Wise County, Virginia Genealogy

United States   Virginia    Wise County Southwest Virginia county.

County Courthouse
Wise County Courthouse 206 East Main Street P.O. Box 1248 Room 245 Wise, VA 24293 276-328-6111


 * Circuit Clerk has marriage and divorce records from 1856 as well as probate and land records.

History


The county is named after Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise (1806-1876), who was in office at the time of Wise County's organization. He later served as a Confederate States Army General during the Civil War.

Parent County
1856--Wise County was created 16 February 1856 from Lee, Russell, and Scott Counties. County seat: Wise

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Biographies

 * Sutherland, Elihu Jasper. Some Sandy Basin Characters. Clintwood, Va.: Hettie Sutherland, 1962. 1985 reprint available at .

Cemeteries

 * Adams, James Taylor (1892-1954). Wise County Historical Inventory: Family Burying Grounds. St. Louis, Mo.: R.R. Seibel and D.A. Griffith, 1971. Available at .
 * &lt;a href="http://www.nkclifton.com/cemeteries/Cemetery6.html"&gt;Ben Bolling Cemetery&lt;/a&gt;, Flat Gap, Wise Co., VA
 * Kilgore, Paul. Butcher's Fork, American Legion, Skeen's Ridge and Back Valley Cemeteries of Wise County, Virginia. [West Virginia]: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [1997?]. Available at .
 * Kilgore, Paul. Powell Valley Memorial Gardens: Located in Beautiful Powell Valley, Wise County, VA. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), 2003. Available at .

Census
 

1860 Agriculture Census


 * Weaver, Jeffrey C. The 1860 Agriculture Census of Wise County, Virginia. Clintwood, Va.: Mullins Printing, 1992. Available at .

1890 Union Veterans


 * Turner, Ronald Ray. &lt;a href="http://www.pwcvabooks.com/documents/VirginiaCivilWarVets.doc"&gt;Virginia's Union Veterans: Eleventh Census of the United States 1890&lt;/a&gt;. Available online, courtesy: &lt;a href="http://www.pwcvabooks.com/index.htm"&gt;Prince William County Virginia&lt;/a&gt; website. [Includes residents of this county.]

Court
Chancery Court


 * Indexes (1855-1925) and images (1855-1912) to Wise County, Virginia Chancery Records are available online through &lt;a href="http://www.virginiamemory.com/collections/chancery/"&gt;Virginia Memory: Chancery Records Index&lt;/a&gt;. These records, often concerned with inheritance disputes, contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Genealogy
More than 25 genealogies have been published about Wise County families. To view a list, visit &lt;a href="Wise County, Virginia Genealogy"&gt;Wise County, Virginia Genealogy&lt;/a&gt;.

Local Histories

 * Johnson, Charles A. A Narrative History of Wise County, Virginia. Norton, Va.: Norton Press, 1938. Reprint edition, The Overmountain Press, 1988. ; digital version at &lt;a href="http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=30038"&gt;Ancestry&lt;/a&gt; ($); and &lt;a href="http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=qcdva3017_wise"&gt;World Vital Records&lt;/a&gt; ($). &lt;a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/Wise_County_Virginia.html?id=6RyGQfOhl18C"&gt;Google Books&lt;/a&gt; page.
 * Wise County: Her Industries, Resources and Prominent Men. Norton, Va.: n.p., 1920. ; digital version at &lt;a href="http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=10410"&gt;Ancestry&lt;/a&gt; ($).

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 &lt;a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=t7oqAAAAMAAJ"&gt;Google Books&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.archive.org/details/listpensionerso02buregoog"&gt;Internet Archive&lt;/a&gt;. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Wise County, p. 107. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War
Virginia, Civil War &lt;a href="https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1932382"&gt;Service Records of Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865&lt;/a&gt;

Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers 1861-1865

Virginia, The Civil War in Wise County, Virginia: 1861-1865. Wise, VA: Wise County Historical Society, 2004. &lt;a href="http://www.worldcat.org/title/civil-war-in-wise-county-virginia-1861-1865/oclc/55613219&amp;referer=brief_results"&gt;WorldCat&lt;/a&gt; page.


 * Gobble, Lillian and Rhonda Robertson. Between Brothers: Civil War Soldiers of Wise &amp; Dickenson County [Virginia]. [Big Stone Gap, Va.: L. Gobble &amp; R. Robertson, 200-?]. 

Naturalization
 Virginia &lt;a href="https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1877093"&gt;Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929&lt;/a&gt; Newspapers


 * The Big Stone Gap Post, Big Stone Gap, VA, 1892-1928. (&lt;a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88061179/"&gt;Chronicling America&lt;/a&gt; at the Library of Congress)
 * The Big Stone Post, Big Stone Gap., VA, 1890-1892. (&lt;a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87060150/"&gt;Chronicling America&lt;/a&gt; at the Library of Congress)
 * &lt;a href="http://www.cvtimes.com/"&gt;Clinch Valley Times&lt;/a&gt;
 * &lt;a href="http://www.thecoalfieldprogress.com/"&gt;The Coalfield Progress, The Dickenson Star, and The Post&lt;/a&gt;
 * Meade, Angie Bell. A Collection of Obituaries and Other Published Death Notices: Mostly of Russell, Scott and Wise Counties of Virginia, a Few Other Counties, Some Out-of-state: Most Collections Before 1940. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [2000?]. 
 * &lt;a href="http://www.newspaperobituaries.net/virginia/wise-county-obituaries.htm"&gt;Wise County, Virginia Obituaries&lt;/a&gt; (NewspaperObituaries.net)

Private Papers
 Virginia, &lt;a href="https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1932510"&gt;Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1932510"&gt;Probate&lt;/a&gt;

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Wise County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1980):204-206. Available at &lt;a href="http://www.americanancestors.org/search.aspx?Ca=098&amp;Da=285"&gt;New England Ancestors&lt;/a&gt; ($).

Taxation
&lt;a href="Virginia Tax Lists"&gt;How can Virginia tax lists help me?&lt;/a&gt;


 * [1857] Weaver, Jeffrey C. &lt;a href="http://www.newrivernotes.com/va/wise1857.htm"&gt;The 1857 Wise County, Virginia Land Tax List (Surnames A through M only)&lt;/a&gt;, available online, courtesy: &lt;a href="http://www.newrivernotes.com/"&gt;New River Notes&lt;/a&gt;.

Vital Records


Birth


 * Wise Co., Va., Births, 1867-1871, MSS., James Taylor Adams Collection, Box 68. St. Louis, Mo.: R.R. Seibel and D.A. Griffith, 1971. Microfilmed reproduction: 

Death


 * Kilgore, Paul and Fred Harry King Funeral Home. Death Records, Fred H. King Funeral Home, 1927-1935. Wise, Va.: Wise County Historical Society (Va.), [1999?]. <img _fck_mw_template="true" _fckrealelement="6" _fckfakelement="true" src="https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/extensions/FCKeditor/fckeditor/editor/images/spacer.gif" class="FCK__MWTemplate">
 * Robertson, Rhonda. The Wise County, Virginia Death Register 1856-1894. [Wise, Virginia]: Wise County Historical Society (VA), [200-?]. <img _fck_mw_template="true" _fckrealelement="4" _fckfakelement="true" src="https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/extensions/FCKeditor/fckeditor/editor/images/spacer.gif" class="FCK__MWTemplate">

Societies and Libraries

 * Wise County Historical Society

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Websites

 * Lumbee Indians and Goins Family: Wise County, VA Early Records
 * RootsWeb Mailing List: SW_VA-L (Topic: Southwest Virginia)
 * Wise Co., VA (RootsWeb)
 * Wise Co., VA Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Wise County Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Wise County, Virginia (government, tourism, etc.)
 * Wise County, Virginia (Wikipedia)
 * Wise County, Virginia History, Genealogy (New River Notes)
 * Wise County, Virginia Genealogical Research Site (VA GenWeb)
 * Wise County, Virginia Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
 * Wise County, Virginia Genealogy Trails
 * Cyndi's List
 * Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites
 * Learning How to Edit our Wiki Sites