Charlotte County, Virginia Genealogy

United States

Virginia

Charlotte County

Guide to Charlotte 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

Charlotte County, Virginia
Map
Location in the state of Virginia
Location of Virginia in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	1764
County Seat	Charlotte
Courthouse

County Information

Description

Charlotte County is located in the South-Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was named for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of Great Britain.

Charlotte County Virginia Courthouse

Charlotte County Courthouse
125 David Bruce Avenue
P.O. Box 38
Charlotte Court House, VA 23923-0038

County Clerk has birth and death records 1853-1870
Marriage, probate court and land records from 1765 and divorce records

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1853	1765	1853	1765	1765	1765	1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1912. General compliance year is unknown.

Charlotte County Virginia History

Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom (1744-1818)

The county was named after Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom (1738-1820).

Parent County

1764--Charlotte County was created 26 May 1764 from Lunenburg County.
County seat: Charlotte

Boundary Changes

Record Loss

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

• Lost censuses: 1790, 1800, 1890

Places/Localities

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:

Towns
Charlotte Court House Drakes Branch	Keysville	Phenix
Unincorporated communities
Abilene Cullen Harrisburg	Madisonville Randolph Red House	Wren Wylliesburg

Charlotte County Virginia Genealogy Resources

African American

• Charlotte County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1813. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans
• Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-1872
• Search the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold collection for digitized records related to African Americans of Charlotte County.

Bible Records

Images of the Virginia Historical Society's family Bible collection have been digitized:

• Virginia Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007.

• Williams Family Bible, Charlotte and Mecklenburg Counties, Virginia. By Henry deLeon Southerland. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1974):311-312. FHL, online at: American Ancestors ($).

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
VAGenWeb	WorldCat	Billion Graves
VAGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Project
Virginia Gravestones
Billion Graves
See Virginia Cemeteries for more information.

• 1800-1986 - Virginia, Jewish Cemetery Records Index, ca. 1800-1986
  
  

Census

For tips on accessing Charlotte County, Virginia Genealogy census records online, see: Virginia Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	10,078		—
1800	11,912		18.2%
1810	13,161		10.5%
1820	13,290		1.0%
1830	15,252		14.8%
1840	14,595		−4.3%
1850	13,955		−4.4%
1860	14,471		3.7%
1870	14,513		0.3%
1880	16,653		14.7%
1890	15,077		−9.5%
1900	15,343		1.8%
1910	15,785		2.9%
1920	17,540		11.1%
1930	16,061		−8.4%
1940	15,861		−1.2%
1950	14,057		−11.4%
1960	13,368		−4.9%
1970	11,551		−13.6%
1980	12,266		6.2%
1990	11,688		−4.7%
2000	12,472		6.7%

1782 Enumeration

• Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the first Census of the United States taken in the Year 1790. Viewable online as a .pdf. Because the 1790 census had been destroyed, the Census Bureau created the Virginia report from census substitutes from similar time periods. This document contains a list for Charlotte County in the year 1782. Begins on page 13.

1850

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

1860

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. c1994. By Ronald Ray Turner. Online at: Prince William County Virginia, FHL Collection; At various libraries (WorldCat).

Church Records

• Baptisms and Burials, Church of Our Saviour Parish Register, Charlottesville, Virginia. By Sharon B. Hamner. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1979):83-87; Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1979):175-177. FHL, online at: American Ancestors ($).

Baptist

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

1. Ash Camp (1803). Church minutes (1813-1870) have been filmed: FHL Film 30816. Cemetery database at Find A Grave. (487+ graves).
2. Cubb Creek aka Cub Creek (1771). A history was published in 1967: Virginia Baptist Register, Issue 6 (1967).
3. Midway. Meeting minutes and membership lists (1833-1867) have been filmed: FHL Film 986448.
4. Mossingford (1785)
5. Sandy Creek (1785)
6. Staunton River (1804)

The 10,000 name petition (dated 16 October 1776) has been digitized at the Library of Congress website. It was signed by people from all over Virginia who wanted an end to persecution of Baptists by the Established Church. Baptists and Baptist sympathizers alike signed the petition. To find your ancestor in this record, first check Hall's transcription in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy (Vols. 35-38, with annotations in Vol. 39), which is available online at Ancestry ($). It is also available in book form at the Family History Library: FHL Book 975.5 B2vs v. 35-39. Then proceed to the Library of Congress website to see the original images.

Charlotte County fell within the bounds of the Appomattox Association, the Meherrin Association, and the Roanoke Association.

Church of England

See also Cornwall Parish

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

Court

Chancery Court

• Library of Virginia, Chancery Records Index (and images). Fully indexed. Allows searching by county, plaintiff, defendant, and surname. Search is exact spelling only. The Chancery Court records for Charlotte County have been scanned and are viewable as .pdf files.

County Court

• 1786-1809 - Charlotte County Virginia Order Book Extracts Books 7 to 16 (VAGenWeb)

Genealogy

Compiled Genealogies by Surname

• See Charlotte County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies for a list of 125+ published books and articles, or jump to the surname using the alphabet bar.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Compiled Genealogies for Multiple Families

• Bouldin, Powhatan. The Old Trunk, or, Sketch of Colonial Days. 2nd ed. Danville, Va.: Blair & Boatwright, Printers, 1896. FHL Film 30775; digital versions at Google Books; Internet Archive.
  
• Charlotte County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Charlotte County, Virginia 1765-2007. Waynesville, N.C.: County Heritage, 2007. FHL Collection 975.565 H2h
• Priddy, A.S. and Walter M. Priddy. Notes of Some of the Old Families on the Head Waters of Roanoke and Twitty's Creek and the Keysville Section of Charlotte County. Typescript, abt. 1910. Copy: FHL Film 1036740 Item 3; digital version at USGenWeb Archives.
  
• 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 Charlotte County, see discussion of cited sources.] FHL US/CAN CD-ROM no. 3887. Purchase at Virginians.com.
• Steltzner, Mildred White, Virginia Frances Jordan Bloomfield and Fort Wayne Public Library. Hunting for Ancestors by Mildred W. Steltzner: A Genealogy Column in the Charlotte Gazette, Drakes Branch, Virginia. 3 vols. Fort Wayne, Ind.: Allen County Public Library, 1977-1978. FHL Collection 975.565/D1 B3s

Historic Residences

• Distinguished Descendants of Colonel Clement Read and Bushy Forest and Other Charlotte County Homes of the Early Reads: Two Addresses. 1932. By J.D. Eggleston. n.p. : n.p. Collection with index and images at Ancestry ($).

Immigration

• List of imported servants and transported convicts from Europe who served labor terms in Colonial Brunswick County are online at: Immigrant Servants Database.

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 1 British alien living in Charlotte County.

Land and Property

Grants and Patents

Land patents (pre-1779), land grants (after 1779) and surveys are available online at the Library of Virginia website. For step-by-step instructions on retrieving these records, read the Virginia Land and Property article.

• Hudgins. 528 patents dated 1731-1835 in what is now Charlotte County, Virginia placed on a map. DeedMapper, 2010. [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.]

Local Histories

• Charlotte County, Virginia: Historical, Statistical, and Present Attractions. 1907. By John Cullen Carrington. n.p. : Hermitage Press. Online at: [100137 FamilySearch Digital Library], Google Books.
• Lang Syne. 1972. By Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities - Charlotte County Branch. n.p. : n.p. Online at: FamilySearch Online Books.
• Mulberry Hill and the Family : Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Charlotte County Branch Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, Held at Mulberry Hill on October 2, 1976. 1976. By Frances Barksdale Lynn. n.p. : n.p. Online at: Online Books.
• The Old Trunk, or, Sketches of Colonial Days. 1888. By Powhatan Bouldin. Richmond, VA : Andrews, Baptist & Clemmitt, Steam Printers. Online at: Internet Archive, Second Edition 1896 Hathitrust, Google Books.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Detail View of Charlotte County

The Library of Congress, American Memory website contains two beautifully detailed maps of Charlotte County from the 1860's. Both show rivers, creeks, and some landowners names. Viewable online or downloadable in jpeg2000 format.

• Hotchkiss map collection No. 289: Map of Charlotte County, Virginia / by Jed. Hotchkiss, Top. Eng.
• Gilmer map collection: Map of Charlotte County, Va. Made under the direction of Maj. A.H. Campbell Chief Topl. Departm't. by Lieut. C.E. Cassell C.S. Engineers. Sept. 15, 1864.

Migration

• Emigration to Other States from Southside Virginia. 1966. By Katherine B. Elliott. South Hill, Virginia : K.B. Elliott. 2 Vols. FHL Collection contains Vol. 1 of original edition, FHL Collection contains 1983 reprint, FHL Collection contains 1990-1992 reprints. This book includes individuals who migrated out of Charlotte County to other parts of the country.
• Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790. By Robert Y. Clay. The Virginia Genealogist Vol. 19, No. 3. July - Sept.1975:190-194. Online at: New England Ancestors ($), FHL US/CAN Book 975.5 B2vg. These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Charlotte County's 1787-1788 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:31-34; the 1789 Delinquent List appears on 21:118.

Military

French and Indian War

• Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. By Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. 1988. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. FHL US/CAN Book 975.5 M2bL.

Colonial Militia

• Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. By Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. 1988. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. FHL US/CAN Book 975.5 M2bL. Identifies some Charlotte County militia officers 1767-1774; see place name index.

Revolutionary War

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

- 4th Virginia Regiment

- 14th Virginia Regiment (10th Company)

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. Washington : Blair and Rives. Online at: Internet Archive, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat). See Virginia, Eastern District, Charlotte County on page 129.
• Charlotte County, Virginia : Revolutionary Officers and Soldiers. 1921. The William and Mary Quarterly. Online at: JSTOR.
• Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions. 1852. Washington, D.C. : Clearfield. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1969, and 1991. Reprints include "an Added Index to States." Collection with index and images at Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat). Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.
• Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: McAllister's Data. By J. T. McAllister. c1913. Hot Springs, Virginia : McAllister Pub. Co. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat).

War of 1812

Charlotte County men served in the 26th 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. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Virginia, Charlotte County, p. 67.]
• Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. By James L. Douthat. 2007. Signal Mountain, Tenn : Mountain Press. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).

Civil War

Regiments. Charlotte County men most often served in regiments (and companies) from their home county. At times, however, individuals and small groups can be found serving in regiment from neighboring counties. Later in the war, Confederate units often reorganized.

Men from Charlotte County can be found in the following regiments:

- 1st Regiment, Virginia Infantry Reserves (Confederate). Company B (Home Guard)

- 2nd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company K (Albemarle Light Horse)

- 14th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry (Confederate). Company B (Charlotte Cavalry).

- 18th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (Charlotte Rifles).

- 21st Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Red House Volunteers).

- 22nd Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Confederate)

- 23rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company K (Keysville Guards).

- 44th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company G (Randolph Guard) - Page 227 of  FHL book 975.565 H2a only casually mentions this regiment. Therefore, it is possible that only its commander was from Charlotte County. 

- 56th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies G (Charlotte Defenders) and I (Charlotte Grays).

- Staunton Hill, Virginia Artillery (Confederate), was formed, equipped and initially commanded by Captain Charles Bruce and later commanded by Captain A. B. Paris. This company is reported as having been composed of three sections, 1st, 2nd, 3rd with the 3rd section serving in North Carolina while the other two served in Savannah, Georgia. Further into the war, possibly became Co. B, 2nd Regiment, Virginia Artillery and much later possibly Company B, 22nd Battalion Virginia Infantry.

- 1st Regiment, North Carolina Artillery 10th Regiment Volunteers-1st Artillery, Company C

• Information about the history of the companies from Charlotte County can be found in:

-Charlotte County, Rich Indeed, pp. 222-249 and muster rolls on pp. 476-484 FHL book 975.565 H2a

- Muster roll for Charlotte County on microfilm FHL film 1939964 item 1

-A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations 1861-1865, FHL book 975.5 M2vr v. 29

Records and histories are available, including:

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

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Charlotte County.

• June 25, 1864 Staunton River Bridge, also known as Blacks and Whites or Old Men and Young Boys

Maps of Civil War battles in Virginia: 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865

World War II

• 1940-1945 - Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images

Miscellaneous Records

• 1607-2007 - Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization

• Virginia Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929

Newspapers

The Virginia Newspapers Project identifies local Charlotte County, Virginia Genealogy newspapers.

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

Probate Records

A free index to Charlotte County, Virginia Genealogy wills and administrations (1765-1800) is available at the Library of Virginia.

• Digital Images of Charlotte county Wills 1765-1791; 1791-1805. See names of testators. Virginia Pioneers

Research Guides

• A Guide to the Counties of Virginia: Charlotte County. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1963):115-117. Available at FHL, online at: American Ancestors ($).

Taxation

How can Virginia tax lists help me?

• 1782-1813 Charlotte County Personal Property Tax Lists 1782-1813 (images); digital version in Tax List Club at Binns Genealogy ($).
• 1782-1813 Charlotte County Personal Property Tax List 1782-1813. By Paul Heinegg. Online at: Free African Americans.
• 1782 Charlotte County, Virginia 1782 Tax List; index online at Rays Place.
• 1782 Charlotte County, Virginia 1782 Tax List online at Genealogy Trails.
• 1783 Personal Property (or Land) Tax List, 1783; index online at Revolutionary War Service website.
• 1790, 1800 Indexed images of the 1790 and 1800 Personal Property Tax Lists of Charlotte County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
• 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners (and Gazetteer). By Roger D. Ward. c1997. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co. FHL 975 E4w. At various libraries (WorldCat). The source for this publication is the 1815 land tax. Charlotte County is included in Vol. 2.
• Charlotte County, Virginia, 1800 Tax List. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1971):110-116; Vol. 15, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1971):166-173. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
• Some Delinquent Taxpayers 1787-1790. By Robert Y. Clay. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1975):190-194. FHL 975.5 B2vg; CD available at: New England Ancestors ($). These records identify migrants who left the county and often their intended destinations. Charlotte County's 1787-1788 Delinquent Lists appear on 20:31-34; the 1789 Delinquent List appears on 21:118.
• 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 & 21 Years, the Number of Slaves over 16 & Those Under 16 Years, Together with a Listing of Their Horses, Cattle & Carriages, and Also the Names of All Persons to Whom Ordinary Licenses and Physician's Licenses Were Issued. By Netti Schreiner-Yantis and Florene Speakman Love. c1987. Springfield, Virginia : Genealogical Books in Print. At various libraries (WorldCat). The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Charlotte County is included in Vol. 1.

Vital Records

Indexes to Charlotte County, Virginia Genealogy births, marriages, and deaths are available online. These collections are incomplete, but are easy to search. Most records can also be ordered electronically online as well. Courtesy: FamilySearch. See also How to order Virginia Vital Records

Birth

• 1853-1866 - Virginia, Slave Birth Index, 1853-1866 at FamilySearch — index and images

Beth Fridley has published birth records through the following Ancestry index collections ($):

• 1860-1874 - Charlotte County, Virginia Births, 1860-74
• 1875-1878 - Charlotte County, Virginia Births, 1875-78
• 1879-1882 - Charlotte County, Virginia Births, 1879-82
• 1883-1896 - Charlotte County, Virginia Births, 1883-96
• 1912-1913 - Virginia, Birth Certificates, 1912-1913 at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

• 1660-1800 Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 Ancestry ($).
• 1660-1959 Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($).
• 1740-1850 Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 Ancestry ($).
• 1782-1900 Charlotte County Marriage Index 1782-1900. Batch M868736 at FamilySearch.
• 1853-1935 - Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1936-1988 Virginia, Marriage Certificates, 1936-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images
• Beware of the Charlotte County, Virginia, Marriage Bonds: The Featherston Family. By Margaret T. Macdonald. The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1979):3-7. Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($).

Divorce

• 1918-1988 - Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-1988 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death

• 1912-1987 - Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987 at FamilySearch — index and images

Vital Record Substitutes

The Virginia Historical Society's Marriage and Obituary Index, 1736-1820 (newspaper abstracts) is available at FamilySearch. Images of the original index cards are browseable, arranged alphabetically by surname.

Charlotte County Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Charlotte County Virginia Genealogy Websites

• Charlotte Co., VAGenWeb. Part of the USGenWeb Project. Maps, name indexes, history.
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Cyndi's List
• Virginia Pioneers Virginia Pioneers ($)

Charlotte County Virginia Genealogy References