Surry County, Virginia Genealogy

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

Surry County, Virginia Courthouse
Surry County Courthouse P.O. Box 203 28 Colonial Trail East Routes 10 and 31 Surry, VA 23883-0203 Phone: 804-294-3161

Clerk Circuit Court has birth and death records 1853-1896 marriage records from 1768, probate and land records from 1652, Court records from 1671 and divorce records

Surry County, Virginia History


The county is named after the English county of Surrey.

Parent County
1652--Surry County was created in 1652 from James City County. County seat: Surry

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
The follow Surry County Courthouse records are missing:


 * Deed Book 10 (1835-1838).
 * Order books 1718-1741
 * various other early volumes are fragmentary
 * most loose papers prior to 1806
 * also several federal censuses are lost: 1790, 1800, 1890

Courthouse fires in 1906 and 1922 did not result in record losses.

Research Guides

 * "A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Surry County," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):125-127. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

African American
Freedmen's Bureau


 * George, W. Herbert. The History of Negro Churches in Surry County, Virginia. 1965?. 1753002 Item 20
 * Heinegg, Paul. "Surry County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1816," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * Hudgins, Dennis. Surry County, Virginia Register of Free Negroes. Richmond, Va.: Virginia Genealogical Society, 1995. 975.5562 F2h

Biographies

 * Gwaltney, Anne W. et al. Personal History Departments of Surry and Isle of Wight Counties, Virginia from Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, Special Virginia Edition, c. 1884. 1884; reprint, 1993?..

Census
1782 Enumeration


 * 1782 Surry County, Virginia Census (Christine's Genealogy Website)
 * Surry County Heads of Families - 1782 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 42.

1784 Enumeration


 * Surry County Heads of Families - 1784 at U.S. Census Bureau - free. County begins on page 78.

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) Otter Dams (1791)

Surry County fell within the bounds of the Portsmouth Association.

Church of England
See also Albemarle Parish See also Lawnes Creek Parish  See also Southwark Parish

Meade's 1861 history of parishes in Surry County is available online.


 * Bell, Landon Covington. Albemarle Parish. Richmond, Virginia: Self-published, 1950.
 * Boddie, John Bennett. Births, Deaths and Sponsors, 1717 - 1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1958, 1964. Reprint edition, Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 1998. ; digital version at World Vital Records ($).
 * Davis, Virginia Lee Hutcheson, and Andrew Wilburn Hogwood. Albemarle Parish Vestry Book, 1742-1786, Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore: Clearfield, 2005.
 * Mason, George Carrington. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &amp; Shepperson, 1945. ; digital version at
 * Richards, Gertrude R.B. Register of Albemarle Parish, Surry and Sussex Counties, 1739-1778. Richmond, Virginia: National Society Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virignia, 1958. Reprint edition, Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1984.

Quaker
Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):


 * Blackwater Monthly Meeting (1708-1860) first known as Surry Monthly Meeting. Births, minutes, and manumissions (1760-1800) have been published: . Hinshaw also published the early records:.
 * Lawnes Creek Monthly Meeting (1699-1710)

Friends from Surry County, Virginia also attended the Chuckatuck Monthly Meeting in Nansemond County, Virginia.


 * Brown, Jane Douglas Summers and Jones Memorial Library. Jane Douglas Summers Brown (1903-) Quaker Records: Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Virginia); MS 1515. MSS, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, Va. Available on 26 microfilms at . [Includes records of Surry County Quakers; Brown assisted "William Wade Hinshaw in the writing of the Virginia volume of the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy."]

Court
County Court


 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake. Surry County Records, Surry County, Virginia, 1652-1684. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980.
 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake and Robert Barnes. Surry County Records. [1652-1684] 195-?; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. Original edition available at ; reprint available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($)' and World Vital Records ($). [Includes court, land, and probate records.]
 * Haun, Weynette Parks. Surry County, Virginia Court Records. Durham, North Carolina: Self-published, 1986.

Genealogy
More than 400 genealogies have been published about Surry County families. To view a list, visit Surry County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

Immigration

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. "Some Surry County, Virginia, Colonists, 1678-1705," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1979):255-258. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($). [Arrival lists of indentured servants who appear in Surry County Court Order Books.]
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Surry County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

Land and Property
Deeds


 * Davis, Eliza Timberlake and Robert Barnes. Surry County Records. [1652-1684] 195-?; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. Original edition: ; reprint: ; digital version at Ancestry ($) and World Vital Records ($). [Includes court, land, and probate records.]
 * Hart, Lyndon H. III. Surry County, Virginia, Wills, Estate Accounts, and Inventories, 1730-1900. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1983.
 * Hopkins, William Lindsay. Surry County, Virginia Deeds, 1684-1733. Athens, Ga.: Iberian Publishing Co., 1994.
 * Hopkins, William Lindsay. Surry County, Virginia Deeds and Expense Accounts, 1757-1786. Athens, Ga.: Iberian Publishing Co., 1995.

Grants and Patents


 * Hudgins. 592 patents dated 1619-1788 in what is now Surry County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper. 2001. [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 Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1666. Vol. I (1934; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1991). Available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes Surry County. N.B. If Ancestry's search engine fails, try checking the printed index at the end of the book.]

Local Histories

 * Boddie, John Bennett. Colonial Surry. Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Press, 1948. Reprint edition, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1966.
 * Lawrence-Dow, Elizabeth. Autographs of 65 Gentlemen Justices, Militia Officers and Members of the Grand Jury from Charles City, Prince George and Surry Counties Who Signed an Oath of Loyalty to Protestant King William III of England in March 1701/2. Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Press, 1976.

Colonial Militia

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Surry County militia officers and/or soldiers; see place name index.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Surry County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

French and Indian War

 * Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at . [Identifies some Surry 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 Surry County, see p. 101.]
 * Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at ; digital book at Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Surry County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

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


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

Additional resources:


 * 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, Surry 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." ; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

War of 1812
Surry County men served in the 71st 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, Surry County, p. 105. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

 * - 3rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company I (Surry Light Artillery).
 * - 5th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (12 months, 1861-62) (Mullins') (Confederate).
 * - 13th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (12th Months, 1861-62) (Confederate). Company G (The Surry Cavalry) and Company K.
 * - 37th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion, Partisan Rangers) (Confederate). Company F; men possibly recruited in Surry County, North Carolina.

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)

Miscellaneous Records

 * 1607-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Native Americans
The Powchay-icks Tribe and the Weyenoakes Tribe lived in the area in the late 1600s.

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,

Probate Records

 * 1652-1850 - Library of Virginia, Index to Wills and Administrations, can be searched online for Surry County, Virginia, 1652-1850.
 * 1652-1684 - Davis, Eliza Timberlake and Robert Barnes. Surry County Records. [1652-1684] 195-?; reprint, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. Original edition available at ; reprint available at ; digital version at Ancestry ($)' and World Vital Records ($). [Includes court, land, and probate records.]
 * 1671-1750 - Davis, Eliza Timberlake. Wills and Administrations of Surry County, Virginia, 1671 - 1750. [Smithfield, VA: s.n.], c1955. Available, and , Reprint . Digital version at World Vital Records ($). Information at Genealogical.com.
 * 1730-1900 - Hart, Lyndon H. III. Surry County, Virginia, Wills, Estate Accounts, and Inventories, 1730-1900. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1983.
 * 1757-1786 - Hopkins, William Lindsay. Surry County, Virginia Deeds and Expense Accounts, 1757-1786. Athens, GA: Iberian Publishing Co., 1995.
 * 1759-1844 - Livingston, Virginia Pope. "Unrecorded Wills of Surry County, Virginia, 1759-1844," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1969):51-55. Available at ; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
 * 1800-1852 - Alphabetical Listing of Surry County, Virginia, Wills and Administrations, 1800 through 22 March 1852 (the end of Will Book 1845-52) (VAGenWeb) - free.
 * Hopkins, William Lindsay. Some Wills from the Burned Counties of Virginia and Other Wills Not Listed in Virginia Wills and Administrations 1632-1800. Richmond, Virginia: W.L. Hopkins, 1987. Available at . [Includes Surry County.]

London Courts
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London 1611-1857. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2007. [Includes wills of residents of Surry County proved in London. These records often help establish an immigrant's place of origin.]

'Online Probate Links
 * 1639 – 1850 Virginia Land, Marriage and Probate Records 1639-1850 at Ancestry.com — index to transcribed records, incomplete, $

Taxation
How can Virginia tax lists help me?


 * [1668] "Census of Tithables in Surry County in the Year 1668," William and Mary College Quarterly, 1st Series, Vol. 8 (1900):160-164. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version at JSTOR ($).
 * [1668] Alphabetical List of Surry County Tithables taken 10 June 1668 in Southwarke Parish (VAGenWeb) - free.
 * [1668-1703] Surry County Tax Payers 1668-1703 (VAGenWeb) - free.
 * [1668-1703] MacDonald, Edgar and Richard Slatten. Surry County (Virginia) Tithables, 1668-1703. Baltimore, Maryland: Clearfield, 2007. Available at . Information at Genealogical.com.
 * [1668-1670] Tithables, 1668, 1669, 1670, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 1.
 * [1673] Annual co. levy, unlawful assembly, advices, 1673, Colonial Williamsburg. Williamsburg VA: Spring 2003. Vol. 25 Iss. 1.
 * [1673-1675] Tithables, 1673, 1674, 1675, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: May 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 2.
 * [1677-1679] Tithables, 1677, 1678, 1679, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Aug 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 3.
 * [1678] Alphabetical List of Surry County Tithables taken 7 June 1678 from Sunken Marsh to the upper end of Surry County (VAGenWeb) - free.
 * [1680-1682] Tithables, 1680, 1681, 1682, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Nov 1984. Vol. 22 Iss. 4.
 * [1683-1685] Tithables, 1683, 1684, 1685, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 1.
 * [1686-1688] Tithables, 1686, 1687, 1688, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: May 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 2.
 * [1689-1691] Tithables, 1689, 1690, 1691, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Aug 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 3.
 * [1692-1694] Tithables, 1692, 1693, 1694, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Nov 1985. Vol. 23 Iss. 4.
 * [1695-1697] Tithables, 1695, 1696, 1697, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Feb 1986. Vol. 24 Iss. 1.
 * [1698-1700] Tithables, 1698, 1699, 1700, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: May 1986. Vol. 24 Iss. 2.
 * [1701-1703] Tithables, 1701, 1702, 1703, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Richmond VA: Aug 1986. Vol. 24 Iss. 3.
 * [1704] "Virginia Quit Rent Rolls, 1704," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 28 (1920):207-218, 328-339; Vol. 29 (1921):18-28, 337-343, 402-412; Vol. 30 (1922):21-30, 280-285, 341-347; Vol. 31 (1923):70-75, 153-163, 215-231, 314-318; Vol. 32 (1924):69-75, 144-158, 281-287, 338-343; Vol. 33 (1925):47-50, 359-370; Vol. 34 (1926):113-119, 252-258, 313, 321. Available at ; reprinted in Virginia Tax Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983, which is also available at ; digital version of VMHB at JSTOR ($). [Surry County appears in 29:18-28.]
 * [1782-1841] Partial Tax Records for Surry County, VA from 1782 to 1841 - free.
 * [1782-1821] Heinegg, Paul. "Surry County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1816," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
 * [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. Surry County is included in Vol. 2.]
 * [1790, 1800] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Surry County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [1790, 1799] Indexed images of the 1790 and 1799 Land Tax Lists of Surry County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
 * [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. Surry County is included in Vol. 3.]

Birth

 * 1717-1778 - Boddie, John Bennett. Births, Deaths and Sponsors, 1717 - 1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 1998. Available at . Digital version at World Vital Records ($).


 * 1853-1896 - Surry County Birth Index 1853-1896. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

 * 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).


 * 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).


 * 1768-1825 - Knorr, Catherine Lindsay. Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns of Surry County, Virginia, 1768-1825. Pine Bluff, Arkansas: C.L. Knorr, 1960..


 * 1768-1853 - Surry County Marriage Index 1768-1853. Batch at FamilySearch - free.


 * 1770s-1780s - Crozier, William Armstrong. Early Virginia Marriages. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1953. Digital version at - free. Includes Surry County marriages 1770s-1780s.


 * 1853-1939 - Surry County Marriage Index 1853-1939. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Virginia, Surry County Marriage Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Death

 * Boddie, John Bennett. Births, Deaths and Sponsors, 1717 - 1778 from the Albemarle Parish Register of Surry and Sussex Counties, Virginia. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 1998. Available at . Digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Surry County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

 * Blackwater Regional Library
 * Surry County, Virginia Historical Society

Surry County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

 * Notes on Surry County, Virginia History (RootsWeb)
 * Surry County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
 * Profile for Surry County, Virginia (ePodunk)
 * Surry County, Virginia Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Surry County, Virginia Genealogy and History Mailing List (VASURRY-L)
 * Surry County, Virginia Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Surry County, Virginia Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
 * Surry County, Virginia Genealogy Trails
 * Surry County, Virginia GenWeb
 * Cyndi's List
 * Cyndi's List