virginia Pope. "Southampton County, Virginia, Apprenticeship Indentures, 1827-1894," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1968):99-105. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Private Papers

 * Virginia,
 * [Barrow] Barrow, David and James V. Clark. 1795 Diary of Reverend David Barrow: Pioneer Minister - Anti-slavery Spokesman - Founder of South Quay Baptist Church, Southampton, Va. 1776: Wilderness Travels from Virginia through North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Miami and Scioto Valleys in Northwest Territory from May to September, 1795: Index of Names, Places. Knightstown, Indiana: Bookmark, 1980. Available at.
 * [Edwards] Newspaper Clippings Found in the Prior Family Bible, in possession of Mrs. Edwin F. Prior, Apalachee, Ga.; available on microfilm at.
 * [Wade] Ray, Gloria E. Wade Family Bible Records. Original manuscripts, Smithfield Branch of the Isle of Wight Library, Smithfield, Va. Available on microfilm at.

Probate
Wills

The original Will Books of Southampton County are held at the County Courthouse in Courtland, Va. They have been reproduced multiple times. Between 1947 and 1958, Blanche Adams Chapman published abstracts of the Will Books covering the years 1749 to 1800, which Ancestry subsequently utilized to create a digital book on their subscription website. In 1949, the Genealogical Society of Utah (now FamilySearch) microfilmed the original Will Books 1-22 (1749-1916) and an Index (1749-1937). The Library of Virginia has also acquired microfilm copies.

The Southampton Project

In 2009 and 2010, in cooperation with Circuit Court Clerk, the Honorable Richard Francis, volunteers of the Brantley Association of America digitized the entire court book collection from 1749 through the early 1880s and recruited volunteers across the nation, to index some 57,000 pages involving approximately one million names. The Court Will books were part of the collection. All the images and indexes shown below, are fruits from the SoH project and have made been made available online, for free. Completion of the initial indexing phase is scheduled to be mid 2010. Acquired files are outlined in the following table:


 * Will Book No. 1, 1749-1762 (digital images online). See names of testators. Virginia Pioneers
 * Will Book No. 2, 1762-1772 (digital images online). See names of testators. Virginia Pioneers
 * Will Book No. 3, 1772-1782 (digital images online). See names of testators. Virginia Pioneers


 * Chapman, Blanche Adams. Wills and Administrations of Southampton County, Virginia, 1749-1800. 2 vols. 1947, 1958; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980. Available at ; 1980 reprint at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Reviewed in The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1961):177-178. Review available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Guardianships


 * Livingston, Virginia Pope. "Southampton County, Virginia, Guardians' Bonds," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1981):125-134; Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1981):171-178; Vol. 25, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1981):265-274; Vol. 26, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1982):13-20; Vol. 26, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1982):118-124; Vol. 26, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1982):177-182; Vol. 26, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1982):273-282. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [Loose court papers; often include additional information not found in the condensed Guardians' Account books.]

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?

The original personal property tax lists of Southampton County, Virginia are held at the Library of Virginia in Richmond, Va. has microfilmed these records for the years 1782 to 1850. Several of these records are also available in print or online:


 * [1770] Williams, Gary M. "Southampton County, Virginia, Tithables, 1770," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1978):243-246. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * [1778] Tithable Persons, Parish of Nottoway, 1778, Southside Virginian. Richmond VA: Jul 1988. Vol. 6 Iss. 3. Available at.
 * [1782] 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 . [1782 personal property tax list of Southampton County.]
 * [1782] Land tax list, 1782, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 2003. Vol. 41 Iss. 1.
 * [1786] Land tax, 1786, of Nansemond co. residents, Southside Virginian. Richmond VA: Jan 1984. Vol. 2 Iss. 2. Available at.
 * [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. Southampton County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1790, 1798] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1798 Personal Property Tax Lists of Southampton County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1782-1820] Heinegg, Paul. "Southampton County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1821," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [1797] Removals from delinquent list, 1797, Southside Virginian. Richmond VA: Oct 1982. Vol. 1 Iss. 1. Available at.
 * [1801-1826] Heinegg, Paul. "Southampton County Loose Papers (Tax List), 1801-1826," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks, mainly by the surname "Artis," but also the complete 1822 list for St. Luke's Parish.]
 * [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. Southampton County is included in Vol. 2.]

Birth
The origial Birth Register of Southampton County, covering the years 1853 to 1870, is held at the County Courthouse in Courtland, Va. It has been reproduced multiple times. In 1949, the Genealogical Society of Utah microfilmed register. The Library of Virginia has also acquired a microfilm copy. In 2009-2010, the Brantley Family Association of America, as part of their Southampton Project, digitally reproduced the Birth Register, created an index, and made the images and index available for free online, as seen here and outlined in the following table:

Marriage
Southampton County's original marriage bonds, licenses, and loose ministers' returns are held at the County Courthouse in Courtland, Va. They have been reproduced multiple times. Between 1929 and 1931, a "Register of Marriages," covering the years 1750 to 1853, was compiled as an "abstract of all original Southampton County marriage bonds and connecting papers borrowed by the Virginia State Library from Southampton County Court House," by the Virginia State Library (now Library of Virginia). This compilation was. The records were next abstracted by Joel Ricks in 1936, then by Blanche Adams Chapman and Catherine Lindsay Knorr in 1948, and by Catherine Lindsay Knorr in 1955. In 1965, Virginia Pope Livingston published abstracts of loose marriage records that were missed by the previously mentioned compilers. In 2009-2010, the Brantley Family Association of America, as part of their Southampton Project, digitally reproduced the compiled Marriage Register 1750-1853, as well as Marriage Books 1 to 6, indexed them, and made the images and indexes available for free online, as outlined in the following:

Published Abstracts


 * Chapman, Blanche Adams and Catherine Lindsay Knorr. Marriage Bonds of Southampton County, Virginia, 1750-1800. Richmond, Va.: B.A. Chapman &amp; C.L. Knorr, 1948. Available on microfilm at.
 * Knorr, Catherine Lindsay. Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns of Southampton County, Virginia, 1750-1810. Pine Bluff, Ark.: C.L. Knorr, 1955. Available at.
 * Livingston, Virginia Pope. "Some Unrecorded Marriages of Southampton County, Virginia," [1759-1825, 1841] The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1965):168-170. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [Livingston states these miscellaneous marriage records were found in loose court papers and were not included in published abstracts of Southampton's marriages.]
 * Ricks, Joel. Southampton County, Virginia, Marriage Bonds, 1751-1853. 1936..

Reproductions of Original Records

Death
The original records of the second-half of the nineteenth century were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 1949. The original records were also microfilmed by the Virginia State Library in 1975 and 1985. Copies of VSL microfilms are also available at the Family History Library.

Vital Record Substitutes
See also Bible Records and Church Records

Voting Records
The Brantley Association of America digitized and indexed Voter Registration Book 1902.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Franklin Virginia Family History Center

Websites

 * USGenWeb Project: Southampton County, Virginia. Includes maps, name indexes, history and other information.
 * Southampton Project, The Brantley Family Association of America. Digitized images of original court, land, probate, and other miscellaneous records, with indexes.
 * Cyndi's List
 * Virginia Pioneers
 * Virginia Pioneers


 * Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites