Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy

United States

Virginia

Louisa County

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

Louisa County, Virginia
Map
Location in the state of Virginia
Location of Virginia in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	1742
County Seat	Louisa
Courthouse

Louisa County, Virginia Courthouse

Louisa County Courthouse
P O Box 37
Louisa, Virginia 23093-0160
Phone: 540-967-5312

Clerk Circuit Court has birth records 1867-1896,
marriage, divorce and probate records from
1742 and land records

Beginning Dates for Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy Government Records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1853	1766	1853	1800	1742	1745

Louisa County, Virginia History

Parent County

1742--Louisa County was created 6 May 1742 from Hanover County.
County seat: Louisa

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

Order books before 1761 (with the exception of 1742-1748) have been lost.

Lost censuses: 1790, 1810, 1890

Col. Bell discovered some important facts for genealogists about records kept in the mid 1700s:

• Bell, John C. "Louisa County Records: Some Effects of Clerk James Littlepage's Succession by John Nelson," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1985):163-174. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). FHL Book 975.5 B2vg v. 29 (1985).
• Bell, John C. Louisa County Records You Probably Never Saw of 18th Century Virginia. Nashville, Tenn., 1983.

Louisa County, Virginia Places/Localities

Populated Places

Neighboring Counties

Albemarle Fluvanna

Goochland Hanover

Orange Spotsylvania

Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy Resources

Getting Started

VAGenWeb's free Louisa County Master Index is an excellent place to start searches for your Louisa County ancestors.

African American

In 1860, Louisa County had one of the largest slave population in the state (10,194 slaves). Ten years later in 1870, it had one of the largest African American populations in Virginia (10,063).

• Virginia, Freedmen's Bureau Letters or Correspondence, 1865-18721
• Abercrombie, Janice Luck. Free Blacks of Louisa County, Virginia. Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1994. FHL 975.5465 F2a Contains bonds, 1754-1766; list of free negroes and mulattoes, [date not given]; list of free negroes and mulattoes, 1816-1865; free negroes between 21 and 55 years of age, 1850; and will, deed and other records, 1787-1870.
• Heinegg, Paul. "Louisa County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," Free African Americans.com. [Heinegg abstracted free blacks listed in these records.]
• Kegley, Mary B. Free People of Colour: Free Negroes, Indians, Portuguese and Freed Slaves. Wytheville, Virginia: Kegley Books, 2003. Available at FHL; digital version at FamilySearch Books Online . [Includes information from Louisa County.]

Bible Records

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

• Virginia Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007 - browse collection at FamilySearch; free.

Additional Bible records include:

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.

• Louisa County, Virginia Tombstone Index produced by the Louisa County Historical Society - free.

Census

The 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses are available online. For tips on accessing Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy census records online, see: Virginia Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	8,467	—
1800	11,892	40.5%
1810	11,900	0.1%
1820	13,746	15.5%
1830	16,151	17.5%
1840	15,433	−4.4%
1850	16,691	8.2%
1860	16,701	0.1%
1870	16,332	−2.2%
1880	18,942	16.0%
1890	16,997	−10.3%
1900	16,517	−2.8%
1910	16,578	0.4%
1920	17,089	3.1%
1930	14,309	−16.3%
1940	13,665	−4.5%
1950	12,826	−6.1%
1960	12,959	1.0%
1970	14,004	8.1%
1980	17,825	27.3%
1990	20,325	14.0%
2000	25,627	26.1%
Source: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau.

1782 - Exists. Available in print:

• Davis, Rosalie Edith Davis. Louisa County, Virginia, Tithables and Census, 1743-1785. Manchester, Missouri: Heritage Trails, 1981. Available at FHL. [Includes 1782 Census of Louisa County, Virginia.]

1790 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1800 - Exists, but it is not included in Ancestry or Heritage Quest Online databases. A subsitute is also available, see Taxation.

1810 - Lost, but a subsitute is available, see Taxation.

1850

• Hiatt, Marty and Craig Roberts Scott. Louisa County, Virginia 1850 Federal Census. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., 1995. Available at FHL.

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.]

Church Records

Baptist

Early Baptist churches (with years constituted):

1. Bera (1791). A history has been published: Louisa County Historical Magazine, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Spring 2003).
2. Little River (1774). A history has been published: Louisa County Historical Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Fall 1992) and Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring 1993).
3. Louisa (1770).
4. Roundabout (1791)
5. Scarrot's (1777). A history has been published: Louisa County Historical Magazine, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Spring 1989).
6. Thompson's, or Goldmine aka Gold Mine (1770). A history has been published: Louisa County Historical Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Summer 1973).
7. Williams (by 1778).

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.

Louisa County fell within the bounds of the Goshen Association.

Church of England

See also Fredericksville Parish
See also St. Martin's Parish
See also Trinity Parish

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

Quaker

Early monthly meetings (with years of existence):

• Camp Creek Monthly Meeting (1747-1790). Hinshaw published the early records: FHL Book 973 D2he 1993 v. 6.
• Fork Creek Monthly Meeting (1746-1778)

In the 1700s and 1800s, Friends from Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy also attended the Cedar Creek Meeting House in Hanover County, Virginia.

Court

Genealogy

More than 175 genealogies have been published about Louisa County families. To view a list, visit Louisa County, Virginia Compiled Genealogies.

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.

• Sullivan. 790 patents dated 1718-1838 in what is now Louisa County, Virginia placed on a map). DeedMapper, 2003. [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

Maps

Louisa County

• Louisa County, Virginia Creeks and Rivers (VAGenWeb) - free.

Military

French and Indian War

• Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Virginia's Colonial Soldiers. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988. Available at FHL. [Identifies some Westmoreland 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 FHL; 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 Louisa County, see pp. 88, 111.]
• Crozier, William Armstrong. Virginia Colonial Militia 1651-1776. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1954. Available at FHL US/CAN Book 975.5 M2c; Ancestry ($). [Identifies some Accomack County militia officers and soldiers; see place name index.]

Revolutionary War

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

- 3rd Virginia Regiment

- 14th Virginia Regiment

Additional resources:

Louisa residents' participation in the Revolutionary War.

• 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 version at Google Books. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Virginia, Eastern District, Louisa County on page 131.]
• 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." FHL Collection 973 M24ur; digital version at Ancestry ($). [Includes veterans from this county; Virginia section begins on page 238.]

War of 1812

Louisa County men served in the 40th Regiment.

• Douthat, James L. Roster of War of 1812, Southside, Virginia. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2007. Free online surname index and purchase details at Mountain Press website. FHL Collection 975.5 M2djL. [Includes Louisa County.]
• 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, Louisa County, pp. 88-89. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]
• Militia records, Sept.-Dec. 1814; accounts, 1816-1822 Virginia Militia Regiment 40th (Louisa County), Virginia, Militia, Brigade, 3rd, Virginia Militia, Brigade, 4th  1 Microfilm, FHL Film 32234 Item 1
   

Civil War

Regiments. Louisa 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 regiments from neighboring counties. Be advised that later in the war Confederate units often reorganized.

• Muster rolls can be found at FHL book 975.5465 M2s The War and Louisa County 1861-1865

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

- 13th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (The Louisa Blues).

- 23rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company A (Louisa Rifles), Company D (Louisa Grays), and Company G (Frederick's Hall Grays).

- 44th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Company D (Ambler Grays).

- 56th Regiment, Virginia Infantry (Confederate). Companies C (Louisa Holiday Guards) and F (Louisa Nelson Grays).

Records and histories are available, including:

• 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861-1865 - Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 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)

Civil War Battle

The following Civil War battle was fought in Louisa County.

• June 11-12, 1864 = Trevilian Station, also known as Trevilians

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

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 Louisa 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.

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 Louisa Court House silversmiths.]

Private Papers

• Virginia, Historical Society Papers, 1607-2007

Probate Records

• 1745-1766 - Images of Wills & Estates at Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1767-1768 - Images of Wills & Estates at Virginia Pioneers ($)

Taxation

How can Virginia tax lists help me? 

• [1743-1785] Davis, Rosalie Edith Davis. Louisa County, Virginia, Tithables and Census, 1743-1785. Manchester, Missouri: Heritage Trails, 1981. Available at FHL.
• [1767] Louisa County, Virginia 1767 Tithables & Census (partial) (VAGenWeb) - free.
• [1769] Tax List, 1769, St. Martins Parish, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Jan. 1976). Available at FHL; digital version at American Ancestors ($).
• [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. Online at FamilySearch - free; FHL. [1782 personal property tax list of Louisa County.]
• [1782] Tax Book, 1782, Louisa County Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jun. 1969).
• [1782-1814] Heinegg, Paul. "Louisa County Personal Property Tax List, 1782-1814," 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 & 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. 3 vols. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. Available at FHL. [The source of this publication is the 1787 personal property tax list. Louisa County is included in Vol. 2.]
• [1791] Indexed images of the 1791 Personal Property Tax List of Louisa County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
• [1798] Images of the 1798 Personal Property Tax List of Louisa County, Virginia are available online, courtesy: Binns Genealogy.
• [1800] Tax List, 1800, Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul. 1993); Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct. 1993); Vol. 38, No. 1 (Jan. 1994); Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr. 1994). Available at FHL.
• [1810] Schreiner-Yates, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Va.: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. Available at FHL. [The source for this publication is the 1810 personal property tax lists. Louisa County is included because the 1810 Census for that county has been destroyed.]
• [1810] Personal Property Tax 1810, Genealogical Forum of Portland Oregon Bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Dec. 1965); Vol. 15, No. 5 (Jan. 1966); Vol. 15, No. 6 (Feb. 1966); Vol. 15, No. 7 (Mar. 1966).
• [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. Louisa County is included in Vol. 1.]
• [1890-1900] Mineral City Tax List, 1890-1900, Louisa County Historical Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring 1990).

Vital Records

Indexes to Louisa 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 - free. See also How to order Virginia Vital Records

Birth

• 1864-1871 - Louisa County Birth Index 1864-1871. Batch C868812 at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage

• 1660-1800 - Virginia Marriages 1660-1800 (Ancestry) ($).
• 1660-1959 - Virginia, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1740-1850 - Virginia Marriages 1740-1850 (Ancestry) ($).
• 1757-1766 - Marriages at Virginia Pioneers ($)
• 1766-1861 - Louisa County Marriage Index 1766-1861. Batch M868810 at FamilySearch - free.
• 1865-1941 - Louisa County Marriage Index 1865-1941. Batch M868811 at FamilySearch - free.

Death

Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy deaths are included in the Library of Virginia's Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by The Virginia Genealogical Society, available online - free.*1864-1870 - Louisa County Death Index 1864-1870. Batch B868812 at FamilySearch - free.

Vital Record Substitutes

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

Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy Societies and Libraries

• Central Virginia Genealogical Association

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. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

Louisa County, Virginia Genealogy Websites

• Louisa County, VirginiaUSGENWEB 
• Louisa County, VA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
• FamilySearch Catalog
  

References